No. 3

I've been thinking a bit about paper no. 3. I found an article on JSTOR, after doing some serious digging, that explored the Western world's imperialistic complex concerning Africa and the continent's countries. What is it about Western civilizations that makes them think they're superior and obligated to assert control over others? It got my gears a'tickin' and made me think; when people travel to countries or locales that are admittedly deigned "third world" or "developing nations" what fuels the belief that they're contributing to the welfare of individuals in said country?

There are dozens of independent companies that offer student budget travel packages, and one of the ones my buddy linked me to offered a volunteering one. I haven't quite grasped the concept of paying to volunteer, it's like a reverse of the whole working structure to me, but paying to visit a third world nation (see the world!) to spend time in a developing village or city or some other sort of township seems ludicrus to me.

I finally got around to seeing Slumdog Millianaire, which was very good, but one scene in particular came to mind when I started thinking about the article. The main character, Jamal, dabbles as a tour guide to unsuspecting visitors. On one occasion, he leads an American couple down to the Dehli river while their taxi is stripped clean in a matter of minutes by a highly efficient gang led by his older brother, Salim. When the driver, Jamal, and the couple return to the car, Jamal receives the brunt of the driver's rage for the robbery. The couple steps in to his defense and the man gives him some money. Clearly his situation requires far more than a handful of money, but they are no more than blips in his life. Right before the stripped car is blamed on Jamal, he takes the tourists down to the river where people are washing their clothes in the filthy water.

The tourists don't think twice about the poverty they see before them, and I wondered long after the movie was over, whether or not that was part of what they'd intended to see in India. An assortment of articles deem this "voyeuristic," and dub it "slum tourism." Whether or not it really is, is left to debate. Unless tours of the slums aim to expose the harsh reality of the environment, and bring change via awareness, they aren't doing much but making a mint for groups that lead tourists around. A careful dissection of the argument on both sides of the issue could conclude that the form of slum tourism that exists may be well intentioned but poorly executed.