If you’ve looked at all at my photos on this site, you’ve seen pictures of the destruction of Permsup, the slum I lived in for my first year and a half.  A massive freeway is being built, with poor areas in the pathway being demolished.  At the same time, shiny new commercial areas are going up, in anticipation of the new traffic that will be coming.  Here’s one example, between Permsup and my current slum Phothong:

Yes, that is a Starbucks, and a Mercedes.

Phothong, which is not under threat of eviction, is still experiencing effects from this new development.  In front of the tightly-packed community is a large vacant lot.  This has served as the slum’s collective backyard, play area, market, community meeting space, and celebration area.

This picture is from a kids’ program we did a couple years ago.

Ever since I moved in, there has been a sign in front of this community advertising the availability of this lot for rent or sale.  I guess vacant land adjacent to a slum community isn’t in high demand.

Until a new freeway and shopping center begin construction around the corner.  Then it begins to look more appealing.  A gasoline company decided this would be an ideal spot for a new, massive filling station.  They began construction about a month ago, leveling the ground and pouring down gravel.  Below is a picture of the sign that has been up in front of the slum (can you tell how my neighbors feel about it?) and the beginning of construction.

One of the first things that will go up is a three-story wall to “protect” the gas station from my neighbors.  This may have one benefit for the slum– should a house fire start, it will be less likely to ignite the gasoline and cause a major catastrophe.  On the other hand, the wall will now make the slum walled in on all four sides, causing less air flow and limit the evacuation route to a single narrow path (shown on the left hand side of the photo below).

Below is a photo taken from inside Phothong.  You can see how close the construction will be to our community.  My neighbors have already had to tear down platforms they used for sitting and selling food, which were just on the other side of our walking path.  You can also see in the photo the makeshift shack that has gone up, where workers will live during the construction.

My neighbors are pretty anxious about this.  They fear what would happen in the case of a fire, they are worried that the already hot slum will become even more sweltering without the breeze they currently get, and they worry for the children, breathing in gasoline fumes all day.

“It isn’t right,” one of my neighbors said, when I asked how she felt about the construction.  “They should find somewhere else to build.  It’s not right to build something dangerous so close to our homes.”