Finland is rated among the top nations in the world for quality of life, financial equality and educational systems. As a welfare state, it provides its citizens with public services to protect against financial and social risks like accidents, disabilities, old age and unemployment. Thus, there are few causes of poverty in Finland.
The country also has one of the lowest poverty rates at approximately 0.04% of its 5.4 million citizens. However, the percentage of people considered at risk of poverty is on the rise.
In the late 1980s, Finland had an impressively low unemployment rate of 3.5%, with 10.7% of the population considered at risk of poverty.
In the early 1990s, Finland suffered a severe recession that brought the unemployment rate to 18.5%. This subsequently dropped to 9.1% by the late 1990s as the nation made a quick recovery.
The Finnish government made significant spending cuts for public services to cope with the recession. York University graduate scholar Juha Mikkonen wrote that increases in public services grew slowly alongside a slow wage trend since these cuts were made.
Numerous scholars argue this trend left more people at risk. Others argue these public services can be the net that saves those on a low income in the case that an accident, illness, or loss of income hits unexpectedly. These safeguards act to cushion the blow of the key causes of poverty in Finland.
Leading Causes of Poverty in Finland
The number of people at risk rose to 15.6% in the late 2000s and now hovers around 13%. Recently, Finland’s Ministry of Finance announced that around 869,000 people were at risk.
What does it mean to be at risk of poverty? The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines the poverty line separately for each nation and is usually drawn at or less than 50% of the national median income.
The Finnish government presently uses the OECD’s defining parameters of those at risk of poverty. Those with an annual income of less than 60% of the national median income, which in Finland is $28,238.
In 2014, Statistics Finland reported the two age groups with the highest percentage of at-risk individuals were those 18 to 24 years (at 29.7%) and 75 and older (at 22.2%).
Mikkonen noted that the causes of poverty for Finland’s youth may be their limited employment while in school and increased dependence on their families later in adulthood. If their family falls on hard times, they are put at extra risk.
Finland’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Health states that poverty must also be defined by how well a person can access resources necessary to their well-being, such as good housing, food, healthcare and education.
Social exclusion can limit resources as well as job accessibility. Social exclusion and poverty often originate from the same causes depending on how the poor are perceived.
Numerous scholars studied how different people perceive the causes of poverty in Finland, finding that people attribute three main groups of causes: a) one’s personal behavior, b) societal and economic factors and c) luck or fate.
In addition, different social groups of the poor, such as families with children, elderly, and immigrants, are often judged differently as to what caused their poverty and how deserving they are of aid.
What makes these studies important? How a community perceives the poor and poverty influences how poverty-targeted policies are shaped and implemented.
Mikko Niemelä, University of Turku professor of sociology, notes that numerous studies reveal Finns are more likely than other Scandinavians to point to individualistic causes such as poor money management or laziness.
Niemelä’s study compared perceptions of social service providers and the public. About half of all respondents blamed problems with the social security bureaucracy and a lack of skills or opportunities as primary causes. His results also showed that the public was more likely to blame individualistic reasons.
A transition in social security policies occurred in the late 1990s. Prior to the recession, policies largely sought to provide universal protection against financial hardships. Mikkonen notes that there has since been a transition towards policies that specifically target poverty reduction. These policy shifts parallel a change in opinion that disfavors universal policies as not effective in safeguarding against poverty.
One particular policy shift has excited many people across Europe. Beginning January 1, 2017, the Finnish government embarked on an experimental program. Called the Basic Income Experiment, it is part of a transition in governing philosophy towards a “culture of experimentation.” According to the Prime Minister’s 2016 Action Plan, this “experimentation will aim at innovative solutions, improvements in services, the promotion of individual initiative and entrepreneurship, and the strengthening of regional and local decision-making and cooperation.”
The experiment includes 2,000 citizens between the ages of 25 and 58 considered at risk who will be given a flat monthly income of €560 for two years. This income can be spent by recipients in any way they choose and takes the place of social security payments.
The goal is to see how social security could be made simpler while incentivizing work and providing a level of flexibility to the aid provided.
Why the stir of excitement and controversy? The idea for a flat, unconditional income has been discussed for many years.
A recent poll by Dalia Research Partners and NEOPOLIS found that 64 percent of their ten thousand respondents across 28 European nations would vote in favor of an unconditional basic income for those in need.
And now we wait to see how such an experimental plan might fare on the national scale.
– Diana Nightingale
Photo: Flickr
10 Important Facts to Know About the Progress of Palau Refugees
The Republic of Palau, a small island group in the Pacific, forms the far-western chain of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. The country is doing surprisingly well in terms of its refugee population, which began decreasing rapidly in 2009. It is now at its lowest rate of refugees and asylum-seekers, according to the UNHCR. Here are 10 facts about Palau refugees and how the country handles those in need of sanctuary.
It appears that Palau is doing well as it has low numbers of internal refugees, and welcomes others in need of assistance and asylum. The situation of Palau refugees shows that the country is progressing past the immigration turmoil of many other countries.
– Olivia Cyr
Photo: Flickr
What are the Top Diseases in Iraq?
The people of Iraq face many obstacles to their safety. When discussing the middle eastern country, many focus on the physical threats of violence, terrorism and forceful opposition. Health is also a hazard. Diseases spread in many ways. Infection can be airborne, blood born or spread through food and water. Blood-borne diseases, such as Hepatitis A and B, are a risk in Iraq. The two main transmission types in Iraq are food or water-borne and vector-borne. Here are some of the top diseases in Iraq.
Hepatitis A is spread through a fecal-oral path. This route of disease infection occurs when fecal matter from an infected person is in the food or water consumed by another person, thus infecting the recipient of the food or water. This is why sanitation is the best precaution other than immunization. The spread of this disease occurs because of poor sanitation in food preparation. The risk of infection is much higher in developing or poor countries due to a lack of proper sanitation, which is why Hepatitis A is one of the top diseases in Iraq.Another food or waterborne disease that contributes to the top diseases in Iraq is Typhoid fever. Typhoid is a bacterial disease that contributes very high fevers. Like Hepatitis A, this is spread through fecal-contaminated food or water. Typhoid fever has a higher mortality rate. If the disease is not treated, one in five do not survive.
Vector-borne diseases are spread through animals, insects or parasites. One of the top diseases in Iraq is malaria. Malaria is spread by mosquito bites. The disease causes parasites to accumulate in the liver and attack red blood cells. This often leads to death from interrupted blood supply to vital organs.Another top disease in Iraq is yellow fever. This, again, is spread through the bite of a mosquito. Although the severity varies, there is a mortality rate of 20 percent.
These top diseases in Iraq are less common in developed countries, as there are vaccines available. The economic infrastructure in Iraq does not allow for many of its citizens’ access to such life-saving precautionary medication.
– Nate Harris
Photo: Flickr
The Most Common Diseases in Chile and Great Strides Toward Eradication
Home to 17 million people, the longest country in the world has made great strides to become a developed country. From 2000 to 2015, Chile’s poverty rate decreased from 26% to 7.9%. With a growing economy and unemployment rates at a stable level, life in Chile is signaling progress, but there are still common diseases in Chile that need to be addressed.
Diarrheal Diseases
Common among third world countries, diarrheal diseases continue to hold Chile back. Although Chile is widely regarded as a developed country, this antiquated disease is still a problem. Diarrhea is most common among tourists as contaminated water and uncooked food are the disease’s leading causes. Tourists are unaccustomed to the food and unaware of what may or may not be safe to eat, and thereby are perfect victims of this watery disease. Diarrheal diseases are a problem for the citizens of Chile as well.
Nineteen out of 100,000 people die every year in Chile due to diarrheal diseases. This number may seem relatively low, but for a country that claims to be developed, it is much higher than it should be. The treatment is relatively simple, as clean water and food are all that is necessary to contain the disease. These two necessities have proved difficult for Chile as contaminated food and water cause a number of other diseases as well.
Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular diseases continue to be prevalent among developed countries and are some of the common diseases in Chile. Twenty-seven percent of deaths are attributed to these diseases. The probability of dying from cardiovascular disease in Chile is gradually increasing and continues to rank up above diabetes and cancer in terms of the number of fatalities caused.
Cancer
Barely trailing behind cardiovascular diseases, cancer is the cause of 26% of all deaths in Chile. Similar to cardiovascular disease, cancer is found in developed countries around the world. Out of all forms of cancer, gastric cancer is the most common in Chile.
The average number of deaths related to gastric cancer is 3,000 every year. Typically, 15 per 100,000 women and 13 per 100,000 men are killed by gastric cancer. These numbers are higher than anywhere else but in East Asia.
There are many factors that determine how developed a state is. For Chile, diarrheal diseases show that there are still some ways to go but that many diseases associated with developing countries are being managed. Of the common diseases in Chile, diarrheal diseases are the only ones with significance in terms of how Chile is doing socially and economically. It will take time to eradicate the diseases, but Chile has a healthy future.
– Sophie Casimes
Photo: Google
The Long Haul: Decreasing the Rate of Poverty in Pakistan
In 2016, Pakistan produced its first report on multidimensional poverty from its Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. According to this report, almost 39% of Pakistan’s population lives in poverty. This figure is Pakistan’s official Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which was compiled by UNDP Pakistan and the University of Oxford.
Initially, this figure shows a sign of progress, as the rate of poverty in Pakistan has decreased from 55% in 2004 to 39% in 2016. However, this progress has not occurred evenly throughout the country. In urban areas, the poverty rate can be as low as 9.3% while in rural areas the poverty rate rises to 54.6%.
The MPI does not define poverty merely as an extreme lack of wealth. It also takes health, education and standard of living into consideration, hence a multidimensional definition of poverty. The idea is that with a multifaceted approach, poverty in Pakistan can be more understandable and easier to alleviate.
As of 2015, 29.5% of Pakistan’s population was below the national poverty line. In this way of thinking, poverty simply means that one’s income is not enough to purchase a certain standard of goods, mainly food. It is true that poverty in Pakistan is decreasing in that more people have moved out of a situation where they cannot afford food, and this is definitely a sign of progress. However, inequality remains.
Inequality between the upper and middle and lower classes continues to grow, both in income and region, though the gender pay gap has decreased. Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest English writing newspaper, writes, “With the rich getting richer, and the middle class expanding, with political control in the hands of both under the despotism of capital in the neoliberal present, inequality is only going to grow in Pakistan.”
The Minister for Planning, Development and Reform has a plan. The MPI is a tool that will be used for inclusive and balanced growth in an attempt to produce an equal and harmonious society. It “provides useful analysis and information for targeting poverty, and reducing regional inequalities.” Within the next years, it is hoped that poverty in Pakistan will continue to decrease.
– Ellen Ray
Photo: Flickr
Rich in Resources, but Why Is the Democratic Republic of the Congo Poor?
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural resources. It sits on an estimated $24 trillion worth of natural resources, including 3.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, large deposits of iron ore, platinum, diamonds, gold and uranium, as well as 106270 square kilometers of arable land. Despite all this, its citizens make, on average, only $800 per year, and 63% live under the poverty line. Given its vast mineral wealth and natural resources, why is the Democratic Republic of the Congo poor?
Colonization, Political Instability, and the Resource Curse: Why is the Democratic Republic of the Congo Poor?
Due to the DRC’s great wealth of natural resources, it has consistently been exploited by imperial European powers throughout its history. When first discovered by the Western world in the sixteenth century, millions of Congolese men and women were stolen from their homeland and shipped around the globe to act as slaves for European industry.
Later, when slavery was eventually abolished throughout most of the developed world, the Congo was still not safe from pillage. When tires became a staple due to the rise of cars and bicycles, the rubber was taken from the Congo. When World War I was fought, 75% of the copper used in bullet casings were mined in the Congo. And when the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan in World War II, you can bet the uranium came from the Congo too.
During this period, which lasted from 1879 to 1959, the Congo region was controlled by the Belgian empire. However, colonial exploitation alone cannot be the only answer to the question “why is the Democratic Republic of the Congo poor?” Due to the abundance of uranium in the region, the Soviet Union and the United States carried out proxy wars in the Congo by supporting vying factions during the Cold War.
Since then, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been subject to a slew of dictatorial rulers, often with foreign support. After the Rwandan genocide of 1994, over a million Hutu took refuge in the Congo (then called Zaire), bringing with them both disease and rebellion.
After more than a decade of war, the Democratic Republic of the Congo gained enough stability to attempt a democratic government, though the election itself was rife with violence and conflict. There still remains a large faction of Rwandan rebels, and more than 800,000 people were displaced from their homes because of military operations meant to stop the rebel groups.
Another answer to the question “why is the Democratic Republic of the Congo poor?” can be found in the current president, Joseph Kabila. Not only is he suspected of stealing large portions of foreign aid, but he also provides those who do give aid access to the mineral resources of the DRC, at great expense to his own people, a repetition of the history of the country, which has been exploited by powers both foreign and domestic for centuries. These powers have worked hard to make sure the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain poor, unhealthy and disenfranchised; unable to take control of their own country and the incredible resources it possesses.
– Connor Keowen
Photo: Flickr
An Expanding Country: Four of the Main Causes of Poverty in Nigeria
Nigeria, located on the west coast of Africa, is a country known for its booming oil economy and the number of people it harbors within its borders. With a population of nearly 200 million, it’s the most populous country in all of Africa. But while the economy of Nigeria continues to expand, the amount of people living in poverty in Nigeria grows along with it.
As of 2016, 112 million Nigerians live in poverty. In 1990, that number was 51 million. As Nigeria continues to grow, the number of people that live in poverty within its borders should not expand with it. To alleviate poverty, it’s important to understand the causes. Here are four of the root causes of poverty in Nigeria.
1. Government Corruption
Since its founding, government corruption has plagued Nigeria. This corruption is one of the major causes of poverty in Nigeria. Government officials often take payments from oil companies that are supposed to go into public trusts—payments that can often total more than $1 billion—and instead siphon that money into their own personal bank accounts.
When government officials engage in this kind of corruption, the poor and underserved populations within Nigeria are inevitably hurt. If these large sums of money stopped going into government officials’ pockets, the Nigerian government could use that money to build up the country’s infrastructure—electricity, roads, running water and more.
2. Lack of Economic Infrastructure
An infrastructure that supports economic growth at every level is essential to pull people out of poverty. In Nigeria, economic infrastructure includes things like access to micro-credit that help farmers invest in their crops and entrepreneurs lift their businesses off the ground. Micro-credit is an especially important tool for Nigerian women working to escape poverty.
Female entrepreneurship and autonomy can provide financial stability to entire families and, by extension, larger communities. Another one of the main causes of poverty in Nigeria is the simple fact that many Nigerians, especially in rural communities, do not have the means to escape their circumstances. Setting up economic structures that empower Nigerian people is vital to combating poverty within the country.
3. Poor Access to Education
Economic infrastructure is not the only infrastructure that is lacking in Nigeria. Currently, a lack of a robust educational system underserves many of the poorest Nigerians. 10.5 million Nigerian children do not attend school at all, and 60% of those children are girls.
These problems are especially profound in the northern, more rural parts of Nigeria. Terrorist groups such as Boko Haram that vilify Western education further exasperate the situation. Education gives many the skills they need to enter the workforce and escape impoverishment, and the lack of educational opportunity is one of the truly devastating causes of poverty in Nigeria.
4. Poor Access to Healthcare
Nigeria might be the most populous country in Africa, but they are running low on healthcare professionals. The current ratio of nurses, midwives and doctors to patients is 1.95 to 1,000.
With such a low density of medical care available, many people in Nigeria either go completely without medical care or without enough medical care. But sickness is costly, and oftentimes can trap people into never-ending cycles of poverty. Improving Nigerians’ access to healthcare is an essential step to reduce the amount of poverty in Nigeria.
At the surface, these problems can seem daunting and unsolvable. But the first step to crafting sustainable solutions is understanding the contours of the problem. By understanding the causes of poverty in Nigeria, organizations like UNICEF and WHO have started various initiatives to strengthen the economic, education, and health care infrastructure in Nigeria, as well as reduce government corruption.
Working hand in hand with international partners, Nigeria is continuously demonstrating its commitment to crafting a better future for its impoverished citizens.
– Adesuwa Agbonile
Photo: Flickr
The Programs and Efforts to Empower Women in South Sudan
Women in South Sudan are facing alarming human rights abuses. The ongoing conflict has claimed many lives and displaced about two million people. Women have suffered disproportionately, being subjected to horrific gender-based violence. Despite the grim realities women in South Sudan face, humanitarian organizations such as the UNDP and IMO, along with the U.S. government, are working to empower women in South Sudan.
With an estimated 475,000 women and girls at risk of harm and more than half of young women aged 15-24 years having already experienced some form of gender-based violence, it is crucial that humanitarian organizations intervene. Women and girls face many different cases of abuse, ranging from beatings and rape to forced marriage and labor. The trauma the survivors are left with affects both their mental and physical health, with many becoming HIV positive after their endurance of sexual violence.
To combat the effects of these cruelties, the UNDP and IMO are working to help women heal through counseling and support groups where they can safely discuss their experiences and feelings. Working in displacement camps, these programs have moved many women from isolation and depression to a place of hope and healing. The work does not stop there.
The goal of these support programs goes beyond healing and into the idea of empowerment, challenging traditional cultural beliefs surrounding the role of women in South Sudan. These programs work to empower women by educating them on their rights and enabling them to take on leadership roles. One way these groups are able to do this is through dramas and musical events put on by the community. These performances highlight the importance of women as peace-builders and show how they can stand up against gender-based violence.
From these programs women in South Sudan have emerged as active community leaders, promoting peace and providing role models for incoming refugees. Many of the leading counselors in these programs are women who once faced abuse and isolated themselves, demonstrating the growth that can come from support.
In the U.S., Representative Sheila Lee is working to protect the future of these women by sponsoring the Equal Rights and Access for the Women of South Sudan Act (H.R. 48). This act, which has just been introduced to the House of Representatives, supports refugee relief that encourages women’s rights. It also focuses on the complete inclusion of women in post-conflict reconstruction and development, planning a future based on empowering women in South Sudan.
With 13 cosponsors, the potential of this act is promising. However, the work of humanitarian organizations remains essential to the recovery and success of these women. While the UNDP and IMO are working to empower women in South Sudan now, this act preparing for a future in which these women can thrive.
– Kelly Hayes
Photo: Google
How Protecting Alpacas in the Andes Saves Peruvians
Who would have thought that an alpaca would be essential to life? Well, to the indigenous tribes in the Andes Mountains, they are. But, with extremely freezing temperatures and adverse weather conditions in the winter, alpacas in the Andes are dying off in large numbers.
Secluded from most life and with little government help, “the indigenous communities living high up in the Andes … are some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Peru.”
These desperate and cold Peruvians rely on alpacas for many of their daily necessities, including transportation to the market, wool for warmth, milk and cheese for nutrition and manure for fuel. Losing thousands of alpacas in the Andes is a devastating reality that the Peruvians are starting to grasp.
The weather has been so terrible in some parts of the Andes, killing tens of thousands of alpacas, that the government declared a state of emergency. Even children have been dying from the abnormal cold front. Ignacio Beneto Huamani, an Andes Peruvian, stated, “If the alpaca die, then we all die.”
Bringing hope and technological solutions to the Andes Mountains, nongovernmental organization Practical Action is working with the communities to try and protect the alpacas and, therefore, Peruvians’ lives.
There are three ways that Practical Action is working to protect the alpacas in the Andes.
1. Shelters
Building shelters from local materials is an easy way that alpacas can escape the cold and hopefully death. Trusting that sheltering more alpacas from the elements will save more, some shelters store up to 50 alpacas at once.
2. Nutrition
Keeping the alpacas in the Andes fed properly is another major concern. When the winter storms hit, most vegetation dies off. That which is left is usually used to feed the children and weak community members. Since the alpacas are necessary for humans’ wellbeing, this is a vicious circle.
Practical Action has introduced a way to grow blocks of barley for the alpacas. In a simple two-week process, barley grains are planted in a trough of water, exposed to sunlight and kept hydrated. Then the barley grains are formed into blocks, which are fed to the alpacas to help them recover their strength.
3. Veterinarians
Since most alpaca owners are not high-class doctors, they are not sure how to treat different diseases that the alpacas can contract. Practical Action has trained over 35 farmers to be aware of the different diseases and how to treat them. These basic veterinary skills are essential if the Peruvians want to try and salvage their alpacas in the Andes.
These three techniques that Practical Action is using are already helping some communities save their precious livestock. A local alpaca farmer, Emilio Chalco Valladares, said that “we save much time because we have the knowledge ourselves and diseases don’t spread. Animals don’t die anymore.”
With more support and training, hopefully, one day soon alpacas in the Andes will thrive again.
– Sydney Missigman
Photo: Flickr
A Nation’s Struggle: The Main Causes of Poverty in Finland
Finland is rated among the top nations in the world for quality of life, financial equality and educational systems. As a welfare state, it provides its citizens with public services to protect against financial and social risks like accidents, disabilities, old age and unemployment. Thus, there are few causes of poverty in Finland.
The country also has one of the lowest poverty rates at approximately 0.04% of its 5.4 million citizens. However, the percentage of people considered at risk of poverty is on the rise.
In the late 1980s, Finland had an impressively low unemployment rate of 3.5%, with 10.7% of the population considered at risk of poverty.
In the early 1990s, Finland suffered a severe recession that brought the unemployment rate to 18.5%. This subsequently dropped to 9.1% by the late 1990s as the nation made a quick recovery.
The Finnish government made significant spending cuts for public services to cope with the recession. York University graduate scholar Juha Mikkonen wrote that increases in public services grew slowly alongside a slow wage trend since these cuts were made.
Numerous scholars argue this trend left more people at risk. Others argue these public services can be the net that saves those on a low income in the case that an accident, illness, or loss of income hits unexpectedly. These safeguards act to cushion the blow of the key causes of poverty in Finland.
Leading Causes of Poverty in Finland
The number of people at risk rose to 15.6% in the late 2000s and now hovers around 13%. Recently, Finland’s Ministry of Finance announced that around 869,000 people were at risk.
What does it mean to be at risk of poverty? The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines the poverty line separately for each nation and is usually drawn at or less than 50% of the national median income.
The Finnish government presently uses the OECD’s defining parameters of those at risk of poverty. Those with an annual income of less than 60% of the national median income, which in Finland is $28,238.
In 2014, Statistics Finland reported the two age groups with the highest percentage of at-risk individuals were those 18 to 24 years (at 29.7%) and 75 and older (at 22.2%).
Mikkonen noted that the causes of poverty for Finland’s youth may be their limited employment while in school and increased dependence on their families later in adulthood. If their family falls on hard times, they are put at extra risk.
Finland’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Health states that poverty must also be defined by how well a person can access resources necessary to their well-being, such as good housing, food, healthcare and education.
Social exclusion can limit resources as well as job accessibility. Social exclusion and poverty often originate from the same causes depending on how the poor are perceived.
Numerous scholars studied how different people perceive the causes of poverty in Finland, finding that people attribute three main groups of causes: a) one’s personal behavior, b) societal and economic factors and c) luck or fate.
In addition, different social groups of the poor, such as families with children, elderly, and immigrants, are often judged differently as to what caused their poverty and how deserving they are of aid.
What makes these studies important? How a community perceives the poor and poverty influences how poverty-targeted policies are shaped and implemented.
Mikko Niemelä, University of Turku professor of sociology, notes that numerous studies reveal Finns are more likely than other Scandinavians to point to individualistic causes such as poor money management or laziness.
Niemelä’s study compared perceptions of social service providers and the public. About half of all respondents blamed problems with the social security bureaucracy and a lack of skills or opportunities as primary causes. His results also showed that the public was more likely to blame individualistic reasons.
A transition in social security policies occurred in the late 1990s. Prior to the recession, policies largely sought to provide universal protection against financial hardships. Mikkonen notes that there has since been a transition towards policies that specifically target poverty reduction. These policy shifts parallel a change in opinion that disfavors universal policies as not effective in safeguarding against poverty.
One particular policy shift has excited many people across Europe. Beginning January 1, 2017, the Finnish government embarked on an experimental program. Called the Basic Income Experiment, it is part of a transition in governing philosophy towards a “culture of experimentation.” According to the Prime Minister’s 2016 Action Plan, this “experimentation will aim at innovative solutions, improvements in services, the promotion of individual initiative and entrepreneurship, and the strengthening of regional and local decision-making and cooperation.”
The experiment includes 2,000 citizens between the ages of 25 and 58 considered at risk who will be given a flat monthly income of €560 for two years. This income can be spent by recipients in any way they choose and takes the place of social security payments.
The goal is to see how social security could be made simpler while incentivizing work and providing a level of flexibility to the aid provided.
Why the stir of excitement and controversy? The idea for a flat, unconditional income has been discussed for many years.
A recent poll by Dalia Research Partners and NEOPOLIS found that 64 percent of their ten thousand respondents across 28 European nations would vote in favor of an unconditional basic income for those in need.
And now we wait to see how such an experimental plan might fare on the national scale.
– Diana Nightingale
Photo: Flickr
The Realities Behind Human Rights in Turkmenistan
Human rights in Turkmenistan have a long-held reputation as among the harshest in the world, a reputation still held today. The current president, Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov, and his close advisers control nearly every facet of public life.
In September 2016, the Turkmen parliament enacted a new constitution, removing the 70-year-old age limit for the office of the presidency and also eliminating presidential term limits.
According to the Turkmenistan Human Rights Watch report of 2017 and the U.S. State Department’s 2012 Turkmenistan Human Rights Report, three primary liberties appear to be at the forefront of persecution. Listed below are these freedoms and details describing the severity of these particular human rights in Turkmenistan.
1. Social Activism
Those who publicly and even sometimes privately advocate for a civil or free society in Turkmenistan take a great risk. They live in constant fear of governmental retribution, and not only endanger themselves but often their families too.
In October 2016 three activists were arrested. Two were sentenced to supervised, forced labor. While one was released after ten days, the other was sentenced to three years in prison based on fabricated fraud charges. The third, Galina Vertryakova, while in police custody awaiting trial, managed to post dissenting comments about the Turkmen government on Russian media channels. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested on unfounded extortion charges.
In August 2016, Akmukhammet Baikhanov, a Turkmen exile, was in Moscow when two men in masks attempted to abduct him. This took place one month following his publication of a book that revealed specific abuses of human rights in Turkmenistan prison “Ovadan-Tepe,” a facility known for torture and terrible conditions. In April 2016, the Turkmen government detained Baikhanov’s brother, stating that they did so because of Baikhanov’s book.
However, the case of Geldy Kyarizov best depicts the lengths to which the Turkmen government will go to silence activists. In the early 2000s, Kyarizov sustained a six-year prison sentence, convicted on fabricated criminal charges. But, the government finally granted him permission to leave the country in 2015. In November of 2015, Kyarizov interviewed publicly for the first time and described his experience at the prison. Following this interview, Turkmen government officials cut off all communication between him and his family, threatened his siblings and briefly jailed one of them after alleging drug charges.
2. Press and the media
Freedom of the press does not exist in Turkmenistan. Instead, the state oversees all media, whether print or digital, and almost never allows foreign media outlets access to Turkmen media. Also, if someone catches a Turkmen citizen providing media content to foreign media agencies, that citizen will face retaliation from the government. The government also has eradicated most private satellite dishes, and the internet remains heavily restricted and monitored. In fact, the internet in Turkmenistan is among the most expensive in the world.
Saparmamed Nepeskuliev, a journalist for RFE/RL and Alternative News of Turkmenistan, an exile-run news outlet, received a three-year prison sentence in August of 2015 for unfounded drug charges.
In the early 2000s, former dissident and journalist, Chary Annamuradov, fled persecution from Turkmenistan. He gained asylum and citizenship in Sweden in 2003. When going on vacation to Belarus in 2016, Belarusian authorities arrested Annamuradov upon arrival for having an outstanding international arrest warrant for leaving Turkmenistan illegally. However, shortly after Belarus denied a Turkmen extradition request for Annamuradov in September, unknown individuals kidnapped Annamuradov’s brother from his home in Turkmenistan, holding him for four days. During that time the kidnappers severely beat and interrogated him about his brother. Altymurad Annamuradov died shortly after his return home by his kidnappers.
3. Political imprisonment and enforced disappearances
The abuses of human rights in Turkmenistan society is arguably seen most ostensibly in their treatment of political dissidents. The number of individuals jailed for political reasons remains unknown, due to the lack of transparency within the justice system. Trials often close off the public; independent monitoring of criminal cases can result in imprisonment or other forms of punitive action.
Due to this lack of transparency, the whereabouts of political dissident Gulgeldy Annaniazov, arrested in 2008, was not known publically until 2015. Annaniazov continues to serve an 11-year sentence. The fate of at least dozens of other political dissidents remains unknown. Despite its membership in the U.N., the Turkmen government ignored all requests to release certain victims of these enforced disappearances.
According to the “Prove They Are Alive,” campaign, three government officials died of unknown causes within the last two years. This includes Yolly Gurbanmuradov, a former deputy minister in charge of the gas industry, who died in December 2015; Annadurdy Annasakhedov, the former head of the department of counterintelligence, who died in February 2016; and Vekil Durdyev, a former state security officer, who died in August 2016.
In addition to this, both the U.S. State Department’s report, as well as the Amnesty International’s report, details the treatment of many inmates in Turkmen prisons. Torture appears as a commonality and is carried out in various ways including electric shocks, asphyxiation with a plastic bag, rape, forcing inmates to stay outside in extremely hot or cold temperatures for long periods of time and even forcibly administering hallucinogenic or psychotropic drugs.
Unfortunately, despite its constitution declaring the country as a presidential republic and secular democracy, an authoritarian regime runs the nation; ensuring that the citizen’s ability to change the government is futile. In order to reform the abusive human rights in Turkmenistan, a reform in government is mandatory.
– Hunter Mcferrin
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