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Synchronicity - ‘is the experience of having a highly meaningful coincidence.’ Despite the cries prudence of science that such a complex world as ours invites frequent coincidences, intuition tells us that such an explanation is insufficient. Science, however, has told us over many years that intuition itself is highly flawed and not blindly trusted. The reason for this is the prejudice towards patterns by our brains. Synchronicities are patterns that repeat in time.
Our brains are remarkable pattern recognition machines. When these occasional intersection of patterns take place, the brain boosts the information, because the two occurrences make up the beginnings of a sequence. In reality, we humans tend to deeply underestimate the probability of coinciding events. There are numerous events happening constantly in our environments, that coincidences are not as rare as they seem, in fact they occur more frequently than not. ‘The concept of synchronicity is currently linked more to metaphysics, quantum physics and metaphysics are merging, thus showing their interconnection and how we manifest synchronicities in our lives.’ Now more than ever, synchronicities are people, things, places or experiences. In this case, the synchronistic matters of two places, Makoko and Venice, are toured.
Placed on two different continents, Makoko and Venice share a number of similar patterns. First the obvious, areas largely situated on water/lagoons. One called the ‘floating city,’ the other a ‘floating slum.’ Both are built on the foundation of wood; supported by wooden stakes driven into the ground underwater. Makoko and Venice are not car-oriented; they are boat oriented. They both have their own language separate from the larger population encompassing them; in Venice it’s Venetian, in Makoko it’s Egun. Both places began as a true blend of various surrounding nations and cities.
Makoko and Venice are two synchronous universes, whereby there is a utopia and dystopia. Venice gradually developed a romantic reputation. It is noted as a beautiful, picturesque and luxurious destination. Makoko is the brutal opposite. One may automatically conclude the utopia is Venice, because it is western, European , more ‘civilized.’ And Makoko the dystopia; an African slum, coated in poverty. In retrospect, one may argue that Makoko may be more of the Utopia for its people and Venice the Dystopia.
In Makoko, the people may come across as borderline content with their minimal means; still living complacent lives in resilience. There seems to be a true sense of community in Makoko. Almost every week they have naming ceremonies and celebrations. If anything, it's rather the world around them that makes them out to be mere savages living in slums.
Meanwhile in the beautifully picturesque Venice, it’s obvious people are often ‘on-edge,’ the same phenomenon that initially drove civilians to Venice around 400 A.D. might be the same thing driving them away today; the constant cause for alarm due to high tides, floodings and low survival skills; creating a sinking sensation.
Moreover, it may appear as though the people of Makoko know what they are doing, they have substantial survival skills; living on the water is natural to them and it allows them to operate. Makoko and its neighboring ‘slum’ Otodo Gbame had been attacked by the Lagos government and still managed to prevail and continue their livelihood. The Makoko community is constantly pleading with the government to move them from ‘demolition’ to ‘development,’ indicating the major room for growth. Whereas in Venice, things may seem to be going from development to demolition, constantly having Venetians in panic mode.
The people who live in this ‘Luxury city’ don’t seem to have the strongest sense of how to manage themselves and their environment in times of trouble, meanwhile in Makoko they do so almost proficiently. Any obstacle thrown at them, they handle, control and overcome. During a series of interviews, I found the people of Makoko believe it to be ‘the safest’ place in Lagos. The area is self-policed and has a low crime rate.
Furthermore, residents are continuously fleeing Venice because it is considered unsustainable to live there, financially and physically due to recurring floodings: of water and tourists. The rise of the lagoon levels, foreigners and tourist attractions have increasingly marched local residents out.
In Venice, the water is working against them, in Makoko it is working for them, they have submerged themselves into the ways of the water. They have learnt how to man-power it. It is their primary source of economic activities, trade, transportation and points of interactions. A utopia is an imagined place where everything is perfect and a dystopia is an imagined place where everything is unpleasant and dehumanizing; mere opposites Venice and Makoko may seem to be. However, the question lies: which is really the Utopia? The Dystopia?
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