貧民窟游道德否？

2007年年初，小編從外媒看到一條消息：有人在肯尼亞的首都內羅畢開辟了一條新的旅游線路——貧民窟游。當時小編的第一反應是，“如果幾個月前我在那里的時候就有這條線的話……”可是轉念一想，自己真的會去嗎？我顯然不是去扶貧，那為了什么呢？雖說窮不是什么見不得人的事，可誰會愿意因為貧窮而被別人參觀呢？親們，如果是你，你會愿意嗎？

Brick Lane is one of Londons most vibrant areas， a colourful 1）hotch-potch of different cultures all mixed in with scores of street artists， designers and 2）hipsters. And its always at its busiest on a Sunday， when the famous Brick Lane Market appears.

布里克巷是倫敦一個最具活力的區(qū)域，大街上擠滿形形色色的賣藝者、設計師和趕時髦的人，這里是各種文化融合的多彩世界。星期天正逢有名的布里克巷集市日，是這里最繁忙的時候。

Today visitors come to this part of London to have a curry at one of the many restaurants or to pick up some cool 3）vintage fashions. But back in the 19th century tourists descended on this area for a very different reason， and the East End became the birthplace of what we now know as “slum tourism.” In the Victorian era， this was the poorest part of London， a great， dirty 4）warren of slums. Well-to-do ladies and gents would come here to observe the conditions in which the poorest lived.

A century later， in the 1990s， slum tourism emerged in the developing world. Occupants of the vast townships of South Africa， inner city slums in India and Brazils crowded 5）Favelas began to see busloads of wealthy western tourists arriving in their communities.

But， in recent years， it seems that this trend has come full circle， returning to urban centres in the West， from cities like San Francisco and Brussels to right here in Londons East End， where it all began.

Liz Weiner has lived in London for 20 years， and has been homeless， on and off， for most of her adult life. Three times a week she hosts a tour that combines history with social issues and her own personal experiences.

Liz： So the flea market wouldve come all the way down here，…

Lizs walk through the East End is one of five tours guided by homeless people in key tourist areas across London， and its all organized by an outreach group called “the Sock Mob.”

如今，到這里來的人是為了在眾多的餐廳里選一家，嘗嘗咖喱菜肴，或者到這里淘點復古時裝。可是在19世紀，游客到這個區(qū)域來的原因與今天截然不同。倫敦東區(qū)正是“貧民窟游”的誕生地。在維多利亞時代，這里是倫敦最貧困的區(qū)域，一個擁擠不堪、極度骯臟的大貧民窟。上流社會的男男女女會到這里來，看看最不堪的窮人的生活環(huán)境。

一個世紀過去了，在上世紀的90年代，貧民窟游在發(fā)展中國家興起。位于南非一些大城鎮(zhèn)、印度市中心的貧民區(qū)和巴西城郊貧民區(qū)的人們開始見到旅游大巴滿載著富有的西方游客來到自己的居住區(qū)。

但近年來，這種貧民窟游的趨勢似乎在繞了一大圈后又回到原處，回到了它在西方的始發(fā)處，如美國舊金山和比利時的布魯塞爾，還有倫敦東區(qū)——它的始發(fā)地。

利茲·韋納已經(jīng)在倫敦住了20年，她成年生活的大部分時間都斷斷續(xù)續(xù)地處于無家可歸的狀態(tài)。如今，每周三次，她會帶一個旅游團到此，參觀游覽的內容涵蓋了此地的歷史、社會問題和她自身的經(jīng)歷。

利茲：跳蚤市場一直延伸到這里……

一個叫“襪族”的服務機構在倫敦的重點旅游區(qū)域組織了五條由無家可歸者作導游的旅游線路，利茲在倫敦東區(qū)率領的這種徒步游正是其中之一。

Faye Shields （Sock Mob）： It is the negative connotations of slum tourism that were fighting against. The guides get 60% of the ticket sales so the majority of the money goes to the guides. We are building a group that， you know， everyone feels invested in， and the guides also feel that they have some ownership over.

Many experts see the Sock Mob tours in London as part of a spike in slum tourism growth across the world. Ko Koens （Leeds University）： Slum tourism is growing rapidly at the moment. Jakarta has one now. Thailand has some now. Happens in Mexico. Its in Egypt.

Slum tours have been 6）roundly denounced over the years as “7）exploitative poverty tourism” or“poorism，” an exercise in 8）objectifying disadvantaged people for the curiosity of visitors.

Rachel Noble （Expert）： Therere a lot of tours that were just， had just had tourists sitting in a bus looking out upon the people， and some of the local people said that “we felt like animals in a zoo being watched at，”and thats， of course， the critique that slum tourism often gets.

But there are signs that the wider tourism industry is increasingly embracing the trade.

Rachel： Whereas， initially， there was a lot of negative writing on it， and there still is a lot of negative writing on it， but now theres a counter-argument being made that it also can be used as a force for good.

So the question is， is it always ethical for travellers to take part in a tour that focuses on deprived areas or disadvantaged people？ And how can we be sure the tours having some sort of benefit and not making the situation worse？

費伊·希爾絲（襪族）：貧民窟游隱含著有不少負面的含義，我們要用行動對其進行駁斥。旅游團60%的收入歸導游所有，因此收入的大部分是屬于導游的。我們正在建立的機構，你知道，會讓所有的人都覺得自己是其中的一員，讓導游覺得他們也擁有這里的一部分。

許多專家認為襪族機構在倫敦組織的旅游線路是貧民窟游在全球激增的一部分。

柯·凱恩（利茲大學）：貧民窟游目前發(fā)展得很快。印尼的雅加達有一個這樣的區(qū)域，泰國有一些；墨西哥有，埃及也有。

多年以來，人們指責貧民窟游是借參觀貧困階層的生活來滿足游客的好奇心。貧民窟游被稱為“利用他人的貧窮來賺錢的旅游業(yè)”或“貧窮主義”，而招致嚴厲譴責。

雷切爾·諾布爾（專家）：許多這種貧民窟游只不過是游客坐在大巴里，從里往下看車外的人，所以有的當?shù)厝苏f“我們覺得自己就像是動物園里的動物一樣被人參觀”，這確實也常常是人們對貧民窟游的批評。

但有跡象表明，旅游行業(yè)從整體上正日益歡迎這種做法。

雷切爾：當初，對此事有許多負面的看法，其實現(xiàn)在也是有不少負面的看法，不過，如今有人反駁認為貧民窟游可以被用作正能量。

因此，我們面臨的問題是，游客參加聚焦于貧困地區(qū)或下層社會的行程，這種行為道德嗎？我們該如何確保這種旅游行程能帶來一些好處，而不是讓情況變得更糟呢？