About slumstories

Slum Stories: a realistic view of the slums, as seen through the eyes of the residents themselves. How do children go to school? Where does everybody use the toilet? And how does the threat of approaching bulldozers feel?

More than one billion people worldwide live in one of the 200,000 illegal settlements we call ‘slums’. That is one in six members of the world’s population. By 2030 this number will have doubled.

Slums often have the same characteristics: inadequate housing and sewerage, lack of water and electricity, overcrowding and crime. There is a feeling of insecurity, with violence from both criminal gangs and the police. The residents can be forcibly evicted at any moment, without warning. Every year, this happens to around two million people worldwide.

Our aims
Slum Stories wants to change the perceptions of people who believe slums are nothing but crime, drug trafficking and violence. We show that slums are full of life, inventiveness, dreams and ambitions. We feel the energy, we see the accomplishments and hear the ideas and opinions. Listening to these stories helps everyone to find better solutions than simply knocking whole areas down and building anew – as many authorities do in the case of slums.

Slum Stories wants to involve people in Amnesty International's Human Rights Journey which addresses human rights abuses against people living in poverty. Human rights are crucial to breaking the vicious cycle in which many slum dwellers are caught. Since the authorities do not recognise these ‘illegal settlements’, the inhabitants are an easy target for a broad range of human rights violations.

Slum Stories is an opportunity for residents in the poorest communities in the world to let their voices be heard. And also to hear from others in the same situation, to learn that they are with many and that their voices count when finding ways for their rights to be protected.

Slum Stories are no ordinary Amnesty International productions.  They tell the stories through the eyes of the residents. The end result are films that are facilitated by Amnesty International, but do not necessarily reflect Amnesty's position. 

Some of the films were made in collaboration with MetropolisTV.

Slum Stories was made possible thanks to a contribution from the Dutch National Postcode Lottery.