Poverty Eradication Has it happened at the community level?      Sr. Marcellina Aguiar CCV, India             UNANIMA International            February 13th, 2006

Friends, we are at the close of the decade of poverty eradication and I am here to discuss what has happened. I believe we are dealing with the precious lives of the poor, who are not aware that they are being discussed and talked about, that they are our concern today.  

Keeping them before my eyes and in my heart, I would like to say and firmly believe that poverty has not just happened but caused; and if we remove the causes it can be remedied. Moreover, if we want to have a peaceful co-existence between the haves and the have-nots then the situation will have to be remedied with the urgency it demands.

 Poverty is basically understood as the basic necessities of life that are not available to people.

 Internationally accepted the present definition is computed as one dollar a day per capita income available to the people is considered to be living below the poverty line. This is a wrong assumption, today’s cost of living in most Asian countries a dollar a day per capita is hardly enough subsistence for an individual. This is living without dignity.

 I would like to present the actual reality which is our focus:

 Actual picture:

• Poverty is not only a matter of incomes, it also means being excluded from social and political processes, from access to worthy education, health, and infrastructure services available to other people. In Indian parlance it means Roti, kapda, Makaan, plus bijli, sadak, paani meaning food, clothing, shelter plus electricity roads and water.
• Poverty tends to be higher in the rural, semi-rural areas, than in the urban areas.
• Rising in inequality and persistent poverty caused by exploitation and social injustice tends to lead to conflicts and insurgencies found in many Asian countries. This in turn causes breakdown or interruption in economic growth activities and enhances poverty.
• Employment growth in India has lagged far behind the labor coming in the market. Despite higher growth of the economy in the post liberalization era there is virtual stagnation in the organized sector employment. Formal employment sector grew by 1.4% percent in the eighties and less than 1% in the 1990s against 2% growth in labor force during the same period. This resulted in substantial increase in employment in the unorganized sector which neither gives fare wages nor social protection. It is difficult to obtain the accurate data of the number and nature of the work force in the informal/unorganized sector where the large majority of those under BPL follow.
• Regional protectionism of trade on one hand and the adverse impact of globalization on the poor, the erosion of human values and the indifferent attitude towards the sense of justice have pushed the poor towards the brink.

A rough statistical picture about poverty situation:

 In 2000 the people under BPL were 260 million.
Clean drinking water not available to 77% of the population.
People not having toilet facilities 63%.
In 2004 foreign debt was 112.6 Billion dollars.
Place in human development index in 2002: 124.
                                                             in 2003: 127
Average income of an Indian farmer in different states varies from Rs. 50 – 75 a day ($ 1.0 to 1.5 a day)
Whereas the state subsidy provided per cow per day in Japan is Rs. 400 ($ 9.0).

 The challenges that India faces as on 11^th January 2006, highlighting social injustice in the New Year is as follows:  

      -         India has 70% of its population depending on agriculture for its livelihood.
-         32 Million people go to bed without food.
-         10,000 dying of hunger related pangs everyday.
-         90% adivasis/tribal families in the states of Jharkhand and Rajasthan are facing chronic hunger this year.
-         250 farmers committed suicide in the Yavatmal in the region of Vidarbha in Maharastra.
-         Street children work at “traffic crossings” as child laborers, rag-pickers, hounded by police, brutalized, sexually abused, packed in ugly perverse juvenile homes even adult prisons left to die in a democracy where the president of India Dr. Kalam says “The children are the future of the nation”. Friends, which children and of what country?
-         Feticide: longing for the male child and scorn for the girl in India has drastically increased in the last decade.
-         The plight of workers who constitute 90% of the labor force in India have no unions, no rights, no social safety nets, no provident funds, no pension, no job security, no school or health centers for their children, no future, no hope.
-         The right to shelter stresses that the poor find shelter under the open sky in the graveyards and garbage dumps.  

The sum total of all these in India will show any on-looker that:  

• A large number of children and families pick food from railways platforms and garbage dumps.
• Children begging in the trains and on the streets.
• Large number of small children working in hazardous works under inhuman conditions.
• For lack of food, the number of the poor sell off their children in exchange for small sums of money.
• Human trafficking of young girls for Rs. 1500 – 1800.  ($ 35 – 40) in drought affected areas.
• Increasing rates of suicides due to debts among farmers and fisher folk.

 CAUSES:
Let us now turn to the variety of causes which have resulted in economical, social, political marginalisation of the vast magnitude of mankind:

Ø      Inaccurate reality resulting in inadequate responses.
Ø      Bureaucratic attitude towards the poor and poverty eradication programs.
Ø     Hi-tech development and multinational companies replacing the cottage industries in rural India, creating unemployment for the unorganized sectors.
Ø      Rigid unjust social and cultural barriers.
Ø      Neglect of socially/politically less favored areas where a large proportion of the poor live.
Ø      Ignorance among the marginalized and indigenous people of their magnitude and true self worth and the assertive power.
Ø      Project centered approach rather than people centered approach.
Ø      Absence of fair wages in informal sectors. Non implementation of fair wages prescribed.
Ø      Near absence of meaningful participation in planning and implementation by the beneficiaries of the program.
Ø      Central government funds, allocated for development purposes to various states remain unutilized.
Ø      Defective distributive systems and faulty delivery mechanisms in anti-poverty programs/schemes.
Ø      High rate of evaporation and less stable rainfall due to global warming. 

Keeping all this in mind I would like to refer back to the statement made by the delegate of India that World Bank has itself recognized that poverty is not just a question of incomes but also of insecurity and voicelessness. 

I want to reiterate that the poor are becoming more insecure and voiceless.  

I want to draw your attention to our indigenous people of India. Their very livelihood is threatened. They are animists known to be the owners of the forests and its natural resources. They are being deprived of it. They are dignified, cultural, unified and value based life is at stake because of fanaticism and fundamentalism. 

Presently tension prevails in the state of the Gujarat where political parties under the banner of propagation and preservation of religion are encroaching upon the feelings and dignity of the tribals creating and brewing among them division.  

Presently there are 45 NGOs conscientizing the people and voicing themselves for the rights of the people. The National Human Rights Commission has been working with these NGOs making appeals to the courts for police protection for the organizations working there and for the people at large too. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has been contacted by the State Minority Commission seeking quick action against violent situations and riots. Honorable High Court of Gujarat has passed interim order and given notices as the organizations have filed writ petition against Central Government, State Government, Collector and DSP of Dangs District. Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong has given “early warning urgent appeal” to the world people on 7^th February ’06 regarding the “Shabri Kumbh” 2006 preparation as it reminds “Godhra Carnage”.

 I think it would be appropriate for me to share about the Street children of Mumbai who hail from all parts of India. I dare call them gems lost on Mumbai’s streets.

 Mumbai streets are not paved with gold, but if you look carefully you can find them lying around in dark corners, under bridges and very definitely on railway platforms.
In each one of them there is a past and there is potential even though, in the present, all these kids seem to be wallowing in filth or appear as lumps of coal.
Street children are like brittle pieces of glass, in actuality very fragile – they hide a heart that is ready to melt when someone is ready to believe in them.
It goes a long way because they are deeply wounded, it is a challenge, but finding themselves is the first step to making something of themselves. Yes, for some of them, poverty has been eradicated since their lives are now anew with trust and faith and in themselves and others.

 Finally friends, I will like to conclude with the words of Dr. Amartya Sen- poverty is not because of the absence of resources, but because of faulty systems and defective delivery systems towards the poor.

Though the reality picture of poverty is alarmingly frightening it is not hopeless. There is hope, there is a silver lining and that is why we are here. Let us build on the many strengths and natural resources, on our young force, local intelligentsia and let us harness this with innovative thinking so that every man, woman and child experiences the ABUNDANT life. Let our efforts not be like pouring water in a bucket with a hole. Let us unite and surge ahead, knowing that – A BETTER WORLD IS POSSIBLE.

Thank you.