poverty
Most of the world’s inhabitants and peoples live in poverty. Why is this? Is it enough to blame it on those who are poor, saying that they’re irresponsible, lazy, and make poor decisions? Are the governments of their countries responsible for the situation? These and other things are undoubtedly real reasons for poverty. Yet deeper and more universal causes of poverty and inequality are less often discussed reasons.
Essays
poverty and land
Prum Samros lives in a little thatched hut on a dirt road in Bavel in North West Cambodia with his wife and their
six children. The house is bare with just a few scattered belongings. His seven-year old daughter reduces the charcoal under the rice cooking pot. “You know we have nearly nothing left after five moves in the last
seven years,” says Prum’s wife, Vanna. She looks around and picks up an axe, the only tool that survived
all the relocations. They point out their land, an overgrown field just a few meters behind their modest home. Demining teams and their dogs have just discovered an unexploded bomb in the field and are preparing for the explosion. “I hope that we can stay on here for good,” says Vanna with a wan smile. For the last seven years, Prum’s family has wandered the country looking for a place to settle, searching for the invaluable promise of a piece of land. But this is the best they can find: a mined plot of land on a former front-line area, several kilometers from the closest village.
six children. The house is bare with just a few scattered belongings. His seven-year old daughter reduces the charcoal under the rice cooking pot. “You know we have nearly nothing left after five moves in the last
seven years,” says Prum’s wife, Vanna. She looks around and picks up an axe, the only tool that survived
all the relocations. They point out their land, an overgrown field just a few meters behind their modest home. Demining teams and their dogs have just discovered an unexploded bomb in the field and are preparing for the explosion. “I hope that we can stay on here for good,” says Vanna with a wan smile. For the last seven years, Prum’s family has wandered the country looking for a place to settle, searching for the invaluable promise of a piece of land. But this is the best they can find: a mined plot of land on a former front-line area, several kilometers from the closest village.
1/2010
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