People in transition : a case study of Indian squatters in urban Malaysia : responses to the need for shelter, livelihood and their forced resettlement
Date
1991
Authors
Dillon, Rosemary A.
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Abstract
This is a case study of an Indian squatter community located on
the periphery of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It focuses on the
efforts of its residents - an ethnic minority and part of the urban
poor - to survive in the city. The emphasis is on how they have
actively, and often quite ingeniously, adapted to and dealt with
the myriad of constraints confronting their lives. In particular,
their responses to the need for shelter, livelihood and forced
resettlement have been examined. Despite their disadvantaged
social and economic status, the Indians studied are not powerless
victims. Rather they have actively defended and furthered their
interests as best they can. In these endeavours many have been
moderately successful. This study found that the flexibility
offered by the squatter settlement facilitated a gradual
improvement in their socio-economic status. Further, it highlights
the heterogeneous economic status of the Indian settlers and the
differential impact forced resettlement has had on them. Also, the
case study emphasizes the need to deepen our comprehension of
squatters and their efforts to help themselves. Given the sheer
dimensions of squatting throughout Third World cities, this
understanding is critical especially when outside agencies
intervene in the squatters’ lives. The stereotype of squatters as a
static, powerless people entrenched in a homogeneous blanket of
poverty is a very distorted image. By tracing the journey of the
Indian settlers to, and within, the squatter settlement and their
forced resettlement, this dissertation presents a far more dynamic
picture. Like an increasing number of Third World squatters, the
Indians studied are people in transition.
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