If we view citizenship not as an inert affiliation to an ethnic group or a state but instead as a proactive way of participating in social life, we can say without a shadow of a doubt that slum dwellers lack it.
Lacking documents and a state-valid residence, slum dwellers are cut off from food and energy distribution, and they can't even access healthcare. Even finding a job is difficult, because it requires knowing where you can be reached. Even law enforcement officials don't consider them as civil defense does in the event of floods or sewer overflows.
Sometimes it happens that political parties give them a minimum of support in exchange for votes, but this does not protect them from the uncertainty of being displaced sooner or later.
They also suffer other setbacks: living in a shack makes their social relationships difficult: they cannot receive friends and relatives in a dignified manner, and this further weakens their social ties, and thus their chances of finding work and getting married. It becomes clear at this point that being able to count on a reliable home must be considered an inalienable human right.
Activism in India
In India, where slums are a serious problem, a network of activists for the right to decent housing has emerged, supported by an NGO called Sparc . They have successfully mobilized local donors and even transnational financiers, and have initiated projects with the state. For example, they have attempted to educate communities on building techniques.
These synergies have prevented developers, speculators, real estate agencies, and various governments from seizing the slums by moving them away from valuable building areas. They wanted to raze what is now an entire illegal city of one million inhabitants, without even a serious alternative for rehousing the poor.
The mark of rejection and social invisibility
Today, Dharavi, as this slum in Mumbai, India, is called, boasts a variety of shacks, alleys, and places for leisure and worship, for work and play. But we must not forget that it was historically built on a swamp filled with garbage and compacted waste, the very soil on which the poor walk. And today it still lacks electricity, water, sanitation, and safety.
Dharavi is one of those cities, like many others around the world (Manila, Lagos, Pataya, to name a few) where garbage, or rather the portion of it that is somehow recoverable, is used to create housing. And obviously, all this causes problems for the physical integrity of the residents. However, it is even more painful for them to bear the stigma of rejection, of social invisibility.
Slums: a global issue
In many societies, slum dwellers have been granted "bare citizenship," and we've already seen what this means. This characteristic makes them grouped together with refugees and prisoners of war. Furthermore, the widespread evictions and demolitions affecting slums have created a high number of internally displaced people—those who remain within their own countries, far from the shantytowns of the metropolises. To quantify the phenomenon, data from statistical agencies must be integrated with those from humanitarian organizations. Today, it is estimated that 1,5% of the world's population is made up of internal migrants and those who cross national borders . This is largely due to civil wars or ill-fated development projects.
The subjects of the question
This figure should also take into account those who end up in a state of slavery in the horrific womb of various types of illegal trafficking. These trafficking patterns arise precisely as a result of forced displacement from their homes and families.
What emerges is a picture of wars, multinational developers and real estate agencies, corrupt governments, and inadequate or poorly implemented housing laws that have led to this dramatic situation. It is a radical failure of the constitutions and laws of various countries and of the enforcement of human rights in general .
The Politics of Hope in India
Returning specifically to India, a genuine social movement has emerged in Dharavi, combining several elements: censuses conducted by organized communities, public protests and marches that were visible yet non-violent, excellent cooperation between non-governmental organizations and local community groups, and even a convergence of intent among several political parties. All of this represents a form of resistance to eviction, land commercialization, and slum destruction.
This social movement demanded full citizenship for slum communities , security instead of housing instability, and dignity instead of invisibility. It thus cultivated the capacity for desire and hope. This capacity was born from disputes and negotiations with the state and market forces. There were not only public dialogues but, above all, the finalization of contracts that ensure security and the stability of dignified housing.
An endless queue
But for activists, this is above all a politics of patience: knowing how to face an indefinite period of waiting, during which urban planning must be launched, financiers must prod the immobility of local and central governments, and developers must keep their promises.
It's obvious that communities and individual families will line up and prepare to wait for years, sometimes decades. Furthermore, they will continue to assert their rights to ensure the line keeps moving and the celebration is respected.
Fabio Rinaldi
Bibliography
- G. Agamben, State of Exception: Homo Sacer
- A. Appadurai, Modernity in Dust
- A. Appadurai, The Future as a Cultural Fact
