These times have brought about various thoughts, feelings and actions. While we are starting to get back to ‘normality’, we know that our lives as they were pre-Covid19 are unlikely to return.

And while there have been scientific discussions, speculations, jokes and serious reflections, many people have started to look around, to look out for people who may need a kind hand, a listening ear, or a word of reassurance – even to those who were strangers before this all started. There are many heart-warming stories; stories of the everyday heroes, those who quietly and humbly reach out to others to share the burden and to help. These have brightened up what would otherwise be very bleak times.  

There is, also a less pleasant realisation - the realisation that many people in our society are suffering poverty and exclusion. This is not completely new. The recession of 2008 has made people come to terms with the delicate balance of living a fine life and losing everything practically overnight. Covid-19 has aggravated many situations in our society, a society which was already undergoing many social changes that were leaving people at the peripheries. People are seeing and experiencing more suffering and fear, and definitely, more poverty. Even though many believe that real material poverty doesn’t exist, we know that it is right here among us when people are in such dire conditions that they depend on other people’s generosity to have a decent meal; or those who need to share the rent of the little flat because they can’t afford otherwise. Some children are sent to school without lunches, and are limited in how they can participate in school activities.

There are different reactions to this – varying from indifference, to blaming and shaming, to an excessive show of generosity and solidarity.

Each reaction is worth a brief reflection, and a cautious one, for fear of being judgemental or insensitive.

Indifference is a malaise that places other people’s lives in difficulty or indeed, in misery; indifference to people around us; indifference to the impact of our behaviour on others; indifference to whether we are honest and respectful in our relationships or in our work; indifference to our impact on the environment. I had once read a quote from Mother Theresa ‘The greatest evil is indifference’. I had thought to myself that it was impossible to sum up evil in one word. However, situations that I experienced showed me how right she was.

Blaming and shaming is certainly another reaction that hinders us if we seriously want to address poverty and social exclusion. We may think we know why people are poor, and we think that it’s generally their fault. We think that it is because they are lazy, or that they misuse their resources. We know that not all are docile and grateful as we expect them to be.  So we conclude that they all are ungrateful and deceitful. Some of us are disgusted by the sense of entitlement of some. And so, we make half-hearted efforts to challenge our attitudes and challenge the way we provide services.

Then there is the generosity of people. Sometimes it seems overwhelming. It is heartening to see that people wish to share what they have, and wish to make others happy. The problem here is that sometimes people are astonished or disappointed because the people receiving don’t always seem grateful, or they seem choosy. This sometimes leads people to feel that they are being taken advantage of, or taken for granted and are bitter about ever trying to help.

However, when dealing with situations of poverty, we need first to look at ‘a poor person’ as, indeed, a person – a person with dignity and who deserves our respect.

There are different reasons why people find themselves in situations of poverty, and each person deals with it differently. Some are more resilient, others know it as their only reality. What is certain is that poverty generally removes real and fair opportunities for people. They are unable to make a choice, because they do not have the opportunity to choose. For example, persons who are hungry would do anything to eat, and are thus at risk of exploitation and abuse; persons who have had limited opportunities for good education are left with little choice of finding a job that will take them outside their situation of poverty and may easily be exploited by  employers; persons who can’t afford their own accommodation are at the mercy of the landlord; persons who have been forced to leave their home because of domestic abuse, face legal barriers which impact their right to equal opportunities.

People in poverty are in a situation where they depend on the kind-heartedness of others. Kind-heartedness and generosity are certainly virtues that we all need in our lives. Yet, people should be able to choose because it is their right to choose, and not because something is given to them by the ‘kind’ people. We need to understand why they are in their situation and help them identify what they think they need to overcome it. Yes, often with ‘help’. However, with the difference that they are the agents in their lives, and ‘partners’ to those helping them, and not ‘recipients’. Having a say in what goes on in their lives is a fundamental right – that starts from being given the opportunities, to having access to fair services where they are treated with respect, given information in appropriate ways, and allowed to make the choices that they feel are best for them.

Giving handouts is fine in situations of crisis. However we really need to think long and hard at what the long-term effects are of such actions, not only to the individual, but to society. To empower people means just that, ensuring that they have the power to decide for themselves and to be treated with respect and dignity.

Catherine Fleri Soler is a Community Prevention Team Manager at Fondazzjoni Sebh