In the Editors Blog, Ode's editorial staff members provide an intelligently optimistic take on the news—and write about what's not in the headlines but should be.
Blog Action Day: Muhammad Yunus talking about poverty
On this Blog Action Day on poverty, I can only quote Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, the world’s most famous microcredit institution. I had the privilege to talk to him in his office in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2005, a year before he won the Nobel Peace Prize. In this excerpt from the interview in Ode, "The world champ in poverty fighters", Yunus challenges the way we think about poor people. His wisdom has forever changed my way of thinking about fighting poverty.
"The approach to [fight] poverty is thwarted by our fixed convictions. Poor people are helpless, unhealthy, illiterate and thus stupid, they have nothing, they know nothing, we must take care of them, we must give them food... It is completely wrong to think like this. I am convinced that poor people are just as human as anyone else. They have just as much potential as anyone. They are simply shoved into a box marked POOR! And it’s written in giant letters so that everyone simply treats them the way poor people are treated, because we think this is the way we should treat them. This means it isn’t easy to get out of the box."
"This applies to individuals just as it does to countries. Governments in developing countries receive money from wealthy governments that are kind enough to contribute a portion of their national income to what is referred to as ‘development aid.’ This required charity towards poorer countries has become a credential that is not questioned nearly enough. Even our religions tell us to give money and food to the poor; they don’t say we should create certain conditions and rights so the people can help themselves. But this type of development aid is very damaging: the position of the government is strengthened, the money doesn’t get to the people who need it."
"I’m not just referring to poor countries. I’m also talking about the wealthy, western countries where you have designed a great big box called ‘social welfare.’ You say: oh, he is ill, he is handicapped, he can’t take care of himself, it is society’s responsibility to keep him alive. I think that’s completely wrong. That way of thinking creates a divide between those who work and can take care of themselves and those who cannot."
"And what happens? If you’re one of the unlucky few, you’ll get a benefit payment every month. The message is clear: you can’t do anything, the government has to take care of you. So you become dependent. You get used to having society give you money. You get it, you don’t have to do anything for it, you don’t have to justify it. That is deadly to your initiative and you start waiting for more aid. That’s when they’ve broken your creativity. They’ve taken away a fundamental human element."
"This social welfare system creates a human zoo. The animals in the zoo are given their meals on time and a doctor comes by when they’re sick, but they are living in captivity. They still have a vague instinct that tells them they should hunt, but they aren’t challenged to go hungry for days on end and hunt prey. The animals aren’t as sharp and inventive as they would be in nature. What about them is actually still animalistic? They have become a poor imitation of themselves. By the same token, people who are swallowed up in the western social welfare system are also no longer themselves. They aren’t stimulated to discover their possibilities, talents and creativity. They are robbed of every challenge. They are curbed in their development."
A brilliant post. Thank you so much. And what an attitude that is literally changing the world! Anne in Japan
posted by Anne Thomas on 10/18/2008 6:51 pm