Houses' roofs

A second view over first-world countries vs developing countries

Quite recently, my husband finally visited my home country and met my family. And I had a flashback of the first impressions I had the first time I arrived to Finland, and when I had the chance to visit and live in other European countries: Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany.

The difference that seemed the more relevant to me, when comparing these cities with my own home city, Lima, were the houses' roofs. To me they embodied both the immense different realities of the places as well as the mindset of the people. Why? I will now explain. Of course this is my own personal view, if you disagree, then you are welcome to comment.

Lima's roofs are mostly unfinished, when you go to most districts in this huge city (10 million people) you will notice, if you are attentive, that houses may have one or two floors built, but they are not complete. On the roof there's plenty unfinished columns, pillars, supports. You can see that the stairs open the possibility for another new floor. People in developing countries struggle. Struggle to find money every month, get suck into debts, have to fight and work hard to get by. When they finally manage to built their own home, they have high dreams (3+ floors) but can only afford one and in best cases, two. But that doesn't limit them. They will build up what they can and leave the top open, for when better times come and they can finally find the money they need to finish the house of their dreams.

In opposition, most houses' roofs in European cities are complete. Whether one, two or more floors, they have these pretty well-designed roofs that closure the end of the home very well. Europeans don't build unless they have the full money to complete the house of their dreams. They plan ahead and do it.

By this comparison, what I can see, is that in developing countries, we live with a clear uncertainty about the future, we don't know whether we will maintain our jobs, whether we will lose everything, whether something may change and affect our family situation. We live in a constant state of stress, because we may not have just enough to secure our children's future. And we are so eager to offer something to them, that we will make that extra effort and build it. We will rely a lot in solidarity to get by, we will be helped by family and friends and in return, we will helped them back. We are resilient, we will adapt to insecurity, increased violence, poverty, lack of quality education. Yet we will dream with a better future.

In Europe, there's no need for that type of resilience. You live with the certainty that when life hits you, you will still have governmental help or some money saved, and you will manage to find anyways a new job. There's no such levels of insecurity, violence, or poverty, so the fears become more human. You fear for the health of your loved ones and your own, you fear for that period on which you will be without a job (but on welfare), fears that are natural and inevitable. How life should really be.

P.S. My roof in Lima is unfinished. My parents had hopes that life has been able to give them, in the way of having their daughters safe and self-sufficient, educated and independent. Yet their house, the house I grew up in, is yet to be completed.