--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seemed impossible that a modern…" description: "\"“It seemed impossible that a modern airport, full of prosperous and purposeful travellers, was only kilometres away from those crushed and cindered dre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/gregory-david-roberts-1039_dreams_it-seemed-impossible-that-a-modern-airpo_3173127.jpg" --- # It seemed impossible that a modern airport, full of… ![“It seemed impossible that a modern airport, full of prosperous and purposeful travellers, was only kilometres away from those crushed and cindered dreams. My first impression was that some catastrophe had taken place, and that the slums were refugee camps for the shambling survivors. I learned…” quote by Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/gregory-david-roberts-1039_dreams_it-seemed-impossible-that-a-modern-airpo_3173127.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/gregory-david-roberts-1039_dreams_it-seemed-impossible-that-a-modern-airpo_3173127.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/gregory-david-roberts-1039_dreams_it-seemed-impossible-that-a-modern-airpo_3173127.jpg) > ““It seemed impossible that a modern airport, full of prosperous and purposeful travellers, was only kilometres away from those crushed and cindered dreams. My first impression was that some catastrophe had taken place, and that the slums were refugee camps for the shambling survivors. I learned, months later, that they were survivors, of course, those slum-dwellers: the catastrophes that had driven them to the slums from their villages were poverty, famine, and bloodshed. And five thousand new survivors arrived in the city every week, week after week, year after year. As the kilometres wound”” [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes stark contrast between affluent travelers and impoverished slum residents, highlighting systemic inequality and the resilience of those forced into poverty. **In simple terms:** Wealth and poverty coexist, revealing systemic inequality and resilience. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden inequities. Themes inequality resilience poverty travel urbanization Mood somber determined Type expository reflective When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community development - urban planning - NGO work - education programs Key Concepts sociology economics human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals reduce systemic inequality? - What role does empathy play in social change? A Different Perspective Change is slow and often resisted by entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [First impression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-impression/) [Slums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slums/) ## Related quotes > [One chronicler writes of an area of India during the end of the 20th century: Almost no-one in this slum was poor by Indian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/one-chronicler-writes-of-an-area-of-india-during-the-end-of-the-20th/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [“...after twenty-five years of treating trauma survivors, I have learned that getting hit is actually one of the more bearable ways a person can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/after-twenty-five-years-of-treating-trauma-survivors-i-have-learned/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [The earthquake in Haiti was a class-based catastrophe. It didn't much harm the wealthy elite up in the hills, they were shaken but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-earthquake-in-haiti-was-a-class-based-catastrophe-it-didn-t-much/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Without denying the value of scientific endeavor, there is a striking absurdity in committing billions to reach the moon where no people live, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/without-denying-the-value-of-scientific-endeavor-there-is-a-striking/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I had a void, God. Filled with whores & with blunts. I ain't have choice God I was born in the slums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-paz/i-had-a-void-god-filled-with-whores-with-blunts-i-ain-t-have-choice/) [Vinnie Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-paz/) > [“He never even felt how countless petty circumstances were fusing together to create an imperceptible but powerful stream that would carry him back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivo-andri/he-never-even-felt-how-countless-petty-circumstances-were-fusing/) [Ivo Andrić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivo-andri/) > [I want to show that the underdog can win. I believe were all the same: you, a slum girl, my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/i-want-to-show-that-the-underdog-can-win-i-believe-were-all-the-same/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [ The ideas of \[ Le Corbusier \] that actually found their way into practice were deeply destructive - for instance, the tower-in-a-park, which mutated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-ideas-of-le-corbusier-that-actually-found-their-way-into-practice/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bono/god-is-in-the-slums-in-the-cardboard-boxes-where-the-poor-play-house/) [Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bono/) > [I was spending a lot of time in Mumbai after I met my husband, who is Indian, and while parts of the city were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/i-was-spending-a-lot-of-time-in-mumbai-after-i-met-my-husband-who-is/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [When I was 16, I made some little 35mm documentaries about the poor in London. I went round Notting Hill, which was a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suchet/when-i-was-16-i-made-some-little-35mm-documentaries-about-the-poor-in/) [David Suchet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suchet/) > [I've travelled extensively in the last 16 years - to slums in Bangladesh, to townships in South Africa, to all kinds of places in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melinda-gates/i-ve-travelled-extensively-in-the-last-16-years-to-slums-in/) [Melinda Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melinda-gates/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/the-slums-are-not-a-place-of-despair-its-inhabitants-are-all-working/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/any-man-who-can-hitch-the-length-and-breadth-of-the-galaxy-rough-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More by Gregory David Roberts > [The simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian people is that when you go there, and deal with them, your heart always guides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/the-simple-and-astonishing-truth-about-india-and-indian-people-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I think the novel form chose me. I was a writer before I became a criminal... my first instinct was to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-think-the-novel-form-chose-me-i-was-a-writer-before-i-became-a/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Men are just men - it is what they do, or refuse to do, that links them to good and evil. The truth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/men-are-just-men-it-is-what-they-do-or-refuse-to-do-that-links-them/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa. Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/indians-are-the-italians-of-asia-and-vice-versa-every-man-in-both/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [A lot of bad stuff in the world wasn’t really that bad until someone tried to change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/a-lot-of-bad-stuff-in-the-world-wasn-t-really-that-bad-until-someone/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Of course I wanted to know. I was a writer. I wanted to know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/of-course-i-wanted-to-know-i-was-a-writer-i-wanted-to-know-everything/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/sometimes-we-love-with-nothing-more-than-hope-sometimes-we-cry-with/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is forever..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/love-is-the-passionate-search-for-a-truth-other-than-your-own-and/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I know now that it's the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-know-now-that-it-s-the-sweet-sweating-smell-of-hope-which-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I don't know what frightens me more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-don-t-know-what-frightens-me-more/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I hesitated. Karla once said that men reveal what they think when they look away, and what they feel when they hesitate. With women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-hesitated-karla-once-said-that-men-reveal-what-they-think-when-they/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [you can't kill love. you can't even kill it with hate. you can kill in-love, and loving, and even loveliness. you can kill them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/you-can-t-kill-love-you-can-t-even-kill-it-with-hate-you-can-kill-in/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Some loves are like that. Your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/some-loves-are-like-that-your-heart-starts-to-feel-like-an/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I sometimes think that the size of our happiness is inversely proportional to the size of our house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-sometimes-think-that-the-size-of-our-happiness-is-inversely/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) [Explore all 276 Gregory David Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It seemed impossible that a modern airport, full of prosperous and purposeful travellers, was only kilometres away from those crushed and cindered dreams. My first impression was that some catastrophe had taken place, and that the slums were refugee camps for the shambling survivors. I learned, months later, that they were survivors, of course, those slum-dwellers: the catastrophes that had driven them to the slums from their villages were poverty, famine, and bloodshed. And five thousand new survivors arrived in the city every week, week after week, year after year. 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