The poverty debate is on and it is challenging perceptions of poverty. Policymakers, academics, the media and the public are discussing this phenomenon.
The Caritas Malta Ilqa l-Sfida Ġib il-Faqar Fix-Xejn campaign is part of the European Union’s initiative to declare 2010 as the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
It is estimated that as many as 80 million people are living in poverty in the EU.
Caritas Malta looks at poverty as a complex issue. There seems to me to be a considerable lack of clarity about the perception of poverty, the risk of poverty and real material poverty.
Poverty is characterised by a long-term or permanent lack of financial resources. It brings along, however, further severe restrictions and limitations.
Impoverished people often suffer from bad health; they are more frequently unemployed; when in employment often work in low-security jobs; they live in precarious housing conditions, and scarcely have a viable social network.
Making policy recommendations related to the legal, education, health, housing, employment and social security fields is not about stretching the definition of poverty. It is about providing a multi-dimensional approach to combat poverty and social exclusion and tackling the issues that very often become the causes of poverty.
The Caritas poverty awareness campaign does not aim to make anyone feel guilty when pointing out that there are households in Malta that are materially deprived of basic essentials. It seeks to challenge unjust structures that cause pain and suffering to people in serious financial difficulties.
Material deprivation is a structural problem. It is one of the consequences of an unjust economic system where the poor become poorer because their income is not sufficient to make ends meet.
Caritas Malta has taken material deprivation as an indicator to measure poverty. In collaboration with the Department of Health, Family and Consumer Affairs at the University of Malta and the National Statistics Office, Caritas has carried out an exercise to calculate the cost of a basket of basic essential items needed for an average Maltese family.
The underlying gist of the campaign is to understand the realities of different target populations struggling to cope financially.
Indifference to the plight of the poor is symptomatic of a society which is far from reaching its human fulfilment. Is poverty just about sleeping rough? Is it just about having soup kitchens or beggars knocking on our doors?
Sociological research shows that poverty could be hidden in an affluent and closely-knit society like ours. As Marius Wanders, general secretary of Caritas Europa, puts it: “We do not see poverty because we do not want to see it.” Rather than begging, the poor are resorting to their close relatives, non-governmental organisations and the local parish priest, among others.
Caritas’s campaign is not, and must not, be interested in the ‘how many’ question. The challenge is to dig deeper and find the poor, understand their plight of being materially deprived, and seek solutions to their individual situations.
Indeed, the fight against poverty starts with the fight against stunted perceptions. The ‘blaming the poor/self-inflicted’, and ‘poverty is inevitable’ discourse has to be seriously addressed.
Anyone who really wants to understand the whole concept of poverty and social exclusion should seek a description of precarious circumstances in all their dimensions.
Whenever statistics reveal that poverty is a reality in Malta, and until even one person is living in deprived circumstances unfit for his or her dignity, it is everyone’s responsibility, not just the state’s, to offer solutions.
Mr McKay is head of Community Outreach Unit, Caritas Malta.