Manila - the capital city of the Philippines - has a population of over 1.5 million. Intermixed within its urban sprawl is a shocking contrast of rich and poor. For those with money, the latest in luxury goods and high quality fashion are readily available. For the poor, an erratic income can be made as a dumpster diver, rubbish picker or… a cemetery dweller?

An article recently featured in Vice, “Living, Dead“, takes us through a cemetery in northern Manila that “Houses more warm bodies than cold corpses”. Upwards of 10,000 families have colonized the cemetery transforming it into a bustling sub-society that features amenities like cable, shared public spaces, classrooms, and even karaoke bars.

So how did all these people end up inhabiting the cemetery? According to the article, “Some families ended up here almost accidentally. Some inherited the mausoleums that they now live in from their great-grandparents. Others came from the provinces and couldn’t make enough money to live in the big city. In all cases, they’re basically families with nowhere else to go.”

And the people living there are managing to make a living off the dead too! “Teenagers carry coffins for 50 Filipino pesos—about 50 American cents. Children collect scrap metal, plastic, and other garbage to sell. Their fathers are employed to repair and maintain tombs while their mothers maintain the house”.

In the western world, living amongst the dead under these circumstances would be considered a moral disgrace – a cultural ambiguity. However, in the Philippines, government corruption and lopsided income distribution has left over 30 million people (40% of the Filipino population) living in atrocious poverty. Commandeering the cemetery could be viewed as entrepreneurial or ingenious – or at the very least, a clever and adaptive use of stark and impoverished urban space.

Thoughts?

Images via: Bahag