Slum Tourism

by Erik Olsen on

Having produced one of their very first travel pieces, I was very pleasantly surprised to see the recent deal between Current TV and Yahoo. Good for them. I have to confess that I rarely watch Current on channel 102 here in NYC, since so many of the pieces are agonizingly hard to watch, especially if you’re like me and don’t really like hip-hop all that much. That said, there are many gems among the hours of programming they feature, and I’ve always hoped they’d do a deal with someone like Yahoo or Google so you could select and watch specific pieces that get rated or passed around on the Web. So here’s kudos to Current and hopes that they keep on gong strong.

And here’s to Current as well for doing a great little story on Slum Tourism. When I was in Bombay, India two years ago, I made a special trip as a journalist to the Dharavi slums on the outskirts of town. This was a soul-slapping experience. The rancid sprawl of this slum, Asia’s largest ,went on forever and ever, as if it was a rank, wrecked city all to itself. And amazingly, while I was there interviewing one of the city’s administrators about the state of the slum, I ran into several tourists, walking around and shooting photos of people who lived in the slum. I hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but what I saw was exactly what they talk about here: slum tourism.

Is this an awful sign of the growing divisions of wealth in the world or an unsurprising reflection of human nature … that is, there have always been forms of slum tourism around, where the rich leave the comfy confines of their lives to “see how the other half lives.” I tend to believe the latter, but I could be wrong.

French Say NON! to Smoking in Public Places

by Erik Olsen on

Quick, think of every French film you’ve ever seen. OK, now try to remember in both of them how many times the characters in the films smoked. A dozen? Twice that many? Now try to imagine a France where smoking is not allowed. Almost impossible, isn’t it? The image of the Frenchman — an arched eye-brow, a quiver of disdain on the lips — is almost incomplete without a thin Gauloises or Gitanes dangling from those lips. Jean-Paul Sartre smoked. Camus puffed vigorously. The fact is, smoking is, well, tres French.

But perhaps not anymore. As you may have heard this last week, after a five-month governmental inquiry, a government committee approved a proposal to ban smoking in public areas. That means that in places like cafes, hotels, restaurants, discos and casinos smoking might only be allowed in “hermetically sealed areas, furnished with air-extraction systems and subject to extremely rigorous health norms.”

The measure, while pleasing some, elicited a collective gasp across the country (as well as a few coughs), and while health advocates around the industrialized world certainly salute the effort, one must fear that something culturally has been lost. Not that this will stop people from smoking, but if the effort in the US is any indication, it should reduce it significantly. I or one, am not really sorry. It has long been a bother in pubs and cafes in Paris, London, Madrid, etc., to endure someone else’s health-harming puffery, but it is rather momentous when you think about it. I just wonder how the productivity of French intellectuals will now suffer. Perhaps they’ll turn to chew.

Puppets Teach Afghan Kids About Landmines

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here’s an interesting read from Indian culture blog, Sepia Mutiny, on the instruction of landmines through puppetry in a culturally sensitive film. The puppets are apart of a mission from the No Strings organization to save lives and teach Afghan children about the dangers of landmines. Apparently some 60 Afghans are killed or injured a month by mines and unexploded ordnance around the country. Sad, sad, sad. They go much more into detail at Sepia Mutiny than I’ll venture here, but I should say that the idea, while clever, is also bone-chilling to me. I’m trying to imagine the days when I would listen to a puppet over an adult and then I try to imagine if that puppet were telling me about landmines and minefields and how to go about avoiding them. (Shudders.) However, the kids seem to like the films, as one 11-year-old girl, who watched the first screening in Kabul said, “…I learned that you should stay away from fields that have red stones. There are mines there. I didn’t know that before.”

What a world we live in…

Last Best Places

by Erik Olsen on

We post a lot here about various things to see on the net that we know will be of interest to those with a passion for travel. And occasionally those posts contain some activist aspect since, let’s face it, travelers tend to be curious, passionate people who share an interest in preserving the wondrous places around the world that always inspire us. Well, I’d like to direct you to one of the better sites I’ve seen in a while that mixes travel with environmentalism. This wonderful interactive and educational series over at the Minneapolis Star Tribune should be viewed by travelers with a green sensibility.

Called The Last Great Places the site offers vivid photography, audio slide shows, and thoughtful commentary on three places that best represent a specific type of ecosystem. They are: Tongass National Forest in Alaska, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Grand Canyon. You can spend a solid spot of time here, and I suggest you give it a spin, as you will undoubtedly learn a few things you didn’t know about each of these places, including insights into science, travel and policy. It’s been a while since I’ve come across something so well put together, not to mention inspiring from a travel point of view.

Volunteer Vacation Reviewed

by Adrienne Wilson on

Now that I’ve given you a week of blow-by-blow insider detail and a look at how fun volunteering while on vacation can be, let’s do a quick review. First question people always ask, “How can I do something like this or volunteer with Habitat for Humanity?” Joining a GV Team with Habitat for Humanity is usually the easiest part I find. Before signing up for the first plane to Uganda to help build homes start by learning about the organization. Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. Their mission is to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. I was introduced long ago when I read an article in TeenPeople Magazine about Sarah Michelle Gellar doing GV builds in Dominican Republic. I was so inspired I immediately looked Habitat up and followed homeowner, volunteers and other participant stories on their website until taking off for my first build.

There are many ways to get involved with Habitat. Check out their Get Involved page to find an opportunity for you. Global Village builds often leave people wishing they had done more. AmeriCorps/VISTA has several long term programs (up to one year) with Habitat located in many different locations throughout the U.S. If travel to foreign lands to lend your hand is what you are after, head right to the Global Village Program. Search the list of available trips and then apply online or download the application to submit via post. From this point there are two roads you can take, possibly more if you are a sharp thinker. One road is to raise the money for your trip expenses by fundraising and other activities. The second road is to raise the money from your very own paycheck or savings. I’ve taken both roads and I’ll say the first is much better if you have the time and can be a great way to spread the word and get others involved with Habitat and their mission.

Once you’ve taken care of all of the above, you’re pretty much on your way to fun times and doing great things. Beyond all it’s one of the most rewarding ways to spend your time, energy and did I mention work hard!

If you missed the Volunteer Vacation installments you can catch up on them all here: