Friday, September 5, 2008
Culture of Poverty
It's a difficult balance to live among the culture of poverty, to have so much compassion for the people here, but, at the same time, not to take it all on personally. Life here is very raw. Everyone has very serious financial and health problems, and I feel a lot of pressure to help people (my host family, friends, people on the street, children, etc.). Generally speaking, in the United States, people don't tend to talk about their personal problems so frankly and so frequently, and it is considered to be rude and even manipulative to constantly ask or imply that you want money from a friend. Americans are supposed to be self-sufficient at all costs. Here, however, communitarian living is a way of survival. It's not that the people don't care about me--they have learned over the years that gringas like me have more money than they do, and they insinuate that they need money out of vital instinct--not malice. Even so, I have to learn loving detachment. I certainly didn't cause the years and years of struggle in this country or all the structural forces at play in the global economy. And to think that I could somehow cure the ills that plague the people here is ludicrous--maybe even a little arrogant. (Aren't a lot of experts and other countries trying to do that too and for many years?) Plus, I am living on a shoestring myself as a graduate student...It's tough to care so much and feel so hopeless to do anything about it. I hope that my project provides some sort of benefit to the people, but it seems so inadequate given the gravity of life here.
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3 comments:
That's an articulate description of what I similarly experienced while living in the Dominican Republic. I would love to hear your thoughts on foreign aid, Kelly. What kinds, in what form do you think are most helpful? What kinds, if any, do you think cause harm? No pressure to respond now, but I'd love to hear your thoughts at some point in the future!
Hey Katie,
Thanks for writing. My feelings about foreign aid are very context-specific. It's really difficult to balance investor risk without trampling upon national sovereignty. A lot of loans from the IMF and World Bank require drastic cuts in social spending policy while opening up markets to international competition, which essentially leaves citizens with little social support at the time when they need it most. This seems very hypocritical considering that the US highly subsidizes its own industries, particularly farmers, yet we insist that countries like Mexico must eliminate subsidies under NAFTA, for example. However, some standards must be set or the foreign aid may not be well spent. For example, corruption is a major problem with foreign aid: A lot of money never makes it to the people for whom it is intended. (This is also the effect of most trade sanctions--innocent civilians suffer while the heads of government that we have a problem with don't feel the strain at all.) Still, I don't think that the highly industrialized countries can go without providing foreign aid. Aside from my own moral belief in helping others, I believe that all the countries of the world are interdependent in this era of globalization and that global socioeconomic development is the key to ending the cycle of poverty (and ending dependence on foreign aid) and also the key to our own national security (i.e. ending the roots of terrorism). Sorry if this was kind of rambling. :-)
I saw your website posted on FaceBook and decided to check it out. What a perfect way to describe it. I recently spent about five months volunteering in Uganda and had a similar experience. Although, it became increasing difficult for me to stay compassionate towards the people asking me money all the time because I personally have a hard time detaching myself from the situation. My immediate reaction would be guilt, of course which would turn into anger that I couldn't get people to stop asking every day. What caused me further frustration would be when I would see the CEO at a local NGO driving a car that would be fancy by US standards. My feelings on foreign aid are mixed. Accountability seems a term never put to practice, at least in Uganda. And if foreign aid were to actually make a difference, it needs to arrive at its intended destination. Unfortunately, at this time, no safe guards or measures are in place to stop the corruption. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I look forward to hearing more. Good luck!
-Amy Sept
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