"世上最高的貧民窟"

這間曾經豪華一時的公寓現在是無家可歸人們的避風港。

位於委內瑞拉首都卡拉卡斯，這棟未完成的摩天大樓（或稱「大衛之塔」）為自己贏得了「全世界最高的貧民窟」的稱謂。這棟45層的建築當初預計將成為亮眼的新金融中心。不幸地，建造人於1994年逝世，讓這棟尚未完成的建築遭到棄置。

現在這棟奢華公寓外觀看起來不過是一棟大型的混凝土骨架。儘管卡拉卡斯的居民通常視這座塔為犯罪、毒品和幫派的溫床，警察常常衝進此處以搜尋遭綁架的受害人，但未經允許就居住於此的三千人稱這座塔為他們的家，並視這個塔為免於暴力威脅的庇護所，不如城市內的街頭貧民窟一般。

為了讓這個地方更加適合居住，住戶已經自行設置基本管線、電力、供水系統，並且砌好磚牆擋住危險的開放空間。儘管沒有電梯，塔裡有數間商店、一間牙醫，甚至還有一間美髮沙龍。「誰還需要去希爾頓？」其中一個住戶說。

(Culture) The Worlds Tallest Slum

The once luxury apartment block is now a safe haven for the homeless.

Located in Venezuelas capital Caracas, the unfinished skyscraper, or the Tower of David, has earned itself the name worlds tallest slum. The 45-storey building was set to be a shining new financial center. Unfortunately, the developer died in 1994, leaving the incomplete building abandoned.

Now, the luxury apartment block looks like nothing more than a huge concrete skeleton on the outside. Although Caracas residents generally view the tower as a hotbed of crime, drugs, and gangs, with the police often raiding the place in search of kidnap victims, the 3,000 squatters who call the tower their home see it as a shelter that is free from violence unlike the street-level slums in the city.

To make the place more hospitable, residents have put in their own basic plumbing, electrical and water systems, and bricked up dangerous open spaces. Despite an absence of elevators, there are shops, a dentist and even a beauty salon inside. Who needs to go to the Hilton? said one of the residents.

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