Living in London does not mean I'm rich. Yes I'm telling you that, but if I retold those very words to my cousins, close and distant back home, they'd laugh at me and claim I'm ungrateful.
Up till this day, I have vivid memories of the poor at the Bangladeshi airport harassing me and my family for money, literally going on their knees and shaking mugs in our faces to put money in. Stuff like that haunts me till today. After the ordeal at the airport and feeling extremely bad for not being able to afford to donate to all the needy people there, back in the village, we are bombarded with everyone asking what we got them. Though this is a memory, I am recalling and revisiting it for the purposes of clarifying that I, Lilufa Uddin, am not rich.
With my cousins abroad getting upset with me not calling them often and me explaining that I don't always have credit, it is often embarrassing and they don't seem to get the message anyways. Yes, I live in London, but even I struggle making ends meet and have my phone topped up regularly.
It's not just the phone credit though, its paying for food and clothes too and going out nice places that I am not having the scope or means to do, though I live in a particularly affluent society. Like the other day, for example, I literally had a pound and a couple of pence with me to last me the whole day .. I luckily managed to find a tuna sandwich looking worthy of being eaten According to BBC News, more than a quarter of Londoners are in 'poverty'. This is pretty alarming, taking in consideration the inflation prices in most supermarkets, the increased train/bus fares and the soaring house prices. It is way too expensive to live in London. Yes I do have a job, but where do you cut the line in buying what you need and buying what you want? London is home to one of the most diverse communities in the world, and should therefore cater to our needs economically.
While my cousins back home literally dream of living in London one day, I would happily trade places with them for the finer things in life, With agriculture being so prominent back home, I doubt I'd have to worry so much about not feeling socially excluded or inept of looking after myself like I do living in London.
With the black Friday sale just gone, I can honestly say I am feeling a bit down in the dumps for not getting anything worth boasting about from the sales or showing off. Oh come one! We all want to do that sometimes, its part of being human.
For the most part, I am content with my beautiful big seven bedroom house, my wonderful family and my odd purchase of Nike Air Max trainers, but I can't help but feel upset when I am not in the position to treat myself as much as my cousins and extended family back home assume I do.
Up till this day, I have vivid memories of the poor at the Bangladeshi airport harassing me and my family for money, literally going on their knees and shaking mugs in our faces to put money in. Stuff like that haunts me till today. After the ordeal at the airport and feeling extremely bad for not being able to afford to donate to all the needy people there, back in the village, we are bombarded with everyone asking what we got them. Though this is a memory, I am recalling and revisiting it for the purposes of clarifying that I, Lilufa Uddin, am not rich.
With my cousins abroad getting upset with me not calling them often and me explaining that I don't always have credit, it is often embarrassing and they don't seem to get the message anyways. Yes, I live in London, but even I struggle making ends meet and have my phone topped up regularly.
It's not just the phone credit though, its paying for food and clothes too and going out nice places that I am not having the scope or means to do, though I live in a particularly affluent society. Like the other day, for example, I literally had a pound and a couple of pence with me to last me the whole day .. I luckily managed to find a tuna sandwich looking worthy of being eaten According to BBC News, more than a quarter of Londoners are in 'poverty'. This is pretty alarming, taking in consideration the inflation prices in most supermarkets, the increased train/bus fares and the soaring house prices. It is way too expensive to live in London. Yes I do have a job, but where do you cut the line in buying what you need and buying what you want? London is home to one of the most diverse communities in the world, and should therefore cater to our needs economically.
While my cousins back home literally dream of living in London one day, I would happily trade places with them for the finer things in life, With agriculture being so prominent back home, I doubt I'd have to worry so much about not feeling socially excluded or inept of looking after myself like I do living in London.
With the black Friday sale just gone, I can honestly say I am feeling a bit down in the dumps for not getting anything worth boasting about from the sales or showing off. Oh come one! We all want to do that sometimes, its part of being human.
For the most part, I am content with my beautiful big seven bedroom house, my wonderful family and my odd purchase of Nike Air Max trainers, but I can't help but feel upset when I am not in the position to treat myself as much as my cousins and extended family back home assume I do.