Poverty

A friend of mine asked me earlier on tonight if I wasn't too shocked by the poverty here in Madagascar. I answered immediately (without thinking) that I wasn't. I've been to poor countries before and to be very honest with you - I believe that you don't have to go far from your own habitat to bump into a poor person. 

But then I started thinking about it and realized something. The poor person here and the poor person in Europe - it's not the same at all. Maybe I took the wrong kind of European poor into my "to compare chart" but then again, I don't have the necessary details on the other categories. The differences between a homeless person in Europe (more precisely in France) and poor Malagasy people are many. EHP (European homeless people/person) are dirty. And so are PMP (poor Malagasy people/person). That will be probably the only point they have in common. EHP stink. PMP don't. EHP are aggressive. PMP are not. I have never seen an EHP be happy with the little they've got, they are always grumpy. I have never seen a PMP without a smile on their lips. EHP will not try to earn money to live better, they will beg and when you don't give them money - they will insult you. PMP works hard all day, every day, from the age of 8 (on a serious level) until the day they die and at the end of the day they will share the little they have with their friends and families. And if tourists cross their path, they will show them how hospitable they can be by sharing their last drop of coffee. 

So, no - the poverty does not shock me. The way people behave about it is a different matter. Some will stay discreet. And some will play the tune I'm poor (as opposed to "you are rich" and not "you are not"), give me your money because I'm poor. And they will sing that song until you no longer hear it to feel sorry for them. Don't get me wrong. I am not a heartless person. I give. And I give a lot. And I don't even expect anything in return other than a thank you and some respect. But I give when I want to, when I feel it can change things a little. I'd rather make a donation to a school than give a pen to a kid directly (the kid is in obligation to forward it to their elder!). Or to a hospital. All those men who just walk by me and ask me for my money. Why? Why should I give it to them? Because they said hello? Welcome? I'm poor? I'm sorry, I don't think so. I'm carrying a 15kg backpack, I'm huffing and puffing walking through the village under their very hot sun and all they do is ask for my money. And that shocks me more than the fact that they are poorer than me. That maybe they go to sleep with an empty stomach and I don't. But at the end of it, I feel like I gave a lot. I eat their food, I drink their water, I take their public transportation, I sleep in their houses. And I pay higher price than they do. Yes, it probably goes into the wrong pockets. But there isn't much I can do about it.

The fact is: yes, we are lucky because we can save money to travel little faster than them. People in Madagascar can work for 20 years and still won't be able to save enough to discover even their own country (with their whole family). Yes, that can be the down side of having a big family. But I truly believe that no matter our origin, we create our luck and we can sometimes "force" our destiny. Is that a snob thing to say or feel? You decide.