By FUNSO AINA
Whenever I am in Europe, or the US, and I see destitution, I always chuckle when I remember the millions of people back home, who are under the illusion that the streets in these ‘advanced countries’ are paved with gold of the 24-carat variety. Hollywood propaganda has not helped matters with constant portrayal of the Western Hemisphere as paradise on earth. But that’s the essence of ‘soft power,’ I guess. So yes, they have built functional systems, rather than what we have mostly in Africa where instead of strong institutions, we have ‘strong’ weak men, who pretend to lead us; men of straw who muscle everything through totalitarian, and often times, pre-paid politics. Don’t even let me start.
Bros, calm down and focus. Ok.
The truth, my people, is that there are challenges in ‘the abroad’ too. For instance, in spite of the pervasive societal advancement, they also have homeless people – people sleeping rough, with only blankets shielding them from the elements, even during winter. And this includes both white and black people. A shade better than this category are those who live in camping tents.
I even saw a guy who was very creative about his dire living conditions – he used discarded carton boxes to demarcate his spaces – there’s what looked like his ‘bedroom,’ ‘dining’ and even ‘worship’ areas, adorned with pictures of Jesus (see pics).
Occasionally, you see people begging for money to feed, or as someone who should know told me, they spend the money mostly on cheap drugs and booze. But still, I saw someone who was so deprived that she wore shoes made from masking tape (see pic).
Yet, these are some of the things we take for granted at home where people build large, fully-detached houses with plenty of parking space. Not in ‘Italo’ in particular – in fact, the commonest mode of accommodation are massive blocks of flats, there are loads and loads of them. Spatial constraints makes it difficult to find spaces to build detached homes.
In Rome, I saw glimpses of the hard life some illegal immigrants live. By this, I am talking about the horde of Africans risking their lives and limbs, crossing the oceans in overcrowded boats – many of these people are living on the streets of ‘obodo oyinbo’ o (see pictures).
There’s a particular young man, who I am not sure is compos mentis. He camps out near the expansive Roma Termini train station, and he is always talking to himself, smoking and making balls of clay, which he spreads on the sidewalk. At other times, you will see him smashing up the balls, only to begin all over again.
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The other thing I noticed are elements of ‘Sapa.’ For instance, in dealing with rising energy costs, there’s a preponderance of very small, and mostly electric vehicles. In fact, many drive cars that are so small that it can accommodate only the driver (see pics). Many also make do with motor bikes and bicycles. But efficient public transportation system, like the underground trains/metro and buses are available and affordable. So many don’t even see the need to buy cars.
Why small vehicles are also attractive is because in most parts of Europe, parking space comes at a premium; most people park bumper to bumper on the streets. Infact, they park so close to each other that I wonder how they manage to extricate their vehicles anytime they want to go out. Be that as it may, they are still better off than people living in Japan. In that country, before you buy a car, you must first prove to the authorities that you have a space to park it, otherwise, no car for you o.
Yet, these are some of the things we take for granted at home where people build large, fully-detached houses with plenty of parking space. Not in ‘Italo’ in particular – in fact, the commonest mode of accommodation are massive blocks of flats, there are loads and loads of them. Spatial constraints makes it difficult to find spaces to build detached homes.
Perspectives.
