Negative Effects Of The Squatters In The 1930's

The squatters’ in the 1930s undoubtedly dealt with many hardships. A lot of the misfortunes that they faced were due to their unpleasant lifestyle. Therefore, the problems that they faced as the effects of their lifestyle at their homes were much greater. In fact, they added even more stress and struggle to their lives. The lifestyle in squatters’ camps caused many negative effects for everyone who came into contact with them, and damaged their minds and bodies. These negative effects were caused by many things including an absence of adequate housing, lack of sanitation, ceaseless responsibilities, and malnutrition.

The first lifestyle flaw that caused a large portion of the negative effects on the squatters is the unfit housing that they inhabited. In fact, John Steinbeck stated that “From a distance, it looked like the city dump, and well it may, for the city dumps are typical sources for the material of which it is built.” Also according to Steinbeck, the houses were made of scrap iron, weeds, flattened cans, and dirty rags (Steinbeck 8). Housing conditions such as these were obviously in need of

improvement. This is because it has been proven that unfit housing may cause serious health issues, especially in children who are still sensitive to the elements of Earth. This is even truer for children who have chronic illnesses such as asthma. Things found in the homes of some of the transients such as old carpets that they used to sleep in and soggy mattresses contained toxic chemicals, dust, allergens and undoubtedly pathogenic bacteria that have been discovered to worsen or cause respiratory issues (Krieger, Higgins; Steinbeck 8).
As most people are aware, impurities such as dust and chemical fumes can become airborne, and when people inhale pollutants such as these for a long period of time, it can damage their lungs. So, if an individual did not already have asthma, then they could have developed it. If the squatter did have asthma, then they were more likely to have an asthma attack, which when untreated, can be deadly. In fact, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology conducted an experiment and stated that “high levels of house dust mite allergen has been shown to aggravate airways reactively and asthma,”(Shapiro et al.). So, one of the most common effects of settling in a makeshift home located in a migrant camp would have been breathing complications. However, the worsening and development of asthma are not the only effects of the lifestyle in a squatters’ camp caused by incompetent housing. A complete absence of sanitation was also a major effect of lousy housing, and many other hardships were caused by lack of sanitation.
The absence sanitation caused many things that decreased the quality of life even more than the feeble housing in squatters’ camps. Squatters were living in an environment where they relieved themselves outside of their tents on the ground, and they had nothing to wash their bodies with after they had been outside all day perspiring, and being exposed to various harmful bacteria (Steinbeck 9). This is because according to an article published by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the majority of camps did not have toilets, and they also did not have clean water to bathe in. However, more importantly, they did not have any clean water to drink. The only water that they had was a cesspool of bacteria, which explains why outbreaks of smallpox, tuberculosis, malaria, and pneumonia were common in the camps (“Dust Bowl Exodus: How Drought and the Depression Took Their Toll”). They are all bacterial diseases. The bacteria that caused things such as the previously listed diseases most likely came from the gypsies' own feces. As John Steinbeck stated, the same flies that were flying around in their tents and makeshift homes, clinging to the filthy migrants, were also covered in the feces that were just outside of their doors (Steinbeck 9). This caused many people, especially children, such as the ones in the “Harvest Gypsies”, to become violently ill and die (Steinbeck 10). However, the children could have been saved if they had received proper medical care, but the families did not make enough money to pay for it. Therefore, if someone became sick, in most cases, they just had to die.
Another one of the most common lifestyle imperfections in squatters’ camps that caused numerous complications were the ceaseless responsibilities.

As previously stated, when people became sick in squatters’ camps, they simply just died because the family could not afford to pay for the medicine that was required. They also could not pay for the clothing that they desperately needed (Steinbeck 8). The adult squatters worked every day for countless hours, but they still could not manage to scrape up enough money to do anything other than buy a miniscule meal for their family. Their family’s growing needs just piled up responsibilities that could not possibly be fulfilled. Although the efforts of the gypsies were not wasted, their families still did not fare well. Despite all of the migrants’ efforts, their families were still

starving.
The malnutrition present in migrant camps was definitely one of the most devastating lifestyle factors to the squatters. Malnutrition caused various harmful effects that worsened the migrants’ condition drastically. It is very evident in all of the writing that describes the squatters’ camps, that malnutrition was common. Steinbeck states over and over details about how the scarcity of food was causing them to become sick easier, and how babies died because their mothers could not produce milk for them due to the fact that their bodies were so malnourished. In fact, he described a child that “seems to have the reactions of a baby much younger. The first year he had a little milk, but he has had none since. He will die in a very short time,”(Steinbeck 11). A scenario such as the one that has been previously written was common. However, babies were not the only ones who suffered the effects of malnutrition. The fathers and mothers of the children dealt with the effect as well. It is well known that calories are the key to survival other than water. Humans need calories to function, and in order to maintain weight you must consume the same amount that you burn off with exercise. The adults of the camps had to either work in a field all day, or do chores depending on their gender. Activities such as harvesting crops and doing laundry burn more calories than most adults consumed. The results of this kind of diet are obviously that they lost too much weight to be healthy. This is proven by the women’s incapability to produce milk for their babies, or keep them alive in and out of the womb due to calorie deficits (Steinbeck 11).
In conclusion, the ghastly lifestyle in squatters’ camps that included things such as inadequate housing, insufficient sanitation, ceaseless responsibilities that could never be filled, and malnourishment caused many problems. The unsatisfactory housing caused many health issues, including the worsening or development of asthma. Then, the lack of sanitation caused many bacterial diseases. These diseases were often fatal due to the fact that the families did not have enough money to seek medical help. They also could not buy clothing for their children because they had to use all of their money for food. Then, even after all of their efforts to feed their family, many of the drifters, mostly babies, died of starvation. So, it can be concluded the issues that the squatters’ dealt with were in fact worsened and intensified by their atrocious lifestyle.