Fundação Betânia

Encontro de Jovens de Taizé - Lisboa, Dezembro 2004

Poverty is a denial of human rights. Poverty is with all of us.

1. I would like to start my talk with a poem of a portuguese writer named Sophia de Mello Breyner.
The poem begins by saying: “We have seen, we have heard, we have read, we can not ignore ...” And the poet continues by mentioning some of the great problems of our time: wars, torture, hanger, and so on. Poverty is, obviously, included on the list.
Each one of us is in the position evoked by the poet - We have seen, We have heard, we have read ...
We know that poverty is a dramatic situation for millions of people all over the world. We know that poverty is the daily reality for millions of children who don’t have enough food and whose health is affected by sub-nutrition their lives long. We know that in our societies many old people, who have worked during all their lives, for one reason or another, live in solitude and lack enough income to have a decent life.
We know that poverty implies lack of food, but also lack of health, lack of litteracy, lack of housing, lack of employment and correspondent income, lack of security.
These ones are visible aspects that our statistical sources reveal regularly and the mass media let be known by public opinion, from time to time.
However, besides the material dimension of poverty, we have to underline also its hidden reality in the daily lives of poor people – the suffering from injustices, the humiliation of being excluded from the normal patterns of societies where they live; the lack of power to make their voices listen by those who have the power to change their situations, the sorrow for not being able to give to their children what they think they deserve, etc..
On the other hand, poverty is sometimes associated to criminality, drugs, alcoolism, prostitution, propensity to underground activities, troubles in family life or bad neighbourhood.
When we think about poverty, we have to keep in mind that poverty is a complex phenomenon with multiple dimensions. In particular, we have to distinguish poverty as an occasional situation (for instance caused by a temporary unemployment) or as a permanent condition, like a family stigma that passes over generations, as a heritage.
Poverty is a different reality in a nation like Sudan and a continent like Africa or in Germany, England, Poland, Portugal and Europe in general.

2. At this stage, may be, you are interested in knowing some figures that give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem of poverty in our world.
According to data of last Report on world human development (2004), 1.100 millions of people lived with less than 1 dollar per day (in euros, less than 70 cents!) in year 2000. Among them, 831 millions were people suffering from hunger, 104 million of children in school age were out of school, among them 59 millions of girls, 11 millions of children under 5 years died. The situation is dramatic concerning basic needs of water and sanitation. 1.197 millions of people had not access to potable water and 2.742 millions had no proper sanitation.
The geographic distribution of great poverty (people living with less than 1 dollar a day) is as follows: 29% in Africa; 63% in Asia and Pacific. In Europe, lived 2% of people in such situation.
Among poverty people, the women, the children and old people, are those more severely affected.
These figures are relevant enough to make us think how serious is the problem of poverty in our world at this beginning of the 3rd millennium and the scandal it represents after Christ and His message of love, fraternity and peace. With such extension and severity of poverty, we will not be able to reach peace which we all are longing for.
Our world, as a whole, reached already such stage in material progress and production of goods, that poverty has to be seen as a fundamental injustice produced by the contemporary economy and society.
In our days, poverty is an affront to and a denial of human rights.

3. The Organisation of United Nations, at the beginning of year 2000, decided to sign a pact among nations to eradicate great poverty until 2015. It is called the Declaration of Millennium.
The pact aims at reaching, among others, the following objectives directly related to eradication of poverty :
- to reduce by half the number of people living with less than 1 dollar a day;
- to reach universal primary education, both boys and girls
- to promote gender equality, namely in schooling
- to reduce by 2/3 the mortality of children under 5 years old
- to reduce by ¾ the maternity mortality rate
- to combat aids, malaria and other diseases
- to assure sustainability environment, namely to reduce a half people without proper water, ameliorate the situation of 100 habitants of slums.

The public opinion is not yet enough aware of the contents of such a pact and the governments of nations seem, also, not be taking seriously the compromises they have agreed upon. Last 4 years, the prevention and the combat against terrorism and the involvement in the wars in Irak and other countries, with the correspondent increase of military expenses, together with the expansion of a globalisation without an adequate international economic order, far from reducing poverty, have contributed to its increase. In European countries, for instance, the unemployment as well as the reduction of welfare state, are two open doors to enter in poverty.

4. At this moment, you may ask: Have Y something to see with the poverty of other people? Is not the poverty for some people an inevitable fatality in their lives? Or, may be, even a consequence of their own faults? Is it only a duty of governments and international authorities to pay attention to this issue or must I do, also, something to combat poverty? What can I do?
Poverty is surely a major issue to be present on the political agendas of governments, political parties, international authorities. However, this is not enough. Poverty is with all of us. We need to be aware that we also are causing the problem of massive poverty through our personal behaviours. For instance, through our level and pattern of consumption, the misuse of water, energy and other basic resources, etc. On the other hand, we are, may be, not using in the best way our capacities in production or in taking position in politics or mass media.
As christians, we assumed a greater challenge to act in such way that there were not poor people among us.
Each one is, then, challenged to consider his or her specific role according to one’s age, level of instruction, family situation, profession, political commitment, country of residence, etc.
However, there are a certain number of orientations to keep in mind:
- The right not to be poor is a basic human right to be accomplished by national and international authorities.
- Poverty concerns the poor themselves but the non poor too
- Attitudes and behaviours of non poor people are among the causes of great poverty
- Poverty is caused by a model of economy and society that satisfies the ambitious and continuous aspirations of the rich ones but don’t take in due account the human dignity and the real needs of all, namely the poor.
- To eradicate poverty in the world is a possible goal considering the level of production, technology and productivity already reached, but needs a different and more fair international economic order and a national social and political realm that take seriously the task to eradicate poverty.
- All christians and namely the young ones are called to keep alived the hope that justice and peace must be reached one day and such day will come sooner if we mobilise our energies and criativity in promoting the roots to eradicate poverty from our midst and in the world.

Manuela Silva [ 29 Dezembro 2004 ]