Kevin Mcloud 'Slumming it' CH4

[Meglet]

Here we all are sitting in nice houses (some nicer than others) on out laptops with running water and they have none of it.

I love India but I can't believe they can survive at all in the slums.

yeh....

it's incredible how many people are surviving there... 1 million in a sq mile!!

I really don't understand why they don't all get some God awful bug and end up seriously ill all the time.

I went to India a few years ago and I have to say that even people who were poor were all dressed in clean, ironed clothes, the school children looked beautiful in their uniforms. Much better than the scruffy mini Amy Winehouses / Emo kids we have over here.

amazing how they live isnt it. That guy is annoying the hell out of me though have no idea who he is either

He's quite lost isn't he? I'm quietly amused watching it - but slums are my daily fare at work (mostly remotely though). I'm greatful smellovision hasn't taken off yet

Seriously though - any eyeopener on this topic is fine with me - and I was pleased to see the water and sanitation issues highlighted. If you have a minute, please add your support to the endwaterpoverty campaign here

I have signed the pledge

i would have liked it to be presented by someone from the region. I don't think it is possible to really understand it looking through our eyes.

Thanks btp

Good point Kitten - I was wondering about that myself. On the other hand, I think that the only way to get across the absolute bewilderment you'd feel as a westerner going to these places can only be brought across by using a presenter from these parts.

thats's too many acrosses in one sentence

That Kevin McCloud can be quite a rude guest can't he?
He's no Bruce Parry.

true oricella.

omg that is one mind boggling programme

I was wondering why no-one had briefed him on customs .. he did seem totally out of his depth and culturally faux pas'ing at every corner

quite like his gauche manner, emphasises how alien it is for us spoilt westerners.. also his point at the end of the programme about who was more civilised - us with all mod cons or them with 3 generations living closely together, all cared for and no-one forgotten. what do you reckon all?

ooh i showed it to year11 today
they loved it

The scene at the dumpster was horrifying. I actually think it's good that it was presented from a westerner's perspective. I am from that part of the world but am actually seeing it with new eyes now (the cultural features, not the poor conditions - those always jump out at you no matter how much a part of your world they may be).

After Mclouds conversations with developers, the wealthy and the other chap (the one who pointed out the horrific apartment blocks) I've changed my mind, I think actually he was the right person to present the program, it perhaps would take an outsider to spot some of the truths?

I thought the slums were horrifying in so many respencts, but the apartment blocks were far far worse. Squalor and isolation. horrific.

At least the slums had a vibrant sense of community and I felt that if only they could be cleaned up - proper running water, sanitation, introduce some safer working practices from within the community. Is that naive?

I think he was a great choice as we are usually confronted with people who have experienced the east many times or who have lived this way even for short periods a la Bruce Parry.this was more realistic he was seriously shocked

Those new appartment blocks reallly are horrific.. Kitten, naive may be a right description to some extent

I think that in his statement at the end, that water, sanition etc, can be fixed and put in - he really underestimated what it takes to do that. There are massive problems relating to land tenure (would you invest in somewhere you don't own and could get kicked out at a moment's notice), space (those toilets have to go somewhere), willingness of utilities to view poor people in cities as customers (it's shocking that water mains run through the slum and they don't have access). It's really the most challenging environment to work in - and there are places like this in every big city in Asia, Africa or South America

Massive job to be done - but good to see this on prime time tele

Interesting how their aspirations were different since there is no welfare state to fall back on. Not only do 85% of the adults work but that lovely girl Monica wanted to be an air hostess and her friend a lawyer. If you randomly asked two girls in a sink estate here the same thing their answers would probably be nothing and nothing. Because they have the privilege of being able to do that.

I have been to India and seen(and smelled) some things which made me but this programme made me cry.
Having said that the centre of the 'slum' area seemed to have all the ingredients for a fabulous community.

The only bit which made me was him having a pop at the backpacker tourists coming to the slum, when he is getting paid to be there and have a right good gawk at it all, whereas they decided to spend their own time and money in seeing for themselves.. And one week doesn't make you an expert

I didn't like the way he wouldn't eat the food, or sleep where they slept
What's the point of these kind of shows if you don't get stuck in?

Kev did say he had 2 chest infections whilst there.

I thought he was being too prissy about the food - did he not eat anything there or was he just picky? However, imagine getting diorrhea there -that wouldn't be a lot of fun.

Where did he sleep though?

And do societies inevitably lose community and gain isolation with increasing material wealth? I would certainly prefer to be an old person in that slum than in an old folks home in the UK. I wonder what the average life expectancies are there?

From the program I got the impression that he didn't eat anything there. He must've survived on packeted food like biscuits etc. that he kept in his backpack. He spent one night with the 21-member family (that's when the rat incident happened and he said he doesn't think he can take it anymore) in their home, it was unclear if he stayed the nights in the slum throughout his time there.

About life expectancy, it was funny when he asked the slum millionnaire how long he thought the worker was going to live and he answered with 'He will live as long as you will'. There were some really ancient looking women there so some of them probably do live to a ripe old age.

63.4 years is the Daravi life expectancy. Not so different to ours in the UK, suprisingly.