Tourists are being offered a night’s stay in a Mumbai slum to experience the 「reality」 of life in India’s financial capital, including using a public toilet shared by more than 50 other families.
遊客可以在印度的金融中心孟買的貧民窟裡體驗一晚上的「真實」生活，包括使用一個由50多個家庭共享的公共廁所。
The scheme is being run by David Bijl, 32, a Dutch citizen who works for a Mumbai NGO in conjunction with a local resident, Ravi Sansi. He argues that slums are 「part of the reality of Mumbai – not the only part, but a part」 and anyone who wishes to understand the inequalities of the city needs to understand slum life. Other tours of Mumbai slums, he said, can often be 「superficial」.
該計劃由32歲的荷蘭公民戴維.比吉(David Bijl) 與當地居民拉維.桑西(Ravi Sansi)一起管理。戴維在孟買一家非政府組織工作，他認為貧民窟是「孟買真實生活的一部分——不是唯一的部分，而是一部分」， 任何想要了解這座城市的不平等問題的人都需要了解貧民窟的生活。他認為，以其他方式遊覽孟買貧民窟往往是「膚淺的」。
「Visitors come in, take a few snapshots for their Facebook page and go off without really understanding anything,」 he said. 「I have worked in many slums and I know there is a positive impact for both sides when an outsider takes an interest in slum dwellers』 lives and how they cope by connecting with them.」
他說，「遊客們進來，拍幾張照片曬到他們的臉譜主頁上，沒有真正理解任何東西就離開了」。 「我曾在許多貧民窟工作過，我知道，當一個局外人對貧民窟居民生活感興趣並與他們產生連接時，這對雙方都有積極的影響。」
Sansi’s family home will be available for tourists to stay in. It includes a new 「loft」 which has been equipped with a flatscreen television, an air conditioner and a new mattress – all of which are considered luxuries for the majority of residents.
桑西的家就是其中一個「旅館」，他的家裡有一個新「閣樓」，裡面配備了平板電視、空調和新的床墊——這些物品在大部分貧民窟居民眼中都是奢侈品。
Bijl says the entire 2,000 rupee rate for one night’s stay will go to the host family. 「I am already getting a lot of interest from [other] slum families who want to invite guests to stay,」 he said.
比吉說，貧民窟一晚上的住宿費是2000盧比（約合人民幣199元），這筆錢全部交給提供住宿的家庭。他說，「我已經從那些希望邀請客人入住的貧民窟家庭獲得很多好處。」
Around 60% of Mumbai’s 20 million residents live in slums, giving rise to the city’s moniker 「Slumbai」. Housing is scarce and so expensive that even the wealthiest residents grumble over rents and purchase prices.
在孟買的2000萬居民裡，大約有60%的人住在貧民窟，使得這座城市有了一個綽號「Slumbai」。這兒的房屋稀缺且昂貴，即便是最富有的居民，都對租金和房價有怨言。
Tours of Mumbai’s slums are not new, but remain controversial. Supporters say they offer a window into the true nature of poverty, arguing that both sides benefit from the interaction, particularly if the proceeds go to residents.
參觀孟買的貧民窟並非新鮮事，但是一直存在爭議。支持者認為，這為觀察貧窮的真正本質提供了一扇窗口，而且雙方都能從此類互動中獲益，特別是在收入流向貧民窟居民的情況下。
But critics decry what they see as 「poverty tourism」, which they claim is exploitative and demeaning.
批評者們則譴責說這是在「消費貧窮」，他們聲稱這是一種剝削和貶低。
Asim Shaikh, manager of Reality Tours and Travels, has been taking foreign tourists into Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, which sprawls over more than 160 hectares, for the past 11 years. He claims the trips are 「a way to dispel the negative image of life in the slums as dirty and crime-infested, and of seeing normal people going about their lives」.
旅遊公司Reality Tours and Travels的經理阿希姆.謝赫在過去11年裡一直帶遊客參觀孟買的達哈維貧民窟，這片貧民窟總面積綿延達160多公頃。他聲稱，貧民窟之旅是「消除貧民窟生活髒亂差、犯罪猖獗等負面形象，以及觀察貧民窟的普通人家如何生活的一種方式。」
「It also shows how slum-dwellers manage diversity – Indians of every faith and every corner of the country live in Dharavi,』 said Shaikh.
「這也顯示了貧民窟居民如何對待多樣性——達哈維的居民來自印度各地，信仰也是多樣化的」，他說道。
However, Jockin Arputham, president of the advocacy group Slum Dwellers International, criticised the plans.
不過，「貧民窟國際」（Slum Dwellers International）組織的總裁約金.阿普塔姆（Jockin Arputham）對這些形式提出了批評。
「These tours are meaningless and a stay for a night will be meaningless. These are not objects in a museum or animals in a zoo. It is a community, real people living their lives. Staying the night helps neither the visitor nor the family,」 he said.
他說，「這些旅遊是毫無意義的，在這裡住上一晚並沒有任何作用。它們既不是博物館裡陳列的物品，也不是動物園裡的動物。它是一個社區，真實的人在這裡過著自己的生活。住上一晚既不能幫助遊客，也不能幫助這些家庭。」