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(nèi)羅畢開辟了一條新的旅游線路——貧民窟游。當(dāng)時(shí)小編的第一反應(yīng)是，“如果幾個(gè)月前我在那里的時(shí)候就有這條線的話……”可是轉(zhuǎn)念一想，自己真的會(huì)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(huì)愿意因?yàn)樨毟F而被別人參觀呢？親們，如果是你，你會(huì)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(gè)最具活力的區(qū)域，大街上擠滿形形色色的賣藝者、設(shè)計(jì)師和趕時(shí)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(shí)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(diǎn)復(fù)古時(shí)裝。可是在19世紀(jì)，游客到這個(gè)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(shí)代，這里是倫敦最貧困的區(qū)域，一個(gè)擁擠不堪、極度骯臟的大貧民窟。上流社會(huì)的男男女女會(huì)到這里來，看看最不堪的窮人的生活環(huán)境。

一個(gè)世紀(jì)過去了，在上世紀(jì)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(shí)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(shí)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(huì)帶一個(gè)旅游團(tuán)到此，參觀游覽的內(nèi)容涵蓋了此地的歷史、社會(huì)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(gè)叫“襪族”的服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu)在倫敦的重點(diǎn)旅游區(qū)域組織了五條由無家可歸者作導(dǎo)游的旅游線路，利茲在倫敦東區(qū)率領(lǐng)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(fèi)伊·希爾絲（襪族）：貧民窟游隱含著有不少負(fù)面的含義，我們要用行動(dòng)對其進(jìn)行駁斥。旅游團(tuán)60%的收入歸導(dǎo)游所有，因此收入的大部分是屬于導(dǎo)游的。我們正在建立的機(jī)構(gòu)，你知道，會(huì)讓所有的人都覺得自己是其中的一員，讓導(dǎo)游覺得他們也擁有這里的一部分。

許多專家認(rèn)為襪族機(jī)構(gòu)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(xué)）：貧民窟游目前發(fā)展得很快。印尼的雅加達(dá)有一個(gè)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(zé)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(yán)厲譴責(zé)。

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(dāng)?shù)厝苏f“我們覺得自己就像是動(dòng)物園里的動(dòng)物一樣被人參觀”，這確實(shí)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(dāng)初，對此事有許多負(fù)面的看法，其實(shí)現(xiàn)在也是有不少負(fù)面的看法，不過，如今有人反駁認(rèn)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(huì)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？