Real estate business is dominated by capitalists who push the indigenous people to sell their homes
A story of basic ethics and principled life of a humanitarian worker
By Aslam Khatti
I’ve many overseas Pakistani friends who work abroad and enjoy as well as endure their life. Many of them are inspired by the so-called secure housing societies built by Real estate tycoons, wherein everyone finds a posh life and sense of security. I’m referring to Bahria Town, and other similar kind of housing towns and societies, which provide you a feeling of being at the height of social difference as it classify you being the rich people and give you a socially engineered status.
Before we dig into the Bahria Town thing, let me share a story of basic ethics and principled life.
One of my friends with whom we worked together in Cameroon back in 2016, by profession she’s a lawyer and moved to humanitarian field pursuing her own spirit and satisfaction in the field. While being in Cameroon; she used to share that she’s going to buy an apartment in Paris and for that she has been doing lots of saving. Time passed, we completed our missions and stayed in touch virtually. Later on when I was in Kenya, she visited me once and eventually we happened to work in the same city in Lebanon. Since Lebanon is indeed a secure and beautiful city so we used to hangout a lot, and one day I recalled about her plans of buying apartment. Then she mentioned that she cancelled her plan of buying home for her…. and you will be surprised to know the reason.
She mentioned that real estate business in Paris is dominated by the capitalists and they have sky-rocketed the prices for long and this thing is unabridged for those who cannot buy expensive home for them and most of the old indigenous people from Paris are pushed to sell their homes (by hooks or crooks) and replacing into capitalistic infrastructures. She said, “I have money and I can add more by getting loans from the banks but what about those who don’t have such means of income and who cannot afford the decent life due to such inflated housing societies – they suffer due to them and also most importantly due to those who buy such expensive apartments and houses from those unethical capitalistic giants”.
So she mentioned that she has a rented apartment now and will not contribute in such nasty and inhumane business and will not buy from them. She would rather prefer to stay on rent or move in the rural site and avoid blooding her hands.
___________________
Aslam Khatti works for an INGO and currently is based in Kabul, Afghanistan
