Archive for category: Global Poverty

Key articles and information on global poverty.

Problems Facing the New Congress

GOP_Congress
The newly-elected Republican House and Senate is facing several problems related to foreign aid and other issues dealing with foreign policy and international relations.

For instance in 2014, due to the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Latin America, Republicans proposed to stop sending aid to countries such as El Salvador, Guatamala and Hondouras. Instead of providing foreign aid, Republicans proposed to provide funding for initiatives that would protect the border states.

President Barack Obama’s strategy in congress is “play offense” against the majority GOP Congress. This includes using his veto power to stop legislation of the XL pipeline and increased sanctions on Iran.

“We in the administration believe that, at this time, increasing sanctions would dramatically undermine our efforts to reach this shared goal” of reducing Iran’s nuclear weapon capacity, said Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, at a Louisville event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) earlier this week.

The situation worsens as Democrats and Republicans further divide over social issues.

The United Nations Population Fund is the branch of the United Nations that supports development of programs and clinics that provide reproductive services for women. This institution needs funding to cut down on unplanned or unexpected pregnancy. The strict policy enacted by Ronald Reagan mandates that non-governmental organizations providing support for women cannot even mention abortion let alone refer them to doctors.

The order was rescinded by Bill Clinton in 1993 and then reinstated during George W. Bush’s administration. The bill is also known as the “gag rule” and is an example of the volatility of bipartisan politics in Washington.

“The global gag rule has had a dire impact on vulnerable women by allowing critical family planning programs in the developing nations to be held hostage by the ping pong game of U.S. partisan polices,” said Brian Dixon.

Obama also stated, “I’m not going to spend the next two years on defense; I’m going to play offense,” he said, at his speech to Democrats. Obama has made it clear that he is not laying down for his last term in office.

– Maxine Gordon

Photo: Politico Fox News Women’s E-News
Photo: The New Yorker

What is the Out of Poverty Caucus?

out of poverty caucus
The Out of Poverty Caucus, also known as the COPC, was founded in January 2007 for the purpose of creating solutions to help end poverty in America. Led by congresswoman Barbara Lee, COPC brings together lawmakers and congressmen to focus their energy and resources into developing new policies to help find solutions to factors that contribute to poverty.

The COPC will develop legislation and gather support keeping the following principles in mind: Provide affordable healthcare, provide affordable housing, reduce unemployment and reduce hunger among many others.

The COPC also works to connect people to resources and anti-poverty associations. Government subsidized programs that provide affordable food like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, provide necessary services to people.

A census done in 2011 shows that approximately one in six Americans were living below the poverty line. That number settled around 46.2 million Americans. Safety net programs help keep many Americans from falling below the poverty line which is why it is important that the federal government continues to use federal funds to support these programs.

Medicaid is also an important program that the COPC seeks to continue funding for because it provides for Americans who cannot afford privatized health care. When private health care is so expensive, other alternatives need to be accessible to citizens.

“Social service programs serve as a life line for our nation’s low income and poor communities,” Lee said. “Social services need to be provided by the government to provide a safety net for people who have lost their jobs or have dealt with unfortunate circumstances.”

Though there have been differing opinions about what factors contribute to whether a person is considered to be living in poverty, there has been strong bipartisan support on the issue.

Coalitions like the Out of Poverty Caucus are important because they seek to represent the needs of impoverished Americans in Congress. In 2014 when Congress had multiple hearings on whether or not to drop bombs on Syria, SNAP was in the midst of being cut by five percent.

Representative Jim McGovern, (D-Mass), a proponent of putting the impoverished first, addressed the situation.

“I hope through all this Syria stuff, that we’re able to shed a bit of light on this, because I think most Americans, if they realize what’s going on, would be outraged,” McGovern said. “The fact is that foreign affairs, and especially military action abroad, will be more prominent in the media and in Congress.”

The COPC deals with numerous issues including childhood poverty, education, transportation, energy and education among many others. The organization uses congressmen, congresswomen, lawmakers and lawyers to put together legislation that focuses on bettering people’s lives.

– Maxine Gordon

Sources: The Nation, Out of Poverty Caucus, Huffington Post

Chimamanda Adichie’s “Danger of a Single Story”

Danger of a Single Story Notes
We are all guilty of perpetuating stereotypes that create a single story, whether it’s intentional or not. In “Danger of a Single Story,” novelist Chimamanda Adichie puts it best: “Show people as one thing over and over again, and that’s what they become.”

In this TED Talk, the Nigerian author warns that we risk a very critical and very cultural misunderstanding when we forget that everyone’s lives and identities are composed of many overlapping stories.

 

What is the Danger of a Single Story?

 

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.”

When we hear the same story over and over again, it becomes the only story we ever believe. And this stands especially true for the story of Africa.

Too often do we hear this version—Africa, the poorest “country” in the world where only rural landscapes exist and where people live in terror amongst wild animals.

Too often do we treat Africa as one narrative, one we have fostered over generations and generations, becoming so institutionalized that even those who graduated from universities will sometimes slip and refer to Africa as a country or their language as “African.”

This is the danger of a single story, and it brings to mind a quote by American writer Alvin Toffler: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

We must learn to unlearn these perpetuated stereotypes in order to allow ourselves to see that there is more than this one narrative to Africa—to anything, really.

Adichie’s novels are inspired by Nigerian history, telling the forgotten stories that generations of Westerners fail to repeat.

However, she reminds us that we must not only seek diverse perspectives, we must also tell our own stories, ones that only we can tell about our own personal experiences.

What she hopes to follow are the first signs of crumbling of clichés and stereotypes, something that’s long overdue but never too late a process to begin.

Adichie’s “Danger of a Single Story” is one of the most powerfully crafted speeches ever given, one where every single word counts.

“Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”

 

Hear Chimamanda Adichie’s story.

 

– Chelsee Yee

Sources: TED Talks, CNN
Photo: BBC

10 Great Songs About Poverty

songs about povertyGreat songs can draw inspiration from anywhere — love, heartbreak, politics, war and peace, to name just a few. At The Borgen Project, we are inspired to fight global poverty. If you are looking for a playlist while you fight with us, we recommend these 10 songs about poverty.

1. Angels With Dirty Faces

Performed By Los Lobos

Broken window smile
Weeds for hair
Strolling ’round the corner
Like a millionaire;
And the angels with dirty faces
Go it alone.

2. Another Day In Paradise

Performed by Phil Collins

She calls out to the man on the street
‘Sir, can you help me?
It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?’
He walks on, doesn’t look back
He pretends he can’t hear her;
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there.

3. Blackbird

Performed by The Beatles

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see.
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

4. Do They Know It’s Christmas

Performed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure

There’s a world outside your window
And it’s a world of dread and fear;
Where the only water flowing
Is a bitter sting of tears.
And the Christmas bells that ring
They are clanging chimes of doom.

5. Ghost of Tom Joad

Performed by Bruce Springsteen

Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge;
Shelter line stretchin’ ’round the corner
Welcome to the new world order.
Families sleepin’ in their cars in the Southwest
No home no job no peace no rest.

6. Hole in the Bucket

Performed by Spearhead

Walk right past and think about it more
Back at the crib I’m opening up the door,
A pocket full of change, it don’t mean nothin’ to me.
My cup is half full, but his is empty.

7. If There’s A God in Heaven

Performed by Elton John

Torn from their families
Mothers go hungry
To feed their children
But children go hungry
There’s so many big men
They’re out making millions
When poverty’s profits
Just blame the children.

8. Mr. Wendal

Performed by Arrested Development

Uncivilized we call him,
but I just saw him eat off the food we waste
Civilization, are we really civilized, yes or no?
Who are we to judge?
When thousands of innocent men could be brutally enslaved
and killed over a racist grudge.

9. Mr. Banker

Performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Mister Banker
Mister please, how much does money mean?
Won’t you reconsider mister
Won’t you do this thing for me?
Ain’t got no house
Ain’t got no car
All I got, Lord, is my guitar.
But you can have that mister banker
Won’t you bury my papa for me?
Oh mister banker please.

10. Seek Up

Performed by Dave Matthews Band

Sit a while with TV’s hungry child,
big belly swelled
Oh, for the price of a coke or a smoke
keep alive those hungry eyes.
Take a look at me, what you see in me,
mirror look at me
Face it all, face it all again.

– Katrina Beedy

Sources: EdChange, Lyric Interpretations,
Photo: Pexels

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Education in Laos

education in laosAs a developing country in Southeast Asia ruled by a communist government, Laos has a very limited education system. The country is populated by several ethnic groups but only the Lao Loum, or “lowland Lao,” have a tradition of formal education and written script.

Buddhist temple schools called wat schools were the main source of education until the mid-twentieth century and the subjects covered were rudimentary. Buddhist monks would teach their pupils basic arithmetic and reading skills as well as social and religious subjects. At the time, only ordained boys and men had access to further education.

The French had an influence on Laotian education during the colonial period but, unfortunately, the secular system it established had little relevance to the vast majority of rural citizens. Most students never exceeded secondary school studies, and the few that did had to travel to larger cities in Vietnam. The elite minority who reached university-level studies usually traveled all the way to France to continue their education.

Recently, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, or LPDR, has shifted its focus toward constructing an education system that will encourage broad ideological thinking and mobilize potential. With goals to build a well-rounded development in areas such as economy, technology and culture, the LPDR sees education as a way forward for the nation. It wants to strengthen the national education system by improving its overall quality, increasing relevance and ensuring equitable access.

These goals are specifically listed in Article 19 of Lao’s Constitution that states that “educational, cultural, and scientific activities are the means to raise the level of knowledge, patriotism, love of the people’s democracy, the spirit of solidarity between ethnic groups, and the spirit of independence.” In Article 22, the Constitution asserts that “the State and society shall endeavor to improve the quality of national education system, to create opportunities and favorable conditions for all the people to receive an education, particularly the inhabitants of remote and isolated areas, ethnic minorities, women, children, and disadvantaged persons.”

The Decree on Compulsory Primary Education of 1996 was a milestone in these endeavors by making primary education free and compulsory for all children whether by public or private institutions. All schools were mandated to comply with a national curriculum, thus standardizing minimum requirements of education for all schools.

The national program currently consists of primary schools where students learn for five years and can then move on to two periods of secondary education—four years in lower secondary and three years in upper secondary. Although girls are allowed to attend primary and secondary schools, they are still underrepresented along with cultural and language minorities. This is reflected in Lao’s literacy rates, where 86 percent of females between the age of 15 and 24 were surveyed to be literate in 2011, whereas 92 percent of males of the same age group were confirmed to be literate.

The Education Law enacted in 2000 and amended in 2007 reasserts the claim made in the Laos Constitution that “all Lao citizens have the right to education without discrimination” and establishes that the government has a duty to expand education for “the development of Lao citizens’ necessary knowledge and capacity for their occupation or further study.”

Although education in Laos is still not up to speed with that of developed nations, it is clear that the LPDR government has prioritized education improvement as a means of both modernizing the state and safeguarding the future of its people. It understands that education is an important means of national development and has strongly invested its interests in expanding education to reach that end.

– Shenel Ozisik

Sources: Library of Congress, State University, UNESCO
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Education in Bolivia

Education in BoliviaThe history of Bolivia is a clear representation of how education can be used as a tool for maintaining political control.

Education in Bolivia was first formalized by Spanish-speaking Europeans who colonized the Iberian states occupying present-day Bolivia. In order to keep power from returning to the indigenous people after the liberation of these Iberian states, Bolivians of European descent used education as a tool to eradicate indigenous languages, traditions and ultimately, identity.

They believed they were “remaking Indians into productive peasants” and wanted to integrate them into campesino culture so that it would grow dominant over the indigenous culture. Education in this context was used as a method of control and subordination; it promoted prejudice against any language or culture that differed from that of the hegemonic group.

The schools set up for these indigenous groups did not teach its students traditional subjects such as arithmetic, reading or social studies. Instead, they focused on agriculture and pushed literacy to the edge of the curriculum. Reading and writing was assumed to be useless for people meant to work the fields—even potentially dangerous. In a world where knowledge is power, the ruling class knew that literacy among the working class would only undermine their authority.

The revolution of 1952 changed the power structure in Bolivia and eventually led to the redevelopment of the education system.

A new education act unified all people under one system, taking the place of the previous system where the working class and upper class had separate schools. However, students were only taught in the national language from that point on—a change that was intended to help integrate the indigenous population into the national Spanish-speaking culture, but instead further marginalized them. Indigenous children forced into Castellan-taught classes could not understand their teachers properly and often dropped out. Furthermore, teachers were poorly trained and classes often focused on memorizing rather than practical learning.

The result of these educational practices is a Bolivian population that is only 50 percent literate and an elite educated minority. It is estimated that 70 percent of the rural populate and 30 percent of the urban population are illiterate.

However, this is not necessarily a result of lack of funding. Bolivia devotes 23 percent of its annual budget to educational expenditures—a greater investment than most South American countries usually spend. The problem more likely has to do with lack of effective spending, to which the Bolivian government has responded by decentralizing spending on education in order to meet the diverse needs of local communities.

Since 1994, this decentralization has significantly improved dropout rates. More children are going to school across the nation; however, schools still seem to be lacking in quality teachers and relevant curriculum. This can be observed by the high rate of secondary school graduates who want to attend university but must take an entire year’s worth of extra courses in order to bring their knowledge up to speed with international standards.

Bolivia still has a long way to go in terms of improving its education system in order to substantially increase literacy rates and to help its students acquire the skills needed to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

– Shenel Ozisik

Sources: FOCAL, Journal of Intercontinental Communication, Foundation for Sustainable Development
Photo: Lab

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Education in the Gambia

education in the gambia
Located in west Africa, just slightly less than twice the size of Delaware bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and Senegal, lies the smallest country on the continent of Africa, the Gambia. Of the estimated 1,925,527 residents of the Gambia, 90 percent are of Muslim religion and the population can be deemed mono-ethnic with only 1 percent of the population reported as non-African.

The Gambia’s education expenditure was an estimated 4.1 percent of the GDP in 2012 and ranked 109th in comparison to the rest of the world. The Gambia’s literacy rate (defined as those who are 15 and over and can read and write) for the total population was estimated at a mere 51.1 percent in 2011 (male: 60.9 percent, female: 41.9 percent.) In comparison, the United States doubles this rate with 99 percent of the total population deemed as literate.

The school life expectancy, primary to tertiary education, in 2008 totaled to only 9 years— the U.S.’s school life expectancy totaled to 17 years. Contributing to low school attendance rates is the prevalence of child labor (children ages five to 14), which was estimated at 103,389 (25 percent) in 2006.

The Gambia’s Education Structure: Lower and Upper Basic School

The formal system of education in the Gambia operates on a 6-3-3-4 system. Basic education consists of six years of primary (lower basic) and three years of upper basic education, together totaling to 9 years of uninterrupted basic education.

Typically, gambian children start school at age seven. From ages seven to 13, the students are enrolled in a lower basic school. At grade six, students take a placement exam.

At age 13, students enter an upper basic school for three years until they are 16 years old. Upon completion the upper basic school, the students take a Basic Education Certificate Exam (BECE) in nine or 10 subjects and this completes their basic education. Depending on their performance on the terminal examination offered in the ninth grade, the student may attend a Senior Secondary School or other Vocational Training provisions.

According to the U.S. Embassy, “Until 2002, primary education lasted for six years and led to the Primary School Leaving Certificate (phased out). Secondary education was divided into junior secondary schools, which offered a three-year course leading to the Junior School Leaving Certificate, and Senior Secondary schools which offered a three-year course. Since 2002, a new unified basic education system was introduced covering 1-9 years, through an automatic transition with no examination at the end of the lower basic cycle. The cycle is divided into two cycles: lower basic (Grades I–VI) and upper basic (Grades VII–IX).”

In the Gambia, there are 368 lower basic schools and 89 upper basic schools. Another type of school system in the Gambia called the basic cycle schools is a combination of the lower and upper basic school.

Senior Secondary School (SSS)

Admission to Senior Secondary/High School is very competitive in the Gambia. 75 percent of Gambian students attend government schools. According to the U.S. Embassy, “Secondary schools offer a variety of subjects in science, arts and commerce. At the end of Grade 12, pupils sit for the West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) conducted by the West African Examinations Council. Students in all the 55 Senior High Schools take a Core curriculum consisting of English language, integrated science, mathematics and social studies. Each student also takes three or four elective subjects, chosen from one of seven groups: sciences, ‘arts’ (social sciences and humanities) or commerce (visual arts or home economics).”

Collegiate Education

Like the United States, gambian students pursuing an undergraduate program at a university will typically study there for four years prior to receiving their bachelor’s degree. There is also a significant amount of Gambian students studying in the U.S. In the 2007-2008 academic years, 330 Gambian students were studying in the U.S. at various times. Also similar to the U.S., Gambian student may further their education at a university as a graduate student for over a year to obtain their Master’s degree.

– Eastin Shipman

Sources: U.S. Embassy, UNICEF 1, UNICEF 2, CIA 1, CIA 2
Photo: Access Gambia

Controversial Leadership: China’s Role in Africa

In recent years, China’s role in Africa, particularly its economic role, has expanded significantly.

China is currently the continent’s largest trade partner. China and African nations exchange roughly $160 billion worth of goods every year, and one million Chinese have moved to Africa in the past decade.

China says that more than half of its foreign aid goes to Africa; between 2010 and 2012, China provided Africa with more than $14 billion in foreign aid. Additionally, China funded the building of the $200 million Africa Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as “a symbol of deepening relations.”

China also provides economic guidance in Africa. In a November 2014 conference, officials from China and the African Union met in Ethiopia to discuss how Africa can learn from Chinese industrialization practices. A joint-commissioned comparative study on Special Economic Zones in China was presented at the conference, with the goal of improving Special Economic Zones in Africa.

Many, including Ethiopian president, Dr. Mulatu Teshome, see China’s leadership role in Africa as a good thing: “Benchmarking China’s best practices in industrialization is essential, in that that it is almost unthinkable to realize the African dream of becoming an industrialized, united and prosperous continent by 2063 only through Africa’s own technology generation.”

It would appear that China is uniquely suited to provide development leadership in Africa. Much of China’s success in reducing poverty amongst its own people stemmed from agricultural and rural development. Similarly, rural poor account for over 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africans living below the poverty line. According to a World Bank study, roughly three-quarters of China’s overall poverty reduction between 1981 and 2001 came from gains to the rural poor.

Some, however, have accused China of “resource colonialism,” asserting that China is using Africa’s mineral wealth to spur its own economic growth — a charge that foreign minister Wang Yi has adamantly denied.

“In China’s exchanges and cooperation with Africa, we want to see mutual benefit and win-win results. I want to make clear one point, that is, China will never follow the track of western colonists and all cooperation with Africa will never come at the expense of the ecology, environment or long-term interests of Africa,” Wang asserted.

Others wonder whether China’s political role in Africa is expanding along with its economic role. China insists that its support is unconditional, and that it has no designs on interfering in the political affairs of African nations. “Politically, we always speak up for African countries and uphold justice. Economically, we help African countries to enhance development to achieve prosperity,” said Wang.

A recent article in the Economist argued that, while China’s win-win rhetoric is largely empty, China appears to have no designs on building its political influence on the African continent. “Some thought, after a decade of high-octane engagement, that China would dominate Africa. Instead it is likely to be just one more foreign investor jostling for advantage.”

– Parker Carroll

Sources: The Economist, The Guardian, International Fund for Agricultural Development
Photo: PxHere

Liberia’s Ebola Treatment Unit Design Could Save Lives

ebola treatment unitThe Ebola epidemic has been a main topic of discussion for months now, and while the U.S. did briefly face a couple of cases, the center of the diseases is taking place primarily in Central Africa.

There are numerous reasons why Ebola has continued to spread and defy all attempts at containment. With widespread lack of vaccinations paired with unsanitary living conditions, it is no surprise that the disease has continued to thrive for most of 2014. At the beginning of 2015, new ideas for combating the Ebola spread are being implemented.

While U.S. advocates are providing as many vaccinations as possible right now, a new solution may offer a decline in mortality rates by changing one line of defense that may be a bit easier to control: clinic conditions.

African temperatures average in the upper 90 degrees Fahrenheit each day, and the intense heat is detrimental to patients losing precious body fluids from lying in the suffocating heat. Tents and tarps are set up in the typical Ebola clinic center, attempting to shield patients, volunteers and doctors from the intense heat. But as sweat, bugs and more people gather under the tents, patients and volunteers alike become quickly dehydrated and exhausted from the relentless sun.

A new Ebola treatment unit, or ETU, opened in Zwerdu — about 300 miles from Liberia’s capital of Monrovia — and is the first of its kind to feature bamboo-lined walls and a thin, tarp-like roof.

Thomas ten Boer of the German non-governmental organization Welthungerhilfe raves about the new structures. “I used bamboo because it is hollow and helps absorb the heat … Feel the plastic on the inside of the tent, it is cool to the touch,” he said. American aid organizations are excited about the new ETUs as well and USAID is set to build four ETUs in Liberia this year.

All construction materials, including the bamboo, are purchased locally, which also stimulates the economy while keeping costs down for the buyers. Local workers turned out to aid volunteers in the construction of the ETU. “You include the community and it helps them accept your project and gives them hope,” said ten Boer. For head engineer Daniel Dined, this project hit home. A Liberian native himself, Dined explained, “I have been working for humanitarian organizations … but to work for the Liberian people, that’s my dream and I love it.”

USAID hopes to have all four clinics open by Christmas, but as Dr. Elsie Karmbor of the Zwedru County Health Office said, “we pray that no patient will [have to go there].”

– Alaina Grote

Sources: Doctors Without Borders, USAID, YouTube, World Health Organization
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense

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Poverty in Tehran

Socioeconomic conditions in Iran, and Tehran in particular, are declining at a rapid rate. The country is home to high unemployment rates, dire poverty, rising inflation, and an unsustainably low minimum wage. Tehran teems with street vendors — many of whom are children — who engage in their dangerous work out of sheer desperation. Meanwhile, the nation’s rich continue to grow wealthier. The result is an ever-widening gap between Tehran’s rich and poor.

Nearly 40 years after the Iranian revolution, the nation’s leaders have yet to ensure equal distribution of wealth and opportunity to its citizens. Iran is currently home to seven million people living in absolute poverty, struggling to find enough food to eat each day.

Meanwhile, there are also five million people living in Iran who are tremendously wealthy, with Labor Minister Ali Rabiee deeming their financial statuses comparable to those of the wealthiest Americans. Nearly all of Iran’s national government officials are multimillionaires — a fact that the nation’s working class has protested over the years — and the country gains a considerable amount of wealth from its lucrative oil exports.

More detailed figures describing poverty data in Iran remain hard to come by, as news sources have criticized the government for withholding such information. This tendency to shy away from revealing relevant statistics is in no way a new trend; when former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in office, the government similarly refused to comply with the United Nations’ requests for official data reflecting poverty levels in Iran. This remained the case despite the passage of Iran’s Fourth Development Plan, which required the Welfare Ministry to make such information accessible.

Despite the ongoing secrecy, current Iranian President Haxdsssan Rouhani has been vocal about making poverty a top focus since assuming office, declaring in an October speech that there was “no evil worse than unemployment and poverty.”

Since taking over the presidency in 2013, President Rouhani has implemented several measures intended to address the nation’s growing poverty problems. Some of these measures have proven successful in helping to curb rising inflation levels and bringing a timely end to two full years of negative growth. However, it remains to be seen whether the president will be able to address the issue as fully as it demands; critics point out that the largest parts of Iran’s economy are heavily controlled by the government or semi-private bodies that remain intricately linked with the nation’s power players.

Officials believe that unemployment will only grow in the years to come, as approximately four million new college graduates leave their universities and struggle to find employment, joining the four million people in Iran who are currently in need of jobs. In the last fiscal year, nearly one quarter of all households in the nation were entirely unemployed.

In Tehran, many of the poorest city-dwellers turn to establishing informal businesses on the streets as a means of survival. It is common to see such vendors setting up makeshift “shops” on sidewalks or simply carrying their goods for sale throughout the city, peddling items like balloons, hair ties and socks to passersby. These street peddlers face instability and even danger in the face of constantly changing city ordinances and brutal security officials who try to extort them for protection money. Some peddlers, when confronted by rogue officials, are forced to regularly pay them in order to avoid harassment. If they refuse, the officers simply take all of the sellers’ earnings.

The situational poverty in Tehran goes beyond an economic problem to a human rights issue.

– Shenel Ozisik

Sources: The Borgen Project, PBS, Al-Monitor, FIDH, The Guardian, The Baltimore Sun
Photo: Payvand