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都市の「シェルター」をリサーチするプロジェクト「Shelter Studies」。サンパウロ、カラカス、ボゴタ、ニューヨーク、ジュネーヴ、パリ、ロンドン、イスタンブール……世界の都市を巡り、そこに住まう人々への30のインタヴュー|Shelter Studies is project to research various 'Shelter' by Keisaku Fukuda+Robert Schmidt+Gonzalo Velez. They interview 30 key persons living in vulnerable urban space.|Powered by MT 2.65Syndicate this site

Name: Belquin Moncada
Profession: an administrator and secretary of bank
Nationality: Venezuela
Date of Interview: Oct. 21th, 2006.


When we asked Ms. Teolinda for an interview, it was Ms. Belquin Moncada that offered us her home as a location. From the first moment we entered her home, our prejudice toward 'barrio' was crushed completely. In the spotless room, there was an array of electric objects solidifying an urban life surrounded by red wall paper and a sofa. Moreover, cheerful music and a smiling family welcomed us from a far-east country. After the interview, the night view of the barrio was brilliantly beautiful.

What is your name and occupation?
My name is Belquin Moncada and I am an administrator, I have worked in banks as a secretary. At this moment I have been studying education in the university to become a teacher, and I live here in the neighborhood.

How did you get involved in those activities for improving the barrios?
They invited me one Saturday, when a Professor from the Central University was visiting and I have continued since then. I have been working around 10 years in these activities.

What are the positive and negative aspects of the barrio?
In the barrio everybody knows each other, we have a strong relationship and we share the same problems; for example, with transportation or lack of water. We have unity among the members of the neighborhood and support each other. When there is a sick person who has no way of getting to the hospital, someone helps him out. We always know when somebody is sick or has some sort of necessity. The negative aspects are all the problems we share - the unpaved roads, the water, etc. If we improve these aspects our life quality would be different. We want to be equal to the people living in the city, to have a regular transportation system that brings us to the door of our houses. We would like public services to become equal or even better than those in the city, we are all citizens and have rights. Other problems are a lack of vigilance and the police. Delinquency has grown considerably in the barrio and the whole city too.

What are your dreams and expectations regarding the barrio improvement?
The dream is to gather the universities, the government and the community and push towards the same goals, to raise the quality of life, to make houses where people aren't overcrowded, where boys, girls and couples don't have to share the same rooms. As well as, solving psychological problems, legal problems and all sorts of problems, not only the ones concerning living conditions. The dream of improving the barrio is a dream to improve the city, the country, the world. We have globalized problems like the lack of schools, delinquency etc. For this dream we have to get the whole community involved, citizens must realize that they have to participate.