The ghetto, the poor urban areas, nowadays playfully called the trenches, exist in every thriving city. You will always have an inadequate settlement, where people with high hopes or no hopes are settled. These areas are a clear contrast from where ordinary people live. The people here are normal human beings, but many are angry, unruly, and feel cheated by the so-called wealthy. The rules here are different. There is an unwritten code of conduct you live by, so you don’t get into trouble. Here are some of them:
Know your Boundaries
In the trenches, there are boundaries you do not cross, places you don’t go, and things you pretend not to see. It is a common rule in life. You could find people smoking in a corner or copulating around the block; you should pretend not to see such things and be careful not to wear irritation on your face. Remember where you are, and always have it in mind that people have their marked-out territories. Crossing the line can be risky. When you have stayed in an area for a while, you will get to know where to avoid and where you’re free to go. Be careful not to go out at night or walk on lonely streets. You could expose yourself to danger.
Identify with the Boys in the Hood
If you are one of the calm people in the trenches for some reason, you will always get into trouble. Someone will step on your toes, whether you like it or not. And they will do this because you are nerdy or don’t fit in. Try to find something in common with the people around you. You could watch football with them at the local viewing center, buy them drinks, have careless chatter about women, whatever you can share a common space with them. This way, they take you as one of their own. They don’t pick on you, and you get to be a hood member. You don’t have to smoke or do something reckless to fit in. Be smart!
Be Hardworking
You don’t want to be in the trenches forever. You don’t want to be poor forever. It is sweet to brag about living in the trenches in hindsight. But when that is your reality, try not to get too comfortable. Instead, use it as a motivation to work harder. Also, working hard will keep your mind occupied, and you can stay out of trouble. Learn a skill. Try to go out to the city and make friends with people outside who have good handiwork. You may not find good opportunities in the trenches. And even if you do, you’ll be limited. So expand your horizon, and try not to cage yourself into your bubble.
Take Care of your Health
The trenches could be dirty. You could have heaps of waste lying around, stagnant water breeding mosquitoes, and poor drinking water sources. All of this, if left unchecked, can damage our health and our children. Because you do not have control of general sanitation, try to keep your immediate surrounding clean. Ensure you have a good source of water (do not trust sachet water), and keep mosquitoes away. Ensure you eat healthy food. Do not patronize roadside food vendors; you’re unsure how their food is prepared.
Prepare for an Emergency
Disasters are inevitable — almost all of us will have a brush with them at some point in our lives. However, when you live in the trenches, things can be very volatile. So you have to be more prepared than others. There could be a flood because the trenches might not have good drainage. There could be inter-communal conflict or fight between local gangs. You need to stay on the alert so that you know what to do in case these happen.
In most cases, the trenches are far from the city. However, in a medical emergency, you might get stuck. Some people like to be in contact with drivers so that whenever they need one urgently, they can always call. Make sure you have extra of all your essentials: medicine, water, and the like. They will come in handy when you least expect them to.
Please note that trenches in this article refer to slums and poor areas in the city.
