Every time I visit the states, it seems the debate about unemployment benefits continues. Around the world, nations debate the issues, dealing with the tough question: Is the charity helping or hurting? There is something about taking away the need of a person to work that makes it one of the most dehumanizing things that can be done. All dignity is lost.With the recent devastating earthquake disaster in Haiti and ongoing humanitarian tragedies and poverty worldwide, government programs and relief organizations struggle with just how to help the needy. One of the most destructive things that can be done is to step in and pay people or provide supplies for being idle. People need to learn to work if they are well enough to do so. Certainly though, those who are too ill to work need to be nurtured and brought back to health.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be poor. What is “rich”?
It must be offensive for people around the world to hear that a person is declared to be “poor” in America if they earn $21,200 or less a year for a family of four. In Turkey, for a family in a city that wouldn’t be considered too bad of a salary and in the rural areas it would be even better. Of course, in a place like northwest China you’d be considered wealthy.
When I visited some Uighur families in northwest China, or in Kazakhstan when it was part of the Soviet Central Asia region, these people did not know how poor they were because they had virtually nothing to compare it to as they had no access to the outside world.
When I saw these families living in very tight quarters with their large families and noticed that they had no car, no air conditioning, maybe no refrigerator, etc., I thought they were poor.
Just because they did not have certain things, did this make them poor?
It is so true that those considered rich in one culture are considered poor by another.
Just consider the situation in Turkey and how poverty is measured here.
According to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Turkey Report, extreme poverty, that is, living on less than $1 a day, is negligible in Turkey, at 0 percent for the years 2006 and 2007. On the other hand, though, approximately 10 percent of the population lives on less than $4.30 a day. When the expenditures for food and non-food consumption are considered, it is seen that almost 19 percent of the population qualifies as poor.
That means that going to a Western fast food restaurant or a Western brand name coffee shop is a splurge. Just having a menu meal at the first or cuppa (as the Aussies would say) at the second would cost that much!
It appears that there is an increase in “new poverty” in Turkey. There is real concern that it will be a poverty which is long term and not easily remedied by access to the traditional support networks of the family.
A visitor to Turkey will get the impression that many women work outside the home. Some may even hold prestigious and powerful positions. But the truth is, if you travel around the country you will get a different picture. Outside of the major urban areas you will see that women make up much of the agricultural labor force. Certain times of the year as you drive in the countryside, you will see predominantly women working in the fields. The southeast Anatolia region has a record low for women working as paid labor. In fact, the UNDP reports that in Turkey only 19.9 percent of women engage in paid labor. This is very low compared to the European Union and other middle income countries.
Much more can be done to help individuals, male and female, get work. It takes time, money, energy and work to provide work. Isn’t helping people get back on their own two feet the best use of money?
“Ending poverty in this world isn’t about redistributing our mounds of stuff and piles of money. It’s about living more simply ourselves and using our money and our time to create jobs that allow people to function with … dignity…” -- Jonathan Martin
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
