さて、貧困層をテーマに持ってこよう。
ブログをはじめて、僅かな日数しか経たないのだが、予想外のヒットを頂き、またDMでの相談など色々頂いている。
かなりのヒットがありますが、お気に入りにいれている方々にお断りしておく。
筆者は、ブログ活動がメインではない為(現実生活でのボランティア相談や、ML活動が主体)なので、ブログの更新は、せいぜい月2回程度(海外放浪中は、更新も難しい)になる予定。
また、本ブログは、「コメントを受け付けない」設定になっている。トラックバッグは受け付ける。申し訳けないが、時間をさけないからだ。しかし、生アドレスをさらしているし、DMや電話や、MLでの対話は可能…
貧困層とは何なのか、現実を見てみよう。
最新のアジア開発銀行の調査結果が下記だ。
貧困層とは、現在、フィリピン国民の全体のの45.4%(690万家族)。
但し、ここ3年で、「10%」もアップしたというから、いかに大統領(合法的・民主的に正当な大統領と呼べるのかが疑問だが)アロヨの「庶民いじめ政策」「経済政策大失敗」の証といってよい。
この、国民全体の、45.4%を、敢えて、結婚の対象とすることは、全くお勧めできないのだが…
特に、「普通の」日本人には…
ただ、本日は、一点のみ、強調・主張しておく。
この「国民全体の、45.4%の貧困層」と結婚する場合、その結婚相手などとは全く別建てに、この貧困層の人達と「裸で真正面から」の付き合いをまずしてみなさい。
それができなければ、無理だ。
逆にいえば、貧困層と結婚をして安定もしている稀な日本人は、そういう能力があるということだ。
貧困層の人達と「裸で真正面からの付き合い」は、結婚などとは全く別建てに、ファミリー同然の付き合いをすることだ。
フィリピンでは、「ファミリー」意識というのが強いから、ここには、大きな意味合いがある。
そして…人間は様々なので一概にはいえないが、殆どの貧困層は、「働き者(寝る時間などもいとわない)」で実に「純粋」だ。心も洗われるような思いを最初はするだろう。
(もちろん、悪い輩もいるが、それは各国共通。例外だ。)
しかし、あなたが日本人で、この貧困層と、真正面から深い付き合いをし、ファミリー同然の付き合いをすると、いくつか問題なども生じてくるだろう。
そういうこと(発生するだろう問題やギャップ等)を全て自力でクリアし(精神的にも物理的にも)、そしてかつ、その地域から、『敬意を得るような日本人・外人』になることだ。
これは、必須科目といってよい。
実に簡単で明快な事。
が、多くの「普通の日本人」にそれができるかは、甚だ疑問だ。
はっきり申し上げる。中間層や裕福層と違い、貧困層から『精神的に尊敬をされる』日本人・外人になるのは壁が高いのだ。
日本人・外国人は、中間層や裕福層の方が、遥かに信用を得やすい。
尚、もし経済力があって、経済力をもってしても、貧困層から『精神的に尊敬をされる』日本人・外人にはなれないので、お気をつけて。(皆様ご存知の事と思いますが・・・)
時間がないので、本稿はここまでとし、次回以降にテーマを引き継がせて頂く。
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Saturday, February 19, 2005
45% of RP families poor
ADB report for 2000 cites rising poverty incidence for Filipino households
By Darwin G. Amojelar, Researcher
NEARLY half of all Filipino families lived in poverty and did not have $1 a person a day in 2000, according to the estimates made by the Asian Development Bank.
In a report, “Poverty in the Philippines: Income, Assets, and Access,” Karin Schelzig, an ADB poverty specialist and the main author of the report, said that taking $1 a person a day as the poverty line, the number of poor Filipino families rose 10 percent between 1997 and 2000.
Poverty incidence was 35.6 percent representing 5.1 million families in 1997. It rose to 45.4 percent (6.9 million families) three years later.
The ADB put the average family as having five members.
Poverty is defined as a deprivation of essential assets and opportunities to which every individual is entitled. Everyone should have access to basic education and primary health services.
Schelzig noted that poverty incidence fell dramatically from 59.1 percent in 1991 to 35.6 percent in 1997. The overall level, however, was still high?more than one third of Filipino families still did not have $1 a person a day in 1997.
The official poverty threshold in 2000 was P32 a day, which at the time was equivalent to about 72 US cents. In stark contrast, the international poverty line of $1 a day was worth P11.20 in 2000.
Using the international poverty line of $1 a day at the 1993 purchasing power parity, poverty incidence in the Philippines in proportion to the population was 11.1 percent in 2003.
“Compared with its Asian neighbors, the $1 a day poverty incidence of the Philippines was higher than the average for East Asia and the Pacific with 10.4 percent, not including the People’s Republic of China, which had 7.6 percent and higher than the average of Southeast Asia of 5.8 percent,” the report said.
The report said the overall headcount of poverty?the share of Filipinos living below the poverty line?decreased by 10.5 percent from 1985 to 2000. The drop, however, was still minimal compared with the country’s Asian neighbors.
“Over the same period, however, the actual number of poor Filipinos?the magnitude of poverty?increased by more than 4 million,” the report said.
The ADB said the poverty headcount in the Philippines is a result of very high population growth. The Philippines had a population of 76.5 million in May 2000. The population grows at 2.36 percent a year.
The report listed the causes of poverty in the country and issues that exacerbate it or hinder efforts to reduce it:
The ADB noted that poverty in the rural areas is much more pronounced than that in the urban centers, but that the number of urban-poor families is increasing.
The incidence of rural poverty was 47 percent of families in 2000 and remained almost unchanged since 1988, when it was 46.3 percent.
The incidence of urban poverty fell from 30.1 percent in 1988 to 19.9 percent in 2000. However, the absolute number or the magnitude of urban-poor families grew by nearly 11-percent nationwide between 1997 and 2000.
The report pointed out that although the Philippines enjoyed sustained economic growth from 2000 to 2003, results of the preliminary 2003 Family Income Expenditure Survey indicate a 10-percent drop in real average family incomes.
“Economic growth has not been high enough to keep up with population growth: GNP per capita has lingered at around $1,000 for the past 20 years,” it noted.
The report said poverty reduction requires dedicated resources, something the Philippine government lacks. “The fiscal deficit and the national government debt are the Achilles heel of the Philippine e-conomy,” it said.
“Because of the government’s fundamental limitations in human, financial and physical resources, aggravated by excessive red tape, graft and corruption, the government has generally been unable to properly run the country. It has failed to ensure the efficient delivery of necessary public services, and has not brought about the economic development and widespread prosperity the country deserves,” the report stressed.
The ADB said the key to reducing vulnerability to poverty is to ensure access to five types of assets?human, phy-sical, natural, financial and social capital.
“All of these assets are a significant part of the poverty picture, but increased human capital?through improved access to quality education and health?can have a particularly strong effect on poverty reduction,” the report said.
In addition to looking at income, assets and causes of poverty in the Philippines, the ADB also analyzes the country’s progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and assesses past poverty reduction policies and programs.
One of its main recommendations is to emphasize better targeting through improved mechanisms to identify who is poor, where the poor are, and what kind of poverty they face, and then channeling resources to them.
The report was prepared as an input to ADB’s new Country Strategy and Program for the Philippines for 2004?06.
The last major poverty assessment of the Philippines was conducted by the World Bank in 2000.
この記事のシリーズは以下です。
記事:フィリピン人との結婚の注意(1)
記事:フィリピン人との結婚の注意(2)
記事:フィリピン人との結婚の注意(3)
記事:フィリピン人との結婚の注意(4)
記事:フィリピン人との結婚の注意(5)
記事:海外にでてはいけない日本人、国際結婚をしてはいけない日本人、フィリピン人と結婚してはいけない日本人
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