Impressions on the Wuppertal Visit
- by Rhoda Viajar -I know that I am easily emotionally affected and tend to cry at unexpected moments. Still, I was very much surprised by my own reaction to what I saw and learned in Wuppertal. During lunch at the Wuppertal Table, Niklas asked me about my impressions on poverty in the West (in this case, Wuppertal). My instant thought was: Poverty has many forms. Then my tears just flowed – so uncontrollably, I was a bit embarrassed.
Everything was simply ironic. One glance at the room, and one sees humungous loaves of different kinds of bread, large plates full of huge servings, at least three varieties of food (in my case it was five) for just one person. Bounty, that’s how it seemed. The way it looked to me, the food was the kind I could only taste at an expensive restaurant in Manila. But then I could only go to that restaurant if I save money and scrimp on my expenses by doing any of the following: 1) decrease the monthly allowance I contribute for my mother, 2) delay the payment of my celfone or electricity bills, 3) totally quit smoking, 4) refuse social invitations to go to bars and listen to good music, sing, dance and enjoy the company of friends, or 5) eat unnutritious instant noodles for a week. And I’m not even what one would consider “poor” in my country.
So that’s one irony. The quality and quantity of the food at the Wuppertal Table for the poor and vulnerable in Wuppertal is comparable to the food the middle class and professionals eat at nice restaurants in Manila.
In the Wuppertal canteen, the delicious food is free. In Manila’s fine restaurants, this food is bought at expensive prices. Yes, I know the situation is not parallel, and shouldn’t therefore be compared. The food served at the Wuppertal Table are donations. That is why they are free. Still the irony remains. The quality of the leftovers is the same quality one gets when “fine dining” in Manila.
But just like the vulnerable of Wuppertal, we in the Philippines also benefit from the donations of those who do good deeds from the West. An example are relief goods that many enterprising Filipinos sell so they could augment their meager incomes. These relief goods are intended to be given for free yet are nevertheless sold. Many like me purchase these relief clothing because they’re durable and made of fine material. They are also much cheaper than the colorful and beautiful clothes I get from street markets that sell goods from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and all those countries where labor is cheap.
Indeed, the ironies are astounding and they are closely linked to the impact of a globalized neoliberalism system. In this pervasive and imposing system, what kind of choices do I really have?
And am just speaking for myself.
What about the poor, specifically the ones deprived of food? How far can the social welfare approach address their needs?
This brings me to another observation. The Wuppertal Table seems to be an efficient way of organizing scavenging and mendicancy. This system makes it easier for the vulnerable to access food. They need not wait in restaurants and pester diners with crumbs or leftovers. They need not unscramble trash bins looking for edible food. They already have a place to go, a table to sit and fill up their stomachs. The rest of society, however, are able to continue going about their ‘normal’ lives --be unperturbed, undisturbed. It can be said that this system of poverty management is quite successful in eliminating the inconvenience of poverty.
What is poverty?
It’s not just about the quantity and the quality of food and other material needs.
It’s also about work. I am inclined to think that the absence of poverty also means the presence of dignified work. And that the absence of dignified work means the presence of poverty. This is one crucial question concerning one EURO jobs and the welfare system that may have somehow contributed to people’s alienation with work.
The one EURO job worker at the furniture shop says she is happy to have found the opportunity to be able to work again after being unemployed for many years. She also expressed hope that she would be able to learn and hone her skills so she will get a better job. The woman’s sentiments somehow affirms the impressions I’ve gathered from separate discussions and sharings. That is, many vulnerable people blame themselves for their poverty. While I believe that individuals also determine their specific situations in life, structures and systems play a big role in deciding the (mis)fortunes of people. Re-signifying work as one where individuals see their humanity, creativity and dignity in what they do is crucial. More than the monetary value and vested interests in labor processes, discussions and campaigns on State job policies must address this fundamental question. This way, one Euro workers who may feel a sense of satisfaction in their current jobs are neither being put at a defensive position nor are their guilt feelings reinforced. Also, this could perhaps address the poverty of the spirit that I may have felt in the company of the Wuppertal Table diners. Specifically, it’s poverty in the form of a lack of community.
The crisis center somehow validates this perception of a weak feeling/sense of community. According to the social worker, some of the people who go to the center simply want to talk about themselves and their concerns. It seems to me that the crisis center has also become a space for individuals to ventilate their worries and to find a sense of community.
Overall, I feel that poverty indeed has many forms. Addressing this inadequacy or “lack” is not the sole turf of the State. It also entails a collective cultural response.
