Demolition
Door: Thessa
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Thessa
07 December 2006 | Nigeria, Abuja
Nigeria, land of great opportunities and wealth, a country with so many resources that many donor countries chose not to support it with development aid. A country where some live in palaces with swimming pools and TVs larger than I’d ever seen before, and where some can celebrate Christmas while knowing that their houses will be destroyed…
Between all the stories and photos of parties and cultural events, you would almost forget that I came to Nigeria for development-aid purposes. And quite often I myself forget how poor most of the people are. 70% live under the poverty line of 1 dollar a day, but due to the pride and joy of most people, you can simply forget. Yet, there are too many marginalized people, people without rights.
The whole of Byazhin, the village next to my house, is marked for demolition. Every house will be demolished and the people will have to go. I have no idea where they can go to. People here rent their houses and have to pay their rent 1 year in advance. The rent is surprisingly high and I have no idea how people can afford it in the first place with their low income –and I’m sure they cannot afford it a second time.
Writing all of this has no clear objective. I think I just wanted to let you know that these things also happen. I know that my blog is more or less a way to promote Nigeria in all its facets as I think this is a beautiful country with fantastic people, but a lot has to be done before all people here have access to the wealth of this country.
In my next message I’ll probably let you know about the falls I’m going to visit this weekend, and I’ll show you photos of good times, but for now I just wanted to share this side of the story.
Between all the stories and photos of parties and cultural events, you would almost forget that I came to Nigeria for development-aid purposes. And quite often I myself forget how poor most of the people are. 70% live under the poverty line of 1 dollar a day, but due to the pride and joy of most people, you can simply forget. Yet, there are too many marginalized people, people without rights.
The whole of Byazhin, the village next to my house, is marked for demolition. Every house will be demolished and the people will have to go. I have no idea where they can go to. People here rent their houses and have to pay their rent 1 year in advance. The rent is surprisingly high and I have no idea how people can afford it in the first place with their low income –and I’m sure they cannot afford it a second time.
Writing all of this has no clear objective. I think I just wanted to let you know that these things also happen. I know that my blog is more or less a way to promote Nigeria in all its facets as I think this is a beautiful country with fantastic people, but a lot has to be done before all people here have access to the wealth of this country.
In my next message I’ll probably let you know about the falls I’m going to visit this weekend, and I’ll show you photos of good times, but for now I just wanted to share this side of the story.
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