Helping the poor is not easy

P

OVERTY is an increasing concern. Political actors from left, right, and center have used the “poor” (mahirap) in advancing their political agenda. The idea of poverty or those whom we call poor have seemingly become familiar to us. Because of such familiarity we sometimes believe that we know poverty better than how the poor themselves know it.

Because of our good intentions, we are sometimes blinded by the fact that instead of helping the poor, we worsen their condition. It requires so much courage and honesty to continually critique even our so-called charity and philanthropic efforts. Little do we know that we have unconsciously idealized poverty as a necessary social condition because it allows the continual “us” and “we” divide.

We forget that poverty is a complex phenomenon. Precisely why it is important to review our claims and biases.

Foremost, poverty is not just the lack of money. It is a condition of capability deprivation. This is a view taken by the economist Amartya

Sen who contends that income is not the only determinant of poverty. Thus, a person may receive a monthly income five to seven times higher than the minimum wage. But because of a number of un-freedoms, the person remains in an impoverished state.

Some examples of un-freedoms are sickness, illiteracy, distance, lack of opportunities and social connections. An increase in income therefore does not guarantee automatic movement out from poverty. The poor therefore should not just be given financial assistance, if we are to pull them out from their condition. They should be taught how to acquire things that are intrinsically necessary for the enhancement of well-being.

Another important point: poverty is multidimensional. In addition to what has been explained, the poor are also trapped in a web of limitations. Poverty is connected to if not inseparable from social inferiority, isolation, physical weakness, seasonal deprivation, powerlessness and humiliation. The war on drugs for example has victimized the poor, not the rich. Those who have less in life are the ones directly destabilized by any policy shift. It is because they live in the fringes of society that are vulnerable in many ways.

Apparently, there are many drug users belonging to the upper and middle class who continue with their illegal affairs. But how come the police has done less, if any, in running after drug addicts who are sons and daughters of the rich? A simple answer is: the rich can avail legal remedies and even the location and physical structure of their villages would make it difficult if not impossible for the police to penetrate them.

Finally, poverty is not just an individual experience. It is also a collective condition. This means that poverty is a product of structural injustice. It is an inevitable consequence of an existing mode of production. Poverty from this point of view is not analyzed in terms of deprivations or capabilities but as a consequence of a class divide – where capitalists dominate and sustain such privileged domination in the superstructure. Those who have more in life exploit, consciously or unconsciously, the state’s political and legal apparatus, such as the military in order to conceal oppression and the poor’s disadvantaged condition.

This framework debunks the unfair and irresponsible claim that the poor are poor because they are lazy. Within the context of an unjust system effort does not necessarily equate to wealth. Compare the effort of a corrupt politician and a kargador who starts working three o’clock in the morning up to ten o’clock in the evening.

Basically, there is no doubt that we have to help the poor. But the question is how? True, we have to keep on fighting poverty but good intentions are not enough. There must be a strategy, and more importantly – patience.

Above all, the one helping the poor should be aware of his motives. Do we really need to pose beside a dying old woman for documentation? Should we end up with a reflection that because we saw other people in their miserable condition, we cannot but simply thank the heavens for feeling so blessed?

Is it the poor who need us – or is it we who need them for our research or our corporate social responsibility compliance? A genuine approach to helping the poor is not easy. It requires not only a soft heart and teary eyes. The hardest part is in our readiness without fear to rethink our views on entitlements, property, power, and justice.*