Poverty: Shame to the wealthy and a moral outrage

With millions of Sri Lankans still facing virtual starvation and saying that they could afford only one meal a day because of the worst ever socio-economic crisis since independence in 1948, Aragalaya activists are again warning they will resume their public uprising, which forced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign in July. United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe though having only one seat, was elected as President because the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Alliance helped him to win a majority of votes in Parliament. Mr. Wickremesinghe is possibly the best leader to pull the country out of this catastrophe, but so far little progress has been made largely because the cancer of corruption, kickbacks and commissions are continuing though the President himself is known to be clean, transparent and not corrupt. 

It is in this context that we cooperate with the United Nations in marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty with the theme being “Dignity for all in Practice”. In a statement to mark the event on October 17, the UN says the dignity of the human being is not only a fundamental right in itself, but constitutes the basis of all other fundamental rights. Therefore, “Dignity” is not an abstract concept: it belongs to everyone. Today, many people living in persistent poverty experience their dignity being denied and dishonoured. 

With the commitment to eliminate poverty, protect the planet and ensure all people everywhere enjoy peace and prosperity, the 2030 Agenda again gestured toward the same promise established under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet, the current reality shows that 1.3 billion people still live in multi-dimensional poverty with almost half of them being children and youth.

According to the UN, inequalities of opportunities and income are sharply on the rise and, each year, the gap between the rich and poor gets even wider. In the past year, as millions struggle through the erosion of workers’ rights and job quality to make it to another day, corporate power and the wealth of the billionaire class have recorded an unprecedented rise. Poverty and inequality are not inevitable. They are the result of deliberate decisions or inaction that disempower the poorest and marginalized in our societies and violate their fundamental rights. The silent and sustained violence of poverty – social exclusion, structural discrimination and disempowerment – makes it harder for people trapped in extreme poverty to escape and denies their humanity.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this dynamic, exposing social protection system gaps and failures as well as structural inequalities and diverse forms of discrimination that deepen and perpetuate poverty. In addition to this, the climate emergency constitutes to new violence against people living in poverty, as these communities are unduly burdened by more frequent occurrences of natural disasters and environmental degradation, leading to the destruction of their homes, crops and livelihoods.

The UN says this year marks the 35th anniversary of the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty and the 30th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This Day honours the millions of people suffering from poverty and their courage to recognize the essential global solidarity and shared responsibility we hold to eradicate poverty and combat all forms of discrimination. In a world characterized by an unprecedented level of economic development, technological means and financial resources, that millions of people are living in extreme poverty is a moral outrage. Poverty is not solely an economic issue, but rather a multi-dimensional phenomenon that encompasses a lack of both income and the basic capabilities to live in dignity.

Persons living in poverty, experience many interrelated and mutually reinforcing deprivations that prevent them from realizing their rights and perpetuate their poverty, including dangerous working conditions, unsafe housing, lack of nutritious food, unequal access to justice, lack of political power and limited access to health care.
As the international community embarks on the Third Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, an estimated 783 million people lived on less than US$1.90 a day in 2013,       

compared with 1.867 billion people in 1990. Economic growth across developing countries has been remarkable since 2000, with faster growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita than advanced countries. This economic growth has fuelled poverty reduction and improvements in living standards. Achievements have also been recorded in such areas as job creation, gender equality, education and health care, social protection measures, agriculture and rural development, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. 

As Chinese teacher and philosopher, Confucius says in a country that is well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country that is badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of, while the world’s greatest statesperson Mahatma Gandhi says poverty is the worst form of violence.