Haves and have nots

For those of us venturing outside the United States or Western Europe for the first time the sight of abject poverty is absolutely striking. Having seen the south side of Chicago I thought I had seen poverty and marginalization in its worst form. I clearly had no idea. Millions of people living without running water, on dirt floors, in areas where even the police rarely venture into is a totally different ballgame.

In Latin America particularly, the contrasts between the relative few who live comfortably and those who don't is perhaps even more jaw-dropping.

The view from my bedroom window at the apartment where I stayed.

Walking around my neighborhood.

The periphery of Lima (about 2 million people live in areas like this) about 10 minutes by car from my neighborhood. (Taken from a bus as I left the city.)

 About 20 minutes outside Lima.

Nearly 1/3 of Peruvians live on less than $2 a day. Needless to say, figuring out how to take steps to close the wealth gap (no, Hugo Chavez's "socialism" is not the right answer) was one of the major issues in last Sunday's Presidential Election.

If anything, these photos can serve as a bucket of cold water to the face for those of us who think we have it "rough".