grinding in the slums

in a perfect world, all dwellings should be formal -- paying rent, mortgage, leasing, owning the property. but in a not so ideal scenario, people set up a shack in other people's land, squat in empty houses like what is happening in the UK or live in a cemetery as in RP. it is usually driven by lack of economic power and property laws full of loopholes. slum areas are not a pretty sight. it's not wisteria lane or knots landing.

some of my closest friends have been in one way or another lived in urban tenements or succumbed to informal settling. it's pigado sometimes, a hard, hard life. crafting an existence with utter lack of privacy, sharing space even with family is not pure comfort. i know we should be grateful for the little blessings e.g. a roof above our heads, food on the table, family and friends. but it would be a dream for the Philippines to move on from its third world tag, eradicate the source of hardships, build a stable financial foundation that would impact the people and slowly erase the presence and necessity for squatter communities.