International aid is a funny thing. After class the other
day I was biking down the street and I started to notice a troubling trend:
nothing here belongs to the Malagasy people. I saw a school whose funding was
paid for by Japan. I saw a series of wells, which were donated by the Republic
of Kuwait. I saw a road sign signifying road repairs completed by the European
Union. I saw a medical office building, which is home to an Italian aid
organization. And finally there I was, a Peace Corps volunteer from the United
States, biking through it all.
A few days ago, I was with my English conversation club
(which is hilariously nicknamed YESMAN for Young English Speakers of MANakara)
and we were discussing the job climate here in Manakara. One of the students said
the main problem is that too many public sector government workers are not
being paid enough or at all by the Malagasy government. He went on to say that
the real problem is that countries other than Madagascar (he was pretty
non-specific) haven’t giving the Malagasy government enough money to pay these
workers.
This seems to be a common trend: people feel entitled to
aid. For Malagasy people, receiving money from developed countries is as
customary as receiving money through direct deposit. No one should have to do
any work; the money should just be there. As a Peace Corps volunteers, it makes
your skin crawl a bit.
On the one hand, how can you blame them? When they walk
through their every day lives seeing signs of aid from this country or that,
wouldn’t we, too, just accept it as normalcy? You might even be surprised to
see something “Vita Gasy” (Made in Madagascar).
It appears as though dependency on international aid has
grown like a virus in Malagasy culture.
During our stay in Madagascar, PCVs receive something like
$200 per month for things like food, transportation, lodging on the road,
urgent medical needs, and other essential or non-essential items. As PCVs we
are supposed to be living in circumstances on par with Malagasy people. You’d
be hard pressed to find a family of five that brings in that much money per
month. In addition to our monthly stipend we have nice bikes, clean American
clothing and other physical traits that wouldn’t require a detective for one to
determine that we are not Malagasy. Because of this, PCVs will be asked for
money or a “kadoa” (gift) everywhere he/she goes. If a PCV buys bananas in a
small-town market, someone may very well ask for one or many of those bananas
in the two or three minutes it takes the PCV to walk home. If someone introduces
a PCV to someone he/she needs to talk to, it is also common for that person to
ask the PCV for a little bit of money to buy a cigarette or other similar item
in exchange for their service. The concept of bargaining for a good or service
you want to purchase can often turn into a huge pain in the butt because the
vendor automatically assumes PCVs have more money (which, as I admitted, is
true). The kicker, though, is that because of this fact, the vendor then
believes extortion is justified. No joke. If you protest a price, vendors will
often tell you “you’re white so you must have money.” Sometimes I run into
really stingy vendors who will not budge. Unfortunately, I really need the item
for whatever reason so I’ll buy it anyway. While many of you sitting at home
probably think I need to just relax, I would argue that by making that purchase
I not only confirmed their suspicion, but I just ruined any opportunity the
next white person has at getting a fair price at this particular stall.
The concept of “mangataka’ing” (to beg or ask for something)
is so bad here that PCVs will literally befriend people if that person doesn’t constantly
ask for things. It’s an unfortunate, but very real problem.
Here in Madagascar, international aid has created an
environment where not only is it okay, but it is expected that foreigners
should be giving money or material donations when any such opportunity presents
itself. It is expected in large sums (in the example of the student who thinks
the job situation is the fault of a lack of international monetary aid) and
small donations (in the example of the Peace Corps Mada volunteer who would be
hard-pressed to go a day without being asked for something).
How will Malagasy people learn to be independent if they
always have charity to lean on? Isn’t this the same as your parents kicking you
out of the house if you have graduated college and choose not to look for a
job? From where I am sitting it doesn’t seem like many Malagasy people are
being proactive about the changes that need to be made for this country to
function again. Then again, behavior change is an incredibly difficult thing to
evoke. On the other hand, they know they don’t need to change their behavior
when they can rely on mom and dad (that’s international aid for those who are
also realizing this is a really bad metaphor) to keep them going on a
day-to-day basis? Granted, I live in a small sliver of Madagascar so I can’t
speak to the daily-goings-on in other parts of the country.
In the end, I don’t know what the answer is. Fortunately for
all of us, there are other people in position to make these decisions. Unfortunately,
lots of them make these decisions with political motivations (another reason
not to be a politician-love ya Fritz).
Let me just make one quick clarification. I love Peace Corps
Madagascar and this really has been the best job I have ever had. I guess I get
worked up over this stuff because I have put a lot of effort into my work here
and I don’t want to see it or these people flounder.
A few weeks ago there was a pretty epic cyclone that
destroyed parts of the south east coast. Several people died, homes were
destroyed, flooding of epic proportions (like the kinds you see on natural
disaster videos) displaced thousands, big, hulking trees went down and entire
sections of road were washed away (don’t I seem like the bad guy after that
soap box lecture about charitable aid). At the beginning I thought it would be
cool to see what a cyclone would be like, but after a few hours I was thinking,
“Holy shit. Okayyyy, that’s enough. Saw it. It can stop now.”
Yeah, it didn’t stop. Rain pelted down for nearly two days
in a country with no real sewer system. I also had to work quickly to make sure
my hole in the ground didn’t overflow and have its contents all over my yard.
Serves me right for looking forward to a cyclone. Here are a few pictures…
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| What is left of a section of road |
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| There was also a road here |
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| and here. |
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| I just took these pictures a few days ago, nearly a month later. |
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| Pancakes are great cyclone food. Care package from mom arrived at the perfect time. |
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| A few kids at a house near me pulling stuff out through the window. |
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| Water started receding so I went out to my poop hole to check on the damage. |
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| This all used to be road |
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| Not a lake or river |
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| Road |
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| This is not a lake or a river. |
I wanted to let everyone know that I am applying to
Challenge Detroit, a revitalization project in Detroit that is currently in
year 3. I have made it through the first round and if I make it to a certain
point in the application process, there is a “community vote” where people go
on to Youtube and watch a video (that I am currently creating) and the
applicants are judged for views and likes. I would love to have your help. It
will be around April 6th if I make it.
Finally, Congrats to Cooper and Emily on getting engaged!
Very happy for the both of you!
