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17th October 2002

Messages of Support, Official Appeals and Statements

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Messages of support

   Messages of Support

Official Appeals and Statements

  New Orleans (USA)

October 1, 2002: Street Library- La Salle Street

"It makes people happy to be able to go to school, to get an education, so when they grow up, they can do something they want. I want to be a pediatrician, because I can help people and make them happy. I’ll be able to talk to people when they are not feeling good and make them feel better. I want to help sick children. I want to be someone that children can always talk to. I want to make children happy."
Michelle Collins

"The Street Library makes me happy ‘cos children are trying to learn."
Charmaine Russell

Gina Russell

My name is Gina Russell, and I’m a mother of four. I want to tell you about my struggle for my kids education. This has never been easy, as I live in poverty.

I want to tell you about my son Corey.

Corey didn’t speak for the first 7 years of his life. We didn’t know what was wrong. The professionals who examined him said he had the mind of a newborn baby. The teachers said he would never learn to read or write or have most of the skills that other children learn.

Corey heard the discouraging things that the professionals said, and he turned the picture around.

At school, Corey’s friend got shot. When it happened I appeared on TV, saying that Corey would never come back to that school. But later Corey told me he wasn’t going to let what happened hurt his education.

Corey’s teacher was Mrs. Thompson. She was on Corey’s side, and she got him accepted into a special education program at Sophie B. Wright School.

Now things are different. Corey is receiving A’s and B’s. In May of this year he received the Patrick Taylor scholarship, and he is the only teenager in the whole area to receive it. The scholarship gives him free admission to the zoo and the aquarium and other benefits. Also, Corey has become more mature, and he is very eager to learn.

I am very proud of Corey!

***

Marcie Lewis (testimony : extract)

My name is Marcie Lewis and I’m a parent and I helped with the mosaic project.

I like the way the kids expressed themselves on what makes them happy. They drew different things onto their tiles. For example, one child drew a house, showing a happy house with people around them. Another girl did a Birthday Cake, as having a Birthday Party was one of the happiest moments that she remembers. The kids tiles showed many things including a $5 bill to show that they like to go out and spend money. There was one of the family, to show how they want to be together as a family. The heart was painted to show love and being loved. There is a Basketball for people who like playing basketball....

The kids went to a Community Center to paint their tiles. The kids were so happy to be going out somewhere. The Center was good for them. The kids need to go to a place and have time for them, to play around- kids need that. They have so much pressure, so many things that they have to deal within their lives like violence, drugs and shootings. In a Community Center they can also play games on the computer, chess, chequers and search for things on the internet. It’s better than just sitting watching TV all the time… It’s good to get out and do things, create your own activities and do stuff. At the Center, they can concentrate on expressing themselves.

What I learned when I was helping with the mosaic is that the kids respond to you good, depending on the way you speak to them. If you talk to them positive then they respond good, if you talk to them negative, it’s not good, it doesn’t work. The kids enjoyed art and working together for example, they shared the crayons and the markers and things. I found that three of the children I know in particular, have come a long way, especially one boy who has really settled down more.

With the Community Center, it can be a place for kids to get pressures off their mind. Kids express themselves, they want to play, they want to run around. The kids need a place for them. 

***

Georges

When a problem is not being solved in spite of the existence of numerous initiatives dedicated to solve it, then the challenge to humanity is made on each of us.

When we see that something needs to be done then we need to attempt to do something. MMACI, the Money Management Advocacy Council Icon, in a small way, is doing something that needs to be done. By locating and training people on how to manage the federal welfare check of people, MMACI gets directly involved with the daily struggles of poor people.

Helping recipients of unearned income, budget their money in order to avoid eviction from their houses and to encourage them to use their check for their own direct benefit is not easy. Substance abuse, family conflicts, verbal abuse, physical abuse and other issues get directly and indirectly addressed when attempting to deal with how an individual’s money is managed.

We train volunteers on how to best interact with individuals to help them use their own money for their own direct benefit. It is not an easy task being a MMACI volunteer. Teaching volunteers on how interact with individuals who are experiencing impulsiveness, lack of trust, who have recently been discharged from jail for obstructing sidewalks and other scenarios, MMACI attempts to provide support for volunteers acting as representative payees.

Poor people, like everyone else, have become much more skeptical these days as a result of the money management. This has made our job much more harder. At the same time, it has allowed us to reach out to more diverse communities for help. For example we were able to recruit volunteers from the local mosques. These young Muslims have been waiting to get involved in multi-cultural community service organizations. Likewise we have recruited several Jewish members from local synagogues. This in addition to members we have recruited from the Knights of Columbus and the National Organization for Women has made our work much more interesting. Everybody has one thing in common, we all want to help the homeless and the mentally ill, no matter what our political perspective might be. 

Caritas - New Orleans

I was born to Romona Jackson on September l8, l974 at Charity Hospital in Bogalusa, Louisiana. I was a teenage mother at the age of l5 years old. When I was l7 years old I had my sister Latricia. She supported us by working in various restaurants in her hometown of Covington, Louisiana.

I am a graduate of Covington High School. I graduated on May 28, l992. In the spring of l993;, I attended Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. I took a semester off in January of l995 and did not return.

In the fall of l994 I met my children's father, George Bristor. After dating for two years, we had our first child George Jr., in October l996. One year later, we moved to Atlanta, Georgia. After only six months George lost his job and we were forced to return to Louisiana. In October l998 we had our second child, Jonathan.

Both of my children attended Caritas Montessori Classes where in l999 Ms. Eunice Royal of Caritas told me about Habitat for Humanity. HFH is a Christian-based organization that helps people who cannot get a traditional loan to purchase a home. There are three criteria that has to be met in order to participate in this program. They are:
l. Need
2. Willingness to partner with HFH
3. Ability to pay for house

At that time I was living in a two bedroom house that was old and drafty. During the winter months the gas bill was about $300 per a month. The bathroom floor was about to cave in and most of the electric outlets were not working. There was not any heat in the bathroom. The sink in the kitchen was leaking. Only recently Miss Eunice Royal referred me once more to a local agency "CHILD SEARCH' , which referred Jonathan to speech therapy.

In May l999, I started working at Winn Dixie as a part-time cashier from 4 p.m. to l2 a.m. four days per a week. I had worked my way up to full-time and was an office associate. Then after two years in April 200l my full-time status was cut back to part-time. I could not make ends meet, so I left that job to go work at Covington Quick Stop.

In July 200l my favorite aunt passed away. As a result of her death I started going back to church. I am now a member of FAITH BIBLE CHURCH and am on the Usher Board. My children are in the children's choir and enjoying attending church.

In August 200l my application for Habitat for Humanity was approved. Then in October, I was laid off from Covington Quick Stop. I got unemployment for six months which allowed me to work on a500 hours of "sweat equity" for Habitat for Humanity. I completed my "sweat equity" in record time, just six months.

At this present moment, I am studying for the Civil Service Exam. I am studying at home through National Training Services, Inc. of Voorhers, New Jersey. My ultimate goal is to pass the test and get a job at the Courthouse, which is being built.

Miss Pauline of Caritas asked me why I was able to accomplish what I have and I said "perseverance".

New York City (USA)

Ten years ago, the United Nations declared October 17^th the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

What has changed since then?

Maybe we could make a list of things in the world that have changed,
programs that have been started,
or people who have worked together in a new way.

But for a family who has to sleep in a cemetery, what has changed?

I'm not saying that there is a big plan saying, "We can help this person get out of poverty, but that other person will just have to stay poor."

But how can we make sure that we don't leave anyone out?

We want to reach out to people on the other side of the world,
and we want to reach out to our neighbors.

Sometimes the crises that come up when you live in poverty make it so hard to talk to each other that we lose track of people close to us, and we don't even know when they need the most help.

In South America, there is a young mother named Dorita.
She has six children under the age of 8, and they live in a shack with a canvas roof.
Other people have helped Dorita to earn a living by making doughnuts and selling them on the roadside.
But even with all the difficulties of Dorita's life, when she found people having a harder time than she was, she found the strength to help them.
She invited a sick mother and her baby to live in her shack.
Now she shares everything she has, even if it means less food for her and her children.

When we heard about that here in New York, we could imagine that even if Dorita did not complain, it must have been a hard thing for her and her children to do.

Many of us have gone through times like that.

We have needed help and we have also offered help to others and shared everything we had with them.

Sometimes it doesn't work out.
Sometimes it is just too hard, because people are different,
because people are dealing with so many challenges at once.

But it can work.

Every single person can find some way to support someone else, and to share kindess.
Before, I asked: "How can we make sure we don't leave anyone out?"

Maybe Dorita is part of the answer.
Poverty hurts so many people that none of us knows how to reach all of them.

But people living in poverty do not only need support.
They also need to be able to help others.
Each person has to be seen in many ways.

Being poor does not limit your humanity.

Faced with the challenge of not leaving anyone out, we need every single person's help.
We need all the people like Dorita, who try to reach out to someone else, no matter how hard it is.

It is our solemn duty to come together
to ensure that these rights be respected

Testimony of the International Movement ATD Fourth World
at the United Nations, NY, 17 October 2002

Sr. Barbara Cooper: It is hard to come here year after year. Many of us have written testimonies that expose some of the most private things in the lives of those who are close to us.  We know that coming here is important because we are standing up in the name of our children, and in the name of other people in so many countries who can’t be here. But is knowing that enough? What do we get out of this? 

Ms. Tina Lindsey: When we were getting ready to come here, we asked each other, “What do we get out of this?” I said, “Look at the stone. It’s letting the universe know that everybody should be concerned by poverty. A lot of people live just one stone's throw away from poverty.  So that stone really is not just for people who are on the street – it’s for everybody.  I know how poverty is - I know how to sleep on a floor and I know how to live when you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from, I’ve been through that. When I first saw the stone, I was pregnant and I had been evicted. And seeing the stone, I thought, 'That’s a wishing well for everybody.' A wishing well, because that stone on Oct. 17 keeps hope alive. You’ve got to have hope.” 

Sr. Cooper: Maybe October 17 can be the day when no one is a “they” anymore. When you live in poverty, you don’t want to hear others saying about you: “They should do this”, or “No, they don’t need it.” And what about the people whose decisions influence the world? Many people criticize them too, by saying: “Are they wasting money again?” or “Why aren’t they more in touch with people living in poverty?”  “They” is too anonymous. It’s a way of taking away people’s humanity.  Can October 17 begin an era when we peel away the layers of “they” to really get to know each other?

Ms. Lindsey: Every one of us here should try to meet someone we don’t know before we leave. We can take time to ask each other, “Why are you here? What does it mean to you to fight poverty?” and “How can we help each other?”

Mr. Eugen Brand, Director General of ATD Fourth World: How can we help each other? When the original stone in honor of the victims of extreme poverty was dedicated in Paris in 1987, tens of thousands of people were there. We were uplifted by a common spirit of conviction and determination. Yes! Poverty could be overcome. It had to be! We all said it and believed it. There was an energy, an electricity in the air. And then came October 18th and all of the other days of the year. People get on with their lives. That spirit of October 17TH, still there, is now challenged by the realities of daily life. As we just heard: people are evicted from their homes; families already living in overcrowded conditions take others in.

Those of you who fight for the Millennium Development Goals are doing your utmost to fight the injustice of poverty; and yet, you know that reducing hunger by half is not enough. It’s not enough because today we know the faces of the other half.

Those who stand for human rights know that human beings need bread, and they need roses too. Health, food, water and shelter might keep a body alive but men and women hunger to be part of society. They long to bring their ideas to community concerns and world matters. All people seek to understand the mysteries of life and what is invisible.  We all seek the beauty that delights the eye and nourishes the imagination.

Those of us who work for sustainable development know the faces of those who are shoved aside to make room for the new. What will happen to the small vendors in some Asian cities who no longer have the right to sell their meager wares on the street? What about the young men who scrape by cleaning fish along the African coast. What happens to them when they have to clear out because the port is going to be developed?

Right here in New York, and in other wealthy cities around the world, how often has urban renewal meant only loss to people who are struggling? What is development and who is it for?  And what is sustainable?

We can help one another with this. Together we can keep up that spirit and that strong belief that brings us together today. We set can goals and timetables that take into account each and every person living in poverty. We can work toward these goals by building partnership with those people whose poverty is so extreme that it has cut them off from their communities. It is only by beginning with these people that we are able to shape programs inclusive enough to make a difference for every person in the world.

This decade for the elimination of poverty is important.  It’s a chance to build the lasting relationships that make all the difference in the elimination of poverty and the recognition of the dignity of all people.

The late Joseph Wresinski called on the United Nations to build a genuine partnership with people living in extreme poverty.  Such an alliance, he said would "fortify very poor families in their strife for life and dignity, just as it would strengthen the entire United Nations. Who could denigrate a UN that turns itself into a true stronghold of the most vulnerable throughout the world? Who could criticize an organization that, for decades to come, takes human beings and the most deprived among them as its priority? The poor themselves will then bear witness that the UN, inventing new roads to reach humankind, is their place of hope, their reason to believe in humanity. And, for all of us, this UN will be proof that our trust in humankind is never in vain." 

Saying “No” to the Injustice of Poverty

Testimony written for October 17, 2001, and shared at the UN commemoration for the International Day

 for the Eradication of Poverty 2002

By Nayroby Shabella Urbina, of Casa Nueva Vida 

            We are all here today for the same reason.  We are here to support one another in saying “no” to the injustice of poverty.  All of us come from different ethnic backgrounds.  If you take a look at the person standing there beside you, they are probably very different from you.  Maybe they are thin, obese, black or white.  Some of us may come from luxurious homes, with many jewels and charms on our shoulders, while others may have only a small amount of clothing on their backs.  Some individuals have been through poverty and come from homeless shelters.  I believe, though, that everyone realizes that above all the differences, we are all still human beings that deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

            I, myself, am a single Hispanic mother residing in a shelter.  I have also experienced poverty.  When you hear the word poverty, though, what comes into your mind?  Maybe just being hungry.  To me, poverty means a lot of different things.  It means being hungry, not having a roof over our heads, struggling in this world to get some clothes or even, say, some rags on our backs.  I think that poverty is also an experience that gives many of us a chance to get on our feet to do the right things in life.  There are many people that think of a homeless person as different.  It shouldn’t be like that, though.  Maybe some of us didn’t get the same chance that others did as a child.  Is that to blame?  No it is not.  Because of that reason, should anyone have his or her rights violated?  No, they shouldn’t.  I am sure that all of us who have at one point been there, in the world of poverty are very thankful and appreciative to the help that we have received from the government.  There is plenty of help out there for anyone that is in need of a roof over his or her head, food, or that just needs financial support.  But that’s not what it is all about.  

There is so much more that we look for from those that are willing to stretch out a hand to us.  We shouldn’t be inferior to anyone, because of the way that we live or because of the individual that we are.  Our emotions are supposed to count too.  What about the equality and sincere respect that each one of us deserves?  In my belief, everyone is very special in his or her own ways.  Whether they are hungry today and full tomorrow.  Or whether they are homeless tonight and under a safe roof in the future.  I also believe that the many people that live in the world of poverty, are not just looking for an easy way out.  Those people don’t just cry out for financial support.  We are individuals that want to feel we belong in this nation too.  So don’t just help us out of pity, or because of your employment duties.  Open up your heart and help us with your soul as well.  Don’t just watch us struggle each day of our lives.  Don’t just sit back and watch us drown ourselves in our own tears.  Don’t just stand there and say that you understand, when you really don’t.  Get up and try to feel us for once.  Try to let the love of your heart come out and make a small difference in our lives.

Let us all be treated with dignity and respect

Let us be able to teach our children of poverty that we are all one people.

Let us be able to teach our children that we belong.

Let us teach our children that we must not be blind to the love and equality that will be granted to us.

Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty

Testimony delivered by Mrs. Doris Lewis, ATD Fourth World

at the United Nations, NY, 17 October 2002

Ten years ago, the United Nations declared October 17^th the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.  What has changed since then? 

Maybe we could make a list of things in the world that have changed, programs that have been started, or people who have worked together in a new way. 

But for a family who has to sleep in a cemetery, what has changed?

I'm not saying that there is a big plan saying, "We can help this person get out of poverty, but that other person will just have to stay poor." But how can we make sure that we don't leave anyone out? We want to reach out to people on the other side of the world, and we want to reach out to our neighbors.

Sometimes the crises that come up when you live in poverty make it so hard to talk to each other that we lose track of people close to us, and we don't even know when they need the most help.

In South America, there is a young mother named Dorita. 

She has six children under the age of 8, and they live in a shack with a canvas roof. 

Other people have helped Dorita to earn a living by making doughnuts and selling them on the roadside. But even with all the difficulties of Dorita's life, when she found people having a harder time than she was, she found the strength to help them.

She invited a sick mother and her baby to live in her shack. 

Now she shares everything she has, even if it means less food for her and her children.

When we heard about that here in New York, we could imagine that even if Dorita did not complain, it must have been a hard thing for her and her children to do.

Many of us have gone through times like that. We have needed help and we have also offered help to others and shared everything we had with them.

Sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes it is just too hard, because people are different, because people are dealing with so many challenges at once. 

But it can work. Every single person can find some way to support someone else, and to share kindess.

Before, I asked: "How can we make sure we don't leave anyone out?"

Maybe Dorita is part of the answer. Poverty hurts so many people that none of us knows how to reach all of them. But people living in poverty do not only need support.

They also need to be able to help others. Each person has to be seen in many ways. 

Being poor does not limit your humanity. Faced with the challenge of not leaving anyone out, we need every single person's help. We need all the people like Dorita, who try to reach out to someone else, no matter how hard it is. 

It is our solemn duty to come together 

to ensure that these rights be respected

Testimony of the International Movement ATD Fourth World

at the United Nations, NY, 17 October 2002

Sr. Barbara Cooper: It is hard to come here year after year. Many of us have written testimonies that expose some of the most private things in the lives of those who are close to us.  We know that coming here is important because we are standing up in the name of our children, and in the name of other people in so many countries who can’t be here. But is knowing that enough? What do we get out of this? 

Ms. Tina Lindsey: When we were getting ready to come here, we asked each other, “What do we get out of this?” I said, “Look at the stone. It’s letting the universe know that everybody should be concerned by poverty. A lot of people live just one stone's throw away from poverty.  So that stone really is not just for people who are on the street – it’s for everybody.  I know how poverty is - I know how to sleep on a floor and I know how to live when you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from, I’ve been through that. When I first saw the stone, I was pregnant and I had been evicted. And seeing the stone, I thought, 'That’s a wishing well for everybody.' A wishing well, because that stone on Oct. 17 keeps hope alive. You’ve got to have hope.” 

Sr. Cooper: Maybe October 17 can be the day when no one is a “they” anymore. When you live in poverty, you don’t want to hear others saying about you: “They should do this”, or “No, they don’t need it.” And what about the people whose decisions influence the world? Many people criticize them too, by saying: “Are they wasting money again?” or “Why aren’t they more in touch with people living in poverty?”  “They” is too anonymous. It’s a way of taking away people’s humanity.  Can October 17 begin an era when we peel away the layers of “they” to really get to know each other?

Ms. Lindsey: Every one of us here should try to meet someone we don’t know before we leave. We can take time to ask each other, “Why are you here? What does it mean to you to fight poverty?” and “How can we help each other?”

Mr. Eugen Brand, Director General of ATD Fourth World: How can we help each other? When the original stone in honor of the victims of extreme poverty was dedicated in Paris in 1987, tens of thousands of people were there. We were uplifted by a common spirit of conviction and determination. Yes! Poverty could be overcome. It had to be! We all said it and believed it. There was an energy, an electricity in the air. And then came October 18^th and all of the other days of the year. People get on with their lives. That spirit of October 17^TH, still there, is now challenged by the realities of daily life. As we just heard: people are evicted from their homes; families already living in overcrowded conditions take others in.

Those of you who fight for the Millennium Development Goals are doing your utmost to fight the injustice of poverty; and yet, you know that reducing hunger by half is not enough. It’s not enough because today we know the faces of the other half.

Those who stand for human rights know that human beings need bread, and they need roses too. Health, food, water and shelter might keep a body alive but men and women hunger to be part of society. They long to bring their ideas to community concerns and world matters. All people seek to understand the mysteries of life and what is invisible.  We all seek the beauty that delights the eye and nourishes the imagination.

Those of us who work for sustainable development know the faces of those who are shoved aside to make room for the new. What will happen to the small vendors in some Asian cities who no longer have the right to sell their meager wares on the street? What about the young men who scrape by cleaning fish along the African coast. What happens to them when they have to clear out because the port is going to be developed?

Right here in New York, and in other wealthy cities around the world, how often has urban renewal meant only loss to people who are struggling? What is development and who is it for?  And what is sustainable

We can help one another with this. Together we can keep up that spirit and that strong belief that brings us together today. We set can goals and timetables that take into account each and every person living in poverty. We can work toward these goals by building partnership with those people whose poverty is so extreme that it has cut them off from their communities. It is only by beginning with these people that we are able to shape programs inclusive enough to make a difference for every person in the world.

This decade for the elimination of poverty is important.  It’s a chance to build the lasting relationships that make all the difference in the elimination of poverty and the recognition of the dignity of all people.

The late Joseph Wresinski called on the United Nations to build a genuine partnership with people living in extreme poverty.  Such an alliance, he said would "fortify very poor families in their strife for life and dignity, just as it would strengthen the entire United Nations. Who could denigrate a UN that turns itself into a true stronghold of the most vulnerable throughout the world? Who could criticize an organization that, for decades to come, takes human beings and the most deprived among them as its priority? The poor themselves will then bear witness that the UN, inventing new roads to reach humankind, is their place of hope, their reason to believe in humanity. And, for all of us, this UN will be proof that our trust in humankind is never in vain." 

atdint@atd-quartmonde.org                  nycteam@4thworldmovement.org

Val d'Oise

Great Britain

What can I say about Peace and Poverty?

When asking myself this I was reminded of a lesson I had at sixth-form on my Peace and Conflict Studies course, and the slightly unusual definitions of Peace and Violence made by Johan Galtung of the Oslo Peace Research Institute.

Peace:    Peace is the absence of Violence

But what is violence? 

Violence:    Violence is that which holds people back from reaching their full potential

These definitions stuck in my mind because they surprised me. The definition of Peace seemed straight-forward enough, but at the time the definition of Violence seemed quite bizarre. It didn’t fit very well with the idea of some sort of physical attack which I would have more readily associated with the word Violence.

However, a few years later, I now have the experience of meeting people who have to live with poverty, in France and in England. I have spent 3 months with ATD at Addington Square, listening to the experiences of family members at policy forums or just over a cup of tea, and reading the accounts of the terrible injustices that so many people living in poverty go through. With this in mind I think back to this idea of Violence, and I think of all those being held back from reaching their potential by poverty; by social security catch 22s which won’t let them get the education or do the job that they want, by not being able to get the opportunities for their kids that they deserve, or by being prevented from just getting on with their lives like others can because people are prejudiced about the way they speak, the clothes they wear or what they’ve heard about the area where they live. 

Victims of Violence suffer humiliation, and sustained attacks may weaken them and wear them down, and leave them in pain and in fear. So what about the humiliation and frustration created by being prevented from reaching for opportunities, and being turned away time and again because of poverty? What about the frustration of trekking around town being passed on from one social security agency to another and the humiliation of being judged by others? What about being worn down and exhausted by the day to day struggles, perhaps by nagging the council to finally sort out a problem with the flat, struggling to keep the kids safe from crime in the area or struggling to keep out of debt? And what about the terrible fear and pain when other people take control over a family having difficulties, leaving them powerless to keep their own family together? 

With these thoughts, I realise that some of the most violent stories I have heard have not been to do with physical attacks at all. The statement that, “Violence is that which holds people back from reaching their full potential,” seems to make a lot more sense. 

Unfortunately, if you take this idea of Violence then there’s a lot of Violence about, and Violence is everywhere. Also, we are all involved in this Violence, Violence doesn’t have to have a specific perpetrator, Violence can be in a system or a situation, and we are all involved in situations which hold people back from reaching their full potential, may be by buying fruit grown by exploited farmers in Latin America, or using buildings which disabled people aren’t able to gain access to.

                But perhaps this view of Violence in which we are all involved is a good way to see it, to accept that we are all connected, and that we all have a responsibility for the Violence happening around us. The fact that people all around the world make the effort to mark October the 17th is a recognition of this responsibility, and it is also a chance to see the potential to work together against Violence and against Poverty. I have found it really encouraging through ATD to hear some of the ways in which ordinary people have made some kind of a difference, be it big or small, in taking away some of those barriers that prevent people in poverty reaching their full potential. I think that perhaps because we are all involved in this Violence, we are all able to contribute to dismantling it and creating Peace. So, for this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2002, I would like to add my message of support to all those who play a role in struggling against that Violence which is Poverty, and towards its absence, towards Peace. 

Emma (Heseltine)

What it is peace?

 Peace is quietness, peace and quiet at home... Nobody has peace in this block of flats. When we sit at home at night there are young kids shouting outside, fighting with each other. You cannot have peace while in poverty because an estate is a place where you have to live, you don’t have a choice. You can’t move to a house where it is quieter. It is important to have peace for your children to be safe, to play safe... Peace to sleep better, for the children to sleep better. If the noise was kept low my life would be better, the music… the noise...

 If we could report these young kids shouting all the time it would be better. If we go to the council they just say “yeah all right”, they just think we are lying. It can be really bad. They should have a beat officer on the estate to check it everyday. You cannot have peace on an estate, not like in houses.

 The tenants go to a meeting to discuss what will be better for this area. They are going to build a playground and do fundraising for this. The children will have somewhere to play, where you know they will be safe.

 Peace for me is my children being safe.

Peace is for all children to be safe.

For no violent people to be on the streets and there to be more police.

For there to be playgroups and places for children to go.

 Even if things are difficult you need to keep quiet. You need to buy the children the things they need, if you cant do this then social services can get involved. A friend of mine could not get stuff she needed for her flat and her children got taken into care. She eventually got her flat sorted out, but did not get her children back. She wanted to say something but she was afraid in case she made more trouble. She needs to keep quiet, It’s like a false peace.

 One woman I know keeps arguing with her boyfriend. She wants peace but he says if she leaves, he will take the baby away from her. She needs to keep quiet, It’s like a false peace.

 That happens in real life.

 Kelly Warner
10th October 2002

***

Testimony written with Maria Jones, Janet Pier, Steve Stone and Matt Davies during the policy forum 3/10/02

 Peace is when you hear the birds sing. Peace is having the space to do the things we want to do. When you go away on holiday, that’s peace. You’ve got peace when you can talk about your kids (who were adopted). You need someone to talk to about your problems in your community. For example, at the school gates there are always Mums meeting one another and getting to know one another: they’re building peace.

 It’s up to each one to make peace – if there’s a family on your street that’s awkward, it’s up to you to help them out. But for some families, they’re not in the right environment so you try to help them move. 

 There would be more peace if there were more youth clubs to get the kids off the street. The kids see so much violence on the TV and there’s nothing out there for them. There’s nowhere for friends to meet. We need to build up respect between people, for example with the police. It’s the 16-18 year olds that cause most worry. There are drugs in the neighbourhood and it creates rows and fights – young children have to see all that.

 Feeling sorry for people isn’t enough. You should do what you can for people, like the homeless, but just giving them a home isn’t enough. There’s a difference between being poor and poverty. Being really poor is what happens to people in Africa. But in the UK, there shouldn’t be any poverty because there should be enough money to go round. We shouldn’t be jealous of people who’ve got money. We have to rely on them to get us out of poverty because we need them to back us up, for them to say: “Maybe everyone should have this money?” It’s having things in common that builds peace.

 ***

Tibetan Prayer Scarves (selection)

“I used to feel like a prisoner in my own home. Peace is to be free from people interfering in your life”

“Peace is bringing up a family and making them secure”

“The seeds of peace grow when they are nourished by love, tolerance and understanding. Peace starts in the heart, grows in the family, spreads to the community and fills the world” – Moraene

“Peace in the world is everybody coming together for a better future for our children. Peace is a world where people should not judge each other” – Yvonne O’Conner

“Peace is having a sense of belonging” – Lilian Knibbs

“Peace comes when I don’t have to worry about how to feed my children”

 “Peace in my life is feeling safe in my community”

 “Peace is having the freedom to do the things that one likes to do. Peace is a time to reflect on ones life. World peace means that everyone has the right to say what they want to say”

Testimony of the families of el Pozo del Huevo - 17 October 2002

In the month of July the rehousing of all of the families from el Pozo del Huevo was completed. They had been living in a shanty town on the outskirts of Madrid and making a living collecting scrap metal and selling things in the street. In 1999 the families were going to be evicted, with no offer of possible rehousing. Members of ATD Fourth World in Hull offered the families support and encouraged them to continue fighting to be rehoused. As Conchi, one of the women from El Pozo put it:

"When the letters arrived from England, we realised that people outside our area and even outside the country were behind us. That gives you strength, it gives you an injection of adrenaline and you keep going. They suggested we organise a petition and we managed to collect almost 1000 signatures from people both inside and outside the area, in Spain and abroad. They gave us moral support and they joined us in our fight, they wrote to us from time to time and we are very grateful to them."

The families of El Pozo del Huevo, with the support of the different associations working there, demanded that the authorities rehouse them. Conchi explained what the whole process had been like:

"We felt very afraid, some people said that they would go and live under a bridge, others said that they were going to have to live in a tent, and others that they would go and live in a car. We knew that none of these solutions were really possible - that we would have to take some kind of action, but nobody was prepared to take the first step, for the simple reason that we didn’t feel capable of achieving anything. I know that it helped us a lot to have people advising us on what to do, because you begin to think that you can do something about your situation after all, and at least you feel calmer and stop worrying so much.

A small group was formed to represent the concerns of El Pozo del Huevo, but everyone there was involved in the campaign in some way. We had meetings with the Youth Protection Officer and the Social Affairs Minister and we sent a lot of letters to the town council, the regional government and to rehousing organisations, enclosing our petition of 1000 signatures.

That was how we managed to get them to take responsibility for the rehousing of the residents of the area. When we saw in the newspaper that the rehousing had been approved it was a day of great celebration for us.

We wanted all of the people from the area to be rehoused and it took just over two years for this to be done, but it was a very peaceful and positive process. I feel very proud of it. Everybody is very happy and the rehousing organisations and the families of the area worked together all the way."

Ángel added: "It’s like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and they all fitted together. Everyone had their own piece - El Pozo del Huevo had one piece and ATD another - and all of the pieces fitted together, working towards the same end."

Now all of these families are living in decent housing. Like María del Carmen for example, who says:

"When you live in a flat you feel much less anxious, the children don’t see so many things as they do in a shanty town - so much dirt, so much delinquency - and you really notice the difference in them. Things change overnight."

Or Antonia, who says, "In the shanty town there was a lot of squalor. Where other areas have cats in the street, we had rats. There you had to go out to fetch water and here we have running water in our houses. It’s a completely different life."

Or Ángel, who tells us, "When you have to cover your bed with plastic to keep off the rain or have to watch your children suffering from colds because the 4 planks that serve as a roof just don’t keep them dry, you can’t live, you can’t rest. Having a flat changes your whole life. You get to know your neighbours. Someone will invite you round for a coffee. I have a great neighbour now who I wouldn’t swap for all the world."

Or Diego, who says, "The worst thing used to be telling people that you lived in El Pozo del Huevo, because everyone said that people there were all bad. Now I am happy to be able to say that I live in a normal area, amongst normal working people."

On the other hand, some people also look back on the time they lived in El Pozo del Huevo with great fondness, and some speak of the difficulties they have encountered in their new homes.

Román for example, who says, "Life in a flat is more complicated in a sense. As someone who works collecting scrap metal in a cart I can’t always say that I will have the money to pay the rent and bills on time. In the shanty town I didn’t pay for electricity or anything. Now all my earnings are eaten up by the bills and rent."

Tere says, "I have trouble adjusting - here we are always going to remember life in El Pozo."

Conchi tells us, "The other day we went back to El Pozo del Huevo and I said, ‘How sad! How wonderful! How beautiful!’ - at that moment I experienced so many different emotions. The area had been demolished, but I could almost still picture the children running around there. Before it was an area full of life. Now it’s a ghost town. One bad thing about the rehousing is that you’re not surrounded by those people any more, because even if you didn’t get on with someone, you would always forget about all that whenever anything serous happened. You would always go and help - everyone looked after each other. Living in a block of flats that looks out onto the street isn’t the same as living in a shanty town. I am proud to have lived in El Pozo del Huevo."

The families are very happy to report that everyone has now been rehoused and that no one has ended up on the streets. They would like to say a special thank you to their friends in Hull who supported them so much. They say, "We would like to express our extreme gratitude to you - to say thank you for all the support you have given us - for caring about us. All we can say is ‘Thank you!’"

  Ireland

I’m Tracy Redmond. They call me "wealie" because of the wheel chair.

You see, I have polio, which means I can’t move on one side of me. I’m used to that because I’m like this all my life. I have been in hospital 14 years, all my childhood. It was not easy but you get used it.

Since then, life has not been easy. Paddy and I, we got married off the streets, we had no home just sleeping rough in derelict houses, and B&B’s when we could. We never had a place until my second one was born. We didn’t have much of a start.

I had 7 daughters, I lost 3 of them: two when they were very young and my oldest girl was 27 years old when she got murdered in England. She was 4 months pregnant, I never got over it.

My second daughter Teresa was homeless too, sleeping in a tent along the canal. Her fiancé drowned in the canal when he had a fit.

The happiest time in our lives is when we lived in Artane. We were overcrowded, there was nine of us there and no bathroom.

But we liked it there. That house had been in my family five generations. Paddy had his horse and cart and he could collect scrap metal; that was his pride and joy. When we had our own place, if we saw some homeless people we would always bring them home with us. At times it has been our downfall, but we couldn’t leave people on the street, we had been on the streets ourselves and we knew what it was like.

To cut a long story short, we had to leave, and where we were after that was not right for us so we had to leave again. Paddy was left to sleep the streets and me and the kids went to a B&B. We had 2 rooms there and every morning we had to get out, whether it was nice weather or raining, you just had to get out. We used to meet with Paddy in the park, and stay there, go into a cafe for a while, kids and all. We could not cook where we were. We had to manage the best we could with what we had....

Things went a bit out of control in our lives, the drink you see, I could not stop that. I am trying to do something about that.

One thing I want to say is that sometimes children cannot be in the family, they have to go away for a while because of circumstances. But parents and children should still be able to see each other and the children should see one another. That’s one thing I want to change. It’s easy to break a family but it is not easy to keep it together. We all make mistakes, some of us have been on drugs or drink, it’s not all our fault, it’s because what happens in our lives. Some parents had a worse life than others, especially if they have been brought up in homes. They need more help and support again and again.

Now Paddy and I live in a hostel. There is about 14 families here. I have been here 2 years and a half in this place. I have seen lots of people coming and going. Some families have been homeless for 2 or 4 or 7 years even, in B&B’s and hostels.

That’s not right. That’s all over Dublin: children grow up like that, they have no privacy as a family. Everyone is on top of one another. I know what it does to a family.

Just because we are homeless, we count for nothing. The authorities think they can do what they like with us. Anything can happen to you when you are in the street, you count for nothing. Like Jimmy my cousin sleeping rough and burnt in the car.

We must stand up and not let people treat us like that. We are the people who live it we the people have to do something about it, and hope some day we will change things for the best for everyone.

Today I talk for the people that can’t talk for theirselves. I do this for them, to make things change, because I know it can be done. I tell them to fight for their rights with their brains, not with their fists. Teresa who spoke last year, she told me I could speak, she thought I could do it. She knows better than anyone else what me and my family have been through. I say I’m a small woman in a wheel chair that does not make any difference. But we all have to do what we can to help each other.

I know that if we get together and stand for our rights we will win. What we want is a better life for ourselves and for our children, especially because the children are our future.

I believe that things will change. I know it, and that you have to keep on fighting together. OK.

Testimonies from families in poverty, given during an ATD meeting in Luxemburg :

Children need their parents and parents need their children, even when they have been forcibly separated and put into care.

One man said , "I work for my children. When I come home each day, if my children were not there, my life would make no sense. I was in a children's home for a long time and they took care of all my needs, but what I desired the most was to live with my own family".

We parents have a great responsibility. We ask ourselves many questions, and we don't always know what is best for our children. We hope we can talk to professionals about this and perhaps they can give us good advice, but we are often afraid to ask, because we fear our children will be taken away from us and put into care.

To live together as a family we need decent housing, an income, a career and recognition. As parents we want to share our experiences with others, to be understood and also to learn new things, hoping that our children will live a better life than we have had.

Message for the 17th of October from Fourth World families in Rennes.

We speak about poverty all over the world, and we must be courageous. To see the poverty around us and know what it is, you must have lived poverty. Although, we hope that nobody has to live what we have lived.

To fight against poverty there are laws, and they should be applied to everyone in the same way. We should know what our human rights are. The right to housing, water, electricity, work, a decent family life. As citizens we should also support each other to make sure our rights are respected.

Through the 17th of October, we should open the eyes of the politicians and get the anti-poverty laws working. Our government should set the example, if they lend us a hand, they should not take it all away again with another.

To fight against poverty, we need to fight for our children. What is there stronger than a family? It's the family that stands by us when everything goes wrong. It is there where we feel we are listened to and loved. Families in poverty try their best to escape, but no-one sees. They search for work, they support their children, house them, clothe them and feed them.

To fight against poverty we have to come together, to show what we know how to do, to show we are fighting and that it is everyone's battle. Together we must fight injustice and humiliation.

There are supporters, groups, ATD Fourth World, and the poor who helped build it. We must go and meet people living in poverty and understand what they are doing to escape poverty. Real support is friendship, talking and understanding. People who have lived in the street are very attentive to others, they stop and talk to the homeless and try to show them where they can go to get help and support. We need to know how to help each other out. Between neighbours we should help each other with paperwork etc.

Other people speak about those who have trouble at work, but to fight poverty, you must be able to keep your dignity. The hardest thing is the way others look at us. The poor resist poverty without others knowing. When we speak about poverty, we should hold our heads up high. Be proud that we are survivors. Even if you are rich or poor, we are all human beings.

It takes a lot of strength to live in the street. To fight against poverty we have to stop the humiliation. Some people out of work, look for food in bins. Our habits are often judged because they are not seen as normal, or our way of speaking is not like those who are well off, or where we live is not acceptable. What we need is to regain our confidence and our self respect.

What we need from this day is to hear the voices of those in poverty. For those who are listening, do so in silence, because you will hear the courage of people. It is a day where friendships are born and reinforced. The more people there are the more we will achieve. For all those who have died in poverty, we pay our respects. We do not have the right to forget them.

The October 17 plaque, represents the humanity of each individual. We want peace and dignity. We invite you to observe a minutes silence for all those around the world who are living the pain of poverty.

Text by Nicole Laurent Catrice, based on the words of Fourth World families.

England - Mrs O'Connel

I am a priest in England. Tomorrow I am going to let my small congregation at the weekly service know about the International Day for the Eradication of Extreme Poverty. It is only a small action, but as we say in England "Every little helps." I am glad to know that this is going on in the world: I did not know until now.
Best wishes,
M.J. O'Connell.

Tanzania

Message from the Fourth World Movement in Tanzania, Africa

Testimony on the occasion of 17 October 2002, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

“Even though we have a very difficult life in Dar es Salaam, I was happy to work with our brothers to renovate the building in the school for those who have an even more difficult life than ourselves.”

In June this year ten young people went to work on a dormitory building in a school for blind children in Moshi.  One of the friends of the Movement, a teacher at the school, had found it difficult to find strong hands to finish the last stage of the renovation.  When the proposal of going to Moshi to finish this work was made to the young people they didn’t hesitate to answer the teacher’s call for help.  Today these young people continue to reflect on their experience, what it means for them and what it means for their community.

“I was very happy to be in Moshi because we went thereto support people who face their own difficulties.  Without such a reason we could not have gone.  I was happy to meet people who have their own problems and it made me feel stronger to be together in a group that took me outside of the life I know and live.  We ourselves live in a difficult situation but we went there because we needed them to feel strong again and for them to have the strength to face their difficulties.  We ourselves may not have work or a place to sleep but we volunteered our efforts.”

When we came back to Dar I felt good and I felt stronger.  Even with the difficulties of our own life here I kept thinking of the children in the school, their life and how we could continue to support them.”

“We went there because of friendship, and because of a friendship that has existed for a long time.  Without friendship nothing is possible.  It is important to have respect for each and everyone in their life.  Friends may argue and fight but once the fi8ghting finishes there is friendship again, and no matter where you go in the world you can never forget about your friends.”

On leaving Moshi, having spent one whole week at the school, the headmaster of the school paid his own tribute not just to the young people or to the work that they had done but to the spirit and the endeavour that he had witnessed.  He told them, 

“You have really shown us an example that you have come to work with the poor and not for the poor, and that poverty was created by man and therefore it is up to all of us to eradicate it by working together as a team.  It is because of moral commitment that I personally feel obliged to express my deep appreciation to you all.”

“We shall make the community around us realize the importance of your help so that they can join you in the fight to eradicate the problems pertaining to our school.”

“It goes without saying that you have taken the pains and the sufferings of our pupils as your own, even though their sufferings are not of your creation.  This teaches us the lesson that you care and realize the difficulties that others face in their everyday life.” 

  Official Appeals and Statements 

M. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General

Message by Mr. Jan Kavan, President of General Assembly (UN)

Message of UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown

Statement by High Commissionner for Human Rights on occasion of World Food Day, International Day for Eradication of Poverty

Message to staff from the OIT Director-General on the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 17 October 2002

Edmonton, Alberta - Canada

Whereas, the United Nations declared 1997 to 2006 as the decade for the Eradication of Poverty;

And whereas, everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of themselves and of their family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services;

And Whereas, everyone has the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond their control;

Therefore, I Mayor Bill Smith, do hereby proclaim october 17, 2002 ‘International day for the eradication of poverty" in Edmonton.

Aklan, Philipinas

                                    STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY

We, the 121-strong men and women of the Department of Agrarian Reform in the Province of Aklan, Republic of the Philippines extend our solidarity with the worldwide movement to overcome extreme poverty. We believe and support the struggles of millions of people around the globe to eradicate extreme poverty manifested in our people suffering from hunger, ignorance and violence. Our farmers in the rural communities bear the brunt of this phenomenon, be it man- made or as intended by nature but we are firm and determined that with God’s guidance and blessing and our commitment to our agency’s mandate to be the primordial organization to institute asset reform in our country.

By: ATTY. DANIEL Y. MARTELINO
Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer II