Under one of the busiest highways in the Philippines you will find 100 families, all living in hot, cramped, dark and scavenging conditions — but to the shock of many, they are mostly happy and unbothered.
Travel blogger and YouTuber Drew ‘Binsky’ Goldberg is known for his coverage of ‘dark tourism’, having previously managed to get inside ‘America’s most satanic cult’.
In his latest 30-minute mini-documentary, Goldberg goes under Manila’s busiest highway — San Andreas Bukid — where around 300 people (about 100 families) live in makeshift homes.
Manila, the sprawling capital city of the Philippines, is home to over 13 million people, and as its population continues to explode, those living in poverty are suffering the most.
Impoverished families are taking up residence wherever there’s room, whether it’s underneath bridges, inside the city slums’ notoriously tiny homes … or in a cemetery, according to World Help, a non-for-profit humanitarian organization.
Goldberg said poorer families are being pushed into spaces never meant for living – such as under San Andreas Bukid.
“You know what’s crazy. I’ve been coming to Manila for the last 12 years and I’ve been on this highway so many times. You never realise that there’s a community living below it,” he tells his 6 million YouTube subscribers.
“When you’re driving on it, you have no idea there’s people living [under it].”
Goldberg was guided through the tunnel by a former resident named Edwin, who lived below the freeway as a teenager.
When asked why people live down there he simply attributed it to rent being too expensive.
“So sometimes you live here temporarily and then when you find a job and earn something much better, you try and move out,” he explained.
“But because you live here already, you take advantage of where you live.”
It’s understood residents living underground have found no other housing options.
Edwin said despite some men working and making money for their families, they continue to live in the tunnel given the financial security and benefits. He said some just erect a wall and rent spaces that cost between $12 and $20.
However, he said it comes at a different cost. “Once you live here there’s no restrictions, there’s no boundary. Even cockroaches and rats go inside your house,” Edwin said.
The deeper Goldberg went into the tunnel the more he experienced “unbearable smells”.
“There’s trash everywhere, it’s like sewage water. It’s narrower and tighter and super, super humid and sticky,” he explained.
“And everywhere you look there’s just another family that’s living here. It’s one of the most absurd living situations I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Families are seen crammed in tiny rooms, unable to stand tall, as they’re surrounded by hanging clothes and mattresses all in one, confined space — some with up to eight people living in that one room.
Goldberg was shocked to discover one family had a washing machine that was connected to a power strip.
“That’s incredible, they have power,” he said.
“At the end of the tunnel, there’s a little shop with guys selling stuff. They have electricity which is interesting because in many remote islands in the Philippines they don’t have electricity, but here they do.”
He came across a young woman named Precious who lives under the freeway with her husband, daughter, sibling and mother, who is pregnant. Her mother’s husband also lives with them.
The 18-year-old said the hardest part is when it rains.
“We have to evacuate. The Department of Social Welfare and Development come here and say we have to evacuate to another place,” she explained.
During heavy rain and flooding, Edwin said everything gets destroyed and families often have to evacuate immediately as the water can reach the roof.
Despite the rough conditions, families like Precious’ aren’t bothered by the living conditions.
“We’re very happy. It’s one big happy family,” she tells Goldberg.
She’s called the tunnel home for five years where she is a housewife and her husband is the breadwinner.
He earns 500 Pesos — around $28.56 USD a day working in a car wash. Electricity costs them $17.17 USD a month and rent $10.02 USD — they don’t pay for water as it’s free.
“It’s so sad in there from the outside, but when you actually talk to people [they’re so resilient],” Goldberg said about the “mind-blowing” conditions, adding residents have such a positive mindset.
“I don’t know how to describe it anymore,” Edwin told Goldberg about the tunnel.
“The most difficult part is when you see the same kids and now they have families, they’ve grown up and their situation is still the same.”
One woman by the name of Ate, who has two young kids, has been living in the tunnel her entire life.
She said she has a husband but he doesn’t have a job and makes money by scavenging for things to sell.
An 83-year-old grandmother has lived in the tunnel her entire life — she is the eldest of the community.
When asked about the best and worst part of her underground home, she simply responded, “I am happy”.
Goldberg what he witnessed has left him speechless.
“Watching how they [parents] protect their kids, build routines and hold onto their dignity inside these tunnels has completely reshaped the way I see the country that I’m lucky enough to call one of my homes.”
Goldberg’s mini-documentary has been viewed 5 million times in two weeks, and has attracted almost 10,000 comments from people equally stunned by locals’ challenging living conditions.
“I think every human needs to watch these videos to stay in touch with the reality of the world we live in. Let us stay kind, humble, and above all else grateful,” one person commented.
Another added: “Life feels different when you realise that what you call “normal” might be someone else’s dream.”
Goldberg said that while it’s heartbreaking to witness, “somehow still full of light, because even with almost nothing, these families keep showing up with joy and resilience”.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
