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What the Poor Say
You grow up in an environment full of diseases, violence and drugs… you
don’t have the right to education, work or leisure, and you are forced to "eat
in the hands of the government"…so you are easy prey for the rulers. You have to
accept whatever they give you. A young woman, Padre Jordano, Brazil
A person doesn’t have the strength or power to change anything, but if the
overall system changed, things would be better. Bosnia.
Poor people describe four pervasive and systemic problems that affect their lives
adversely almost everywhere: corruption, violence, powerlessness, and insecure livelihood.
There is much bitterness, especially in the thought that any opportunities that may
come will be taken by the rich and they could never find a "wasta" or middleman
to enable them to find a better or more permanent job. If they have a right, they cannot
take it because they cannot afford a lawyer. If the poor go to the police station to
accuse a richer man, he is afraid: "my accusation may turn out in the favor of the
rich and against me. But if we are equal, I may have justice." Dashour Village,
Egypt.
I worked six years in a company that did not pay me correctly. So I sued them and
they threatened to kill me. I had to hide. Sacadura Cabral, Argentina.
Corruption is a core poverty issue, not just a problem affecting high levels of
governments and business. The studies reveal how pervasive low-level corruption and lack
of access to justice and protection affect poor people’s lives -- the problems of
corruption, "connections," and violation of basic human rights with impunity
were voiced repeatedly. In Ecuador, the poor in Chota said, "the government should
make sure the congressmen do not steal." In Uzbekistan, bribes to get a job were
standard: "a friend told me to get a position, one must pay 25 thousand. I could not
afford it, so I went back to pulling a cart in Tashkent." In India, poor women spoke
of having to bribe forest officers for each bundle of firewood they collected and railway
policeman for coal dust they gathered from railway tracks. In Bangladesh, the poor said,
"nobody can count on the judgment of the commissioner since he does not work for the
poor and his bias is with the landlord." In country after country, and community
after community, poor people spoke of corruption in the distribution of seeds, medicines
and social assistance for the destitute and vulnerable; corruption in getting loans;
corruption in getting teachers to teach; corruption in customs and border crossings;
corruption in the construction of roads; corruption in getting permission to move in and
out of cities or stay in certain areas; corruption in street and market trading; and
corruption in identity cards. In many places, the poor reported having to pay managers,
hooligans and the police "protection" money to save themselves from the worst
forms of harassment, theft and abuse.
Even humanitarian assistance is often waylaid when channeled through corrupt state
systems. In Bulgaria, people reported that secondhand clothes destined for the poor were
sold by doctors and nurses to shops. To overcome problems of this type, some NGOs hire a
local representative to be responsible for distribution of humanitarian aid. But according
to the poor this can in fact be worse still, because the local representative distributes
the goods received from overseas selectively, twice a year, and then immediately films the
occasion to send a report back to the donors. The Bulgarian poor had a simple remedy: they
suggested that the donors’ names and addresses be announced at the time of
distribution, so that recipients could send their comments directly to the donors.
In many countries, poor people’s access to justice and courts is a distant dream
because of lack of information, distance from the courts, and a strong belief (based on
experience) that only money buys justice. In Uzbekistan, a man said, "you have to pay
the lawyer, the judge and the prosecutor. I have gone through it myself." Since the
poor lack money and too often are dependent on those who violate their rights, they cannot
"afford justice." Almost everywhere, justice through political representation
was laughed at and comments were frequent about the "seasonal" memory of
parliamentarians. In Egypt, people said, "when they reach their seats the
parliamentarians forget us."
All this said, there were also heart-warming even if few examples of public officials
who refused the temptations of corruption. In Ozerny, Russia, poor people spoke with great
respect for a local nurse whom they described as a "valuable institution":
"You can go to her at any time - she will never refuse to make a shot, or give advice
about how to treat something… Her advice is listened to much more than the local
doctor’s who is often criticized for lack of professionalism and for
indifference…She is a good example of how shortages of medicines and lack of
financing don’t mean the impossibility to help." In Jamaica, the poor praised
the female Superintendent of Police in charge of Constant Spring Police Station.
"Anyone can have access to the Superintendent in charge of Constant Spring Police
Station. If you have a complaint you just walk in and ask to see her and they just send
you upstairs to see her. She will call up the officer and deal with him."
Next: Four problems with the system: Violence, Civil Conflict
and Public Safety |
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