VOICES OF THE POOR A 23-Country Study for the WDR 2000/01 on Poverty

Transcription

1 WDR ON POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT 2000/01 Stiglitz Summer Research Workshop on Poverty, Washington DC VOICES OF THE POOR A 23-Country Study for the WDR 2000/01 on Poverty Deepa Narayan July 6 July 8,

2 Voices of the Poor A 23-Country Study for the WDR 2000/01 on Poverty By Deepa Narayan, PRMPO, World Bank July 5, 1999 The Poverty Group of the World Bank has conducted a 23-country study in which research teams from local universities and NGOs have gone out and spoken to over 10,000 poor women and men. Open ended, participatory research methods were used so that the poor could freely talk about what s on their minds, unrestricted by the question flow from a questionnaire. While the data analysis is still being completed, early findings reveal the following pattern of results. These findings are supported by analysis of poor people s voices from another 43 countries around the globe. The findings establish that mere voice and participation will not change the lives of the poor, despite increasing opportunities in general, because access to opportunities is mediated by informal and formal institutions. The power and resources of these institutions is unequally distributed, and hence the impact of new opportunities is asymmetrical. Gender inequities abound in access to opportunities and are a reflection of gender relations within the household. 2

3 Figure 1. Institutions and Poverty - in Theory Power and Voice Poor Woman Man Livelihood Strategies Informal Institutions Formal Institutions Access to Power and Resources Opportunities 3

4

5 Figure 2. Social Structures Mediate Opportunities Political, Economic and Social Change SOCIAL STRUCTURES Social Exclusion Social Cohesion COPING STRATEGIES OPPORTUNITIES Government Policies Conflict Security Crime and Violence 5

6 1. How do poor men and women experience poverty and their governments? Poverty is pain; it feels like a disease. It attacks a person not only materially but also morally. It eats away one s dignity and drives one into total despair. A person feels poverty every moment without even noticing it. A woman in Moldova The poor person has to exist so he can serve the great one, the rich. God made things like that. A poor man Brazil Poverty is lack of freedom, enslaved by crushing daily burden, by depression and fear of what the future will bring. Poor group in Georgia Poverty is humiliation, the sense of being dependant on others, and of being forced to accept rudeness, insults and indifference when we seek help. Latvia Don t ask me what poverty is, you have met it outside my house. Look at the house and count the number of holes. Look at my utensils and the clothes that I am wearing. Look at everything and write what you see. Poor man, Kenya It was the rich who suffer from the boom, but the poor pay the price of the crisis. Thailand Interaction with governments Again and again the world over are poor people s stories of pain, humiliation, corruption, despair, and demoralization at their interaction with the government. In Georgia, Moldova, Macedonia, Latvia, Russia the poor reported that employment, health care, and social services all require bribes. They, always claim that they are acting by the book, but we know who s writing the book It s the mayor who makes the decisions. If he doesn t like somebody, there is no social assistance for them. Poor woman, Bulgaria. The state steals from us all the time so deceiving the state is not a sin. Ukraine When people go to collect their social assistance, official indifference was painful: You have to queue a lot and go from desk to desk. They told me come back with papers. I spend another month gathering all the documents. The result was I was given a number and told to come back in another month. I did not return partly out of shame and partly out of anger, Macedonia Examples of harassment, exclusion because of lack of proper pieces of papers, certificates, were mentioned in almost all the countries. Sometimes we are seriously wronged by other people, usually men. Men abuse us sexually. When we report these incidents to the Local Council, they only tell us to keep 6

7 our patience They always protect the rich and powerful. In the end you simply give up and suffer silently. Uganda Now if you are victim of violence, nobody will care for you. Better stay away from the police or they will beat you up. Bulgaria Crime is increasing because the thieves know that even when they are apprehended, the police will do nothing. Malawi The police were viewed as the most corrupt institution. Uganda They (the police) are an unfortunate necessity; they are like transitory vigilantes; if you call them, they don t come; they sleep and when you need them you have to pay a bribe. Ecuador The police were lambasted for their corruption and for their disruptive role in society. Often the police apprehend people for petty reasons and set them free after charging unreasonable ransom. India 2. Has security increased in poor people s lives? Security is having peace of mind, and peace about the well being of our children. Uzbekistan Security is knowing what tomorrow will bring, how we will get food tomorrow. Bulgaria Everyday I am afraid of the next. Russia When a government official comes here and says we have to leave the area, I freak out. I gather my things But don t know where to go I don t know if I should take my sons out of school.. Should I pack food so I don t run out of food on the road? I feel insecure and lost. At this moment it is just God and me. Poor woman in urban Brazil There is no control over anything, at any hour a gun could go off, especially at night. A poor woman from Brazil People linked insecurity with Qualm, which literally means worry. If there is no money there is worry. Money gives security. The one who is untroubled is the rich and his mood is serene. Egypt Security, chitetzo, is a household protecting itself from theft. The rich are better able to do this because they have the money to recruit security and build fences around their homes. Rural Malawi Security is anxiety to be jobless, to remain without shelter, to fall ill, to have no support from your family. Youth, Bulgaria 7

8 We face a calamity when my husband gets ill. Our life comes to a halt until he recovers and goes back to work. Poor Woman, Egypt Poor people almost everywhere reported that insecurity, risk, their exposure to danger, and feelings of defenselessness had increased because of changes in government laws and politics, and because of privatization. Lack of protection by the state and fear of the police, government lay-offs, increased crime and violence, and harassment of vendors in urban areas. People related most of this to the breakdown of social norms and insecurity about jobs, prices, and social services. In Eastern Europe, people linked insecurity to the dismantling of the political system and to the collapse of all social services and employment systems. Poor people characterize government officials as dishonest, swindlers, speculators, and thieves who don t care about anyone. Moldova. The state government in the wake of government collapse is seen as dishonest, uncaring and exploitative. Russia Women in addition reported increased incidence of sexual abuse, violence and crime targeted at them. The rise in crime has left poor people feeling extremely defenseless. People felt that when they reported crimes, the police were not interested in helping them. This was true for theft, rape and assault. At other times, people were too frightened to seek police protection. Moldova It would seem unbelievable that neighbors are now stealing from one another. Urban Argentina 3. How then do the poor survive, what institutions do they turn to? Everywhere the poor invest heavily in social relations, family, kinship ties, community festivals and rituals as a means of maintaining belonging, community-based organizations, and neighborhood associations. These associations and networks strengthen bonds of solidarity. But they are not sources of upward mobility but rather a defense against destitution when the roof caves in. NGOs were surprisingly absent in the lives of the poor, except once again in South Asia. 4. Do the poor feel they have more opportunities today than in 1990? By and large poor people felt that they had fewer opportunities now than before. Even though new opportunities had been created, they were only available to those with connections or those with money to buy their way through systems, which were difficult to understand. Most people felt that the society-wide changes, brought about by war, political reform and large economic restructuring, were so dislocating that only those who had sufficient information, education and contacts benefited. In some countries, 8

9 emigration was seen as one reliable way out of the poverty trap. However even this, especially when this involved women ( Sri Lanka), did not improve the quality of their lives. In some places in South Asia (both urban India and Bangladesh and in Sri Lanka) poor people reported greater economic opportunity because of increased house-based piece work, factory work in garments, and micro-credit support. A lack of employment is the starting point of everything, for example theft and chamba smoking. Since we have nothing to do. Malawi People they will be excluded because of lack of literacy, lack of education, poor rains and farm infertility. Poor men in rural Ghana Whatever the scale of opportunities, people perceive that now there are no opportunities, because of changes in land regulations, isolation, lack of pensions and lack of jobs. Opportunities are also inaccessible because of nepotism, wasta. If one has wasta one can find work. Egypt There are few opportunities. There is lack of education, information, employment and corruption. Nigeria Nothing has changed-- those who were well off before are well off now too and those who were poor are still poor. The means by which mobility is achieved have remained the same: politics, party commitment, shady dealing, corruption and connections. The people with the dirty money are taking part in privatization. We aren t, because we don t have any money. Bulgaria The only way out of poverty is through death because the majority of households living in this community do not have reliable sources of livelihood the rise in the cost of living will only escalate crime and prostitution.. many marriages will be broken down, and our children will become innocent victims.. more children will become delinquents and orphans because of HIV/AIDs impact. Urban Brazil When governments increase taxes, tells people to build schools, pay their own medical treatment, improve their own roads and find markets for their produce what do you expect people to do? Instead of getting out of poverty, the government condemns them to poverty. Uganda Paymasters normally take advantage of the people s desperate situations to make the work for low wages: We get some K5.00 to buy maize for one day s consumption, when it finished we go again.... The problem is that these boat owners know we are starving. As such we would accept any little wages they would offer to us because they know we are desperate.... Malawi 9