Why and How We Organize Our Poor
-New Orleans Still on Our Minds
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
I guess when I think about it, the only credentials I can offer when I write about this piece were those disaster relief activities that came by way of my Asian work tour. Coming back to the US just meant that - coming home ,you know , cleaning the house, putting out the garbage , checking the mail and just about everything that had nothing to do with disaster. The hurricanes that passed the Panhandle, we somehow survived. That belonged to the ambulances and EMTs. Even when 9/11 came, it hit me as more of a war problem than a disaster relief scenario (although, it was a disaster as well) having taken the magnitude of experienced naturally-occuring disasters as something mostly developing countries would have a problem confronting, not the US. Then, of course, Katrina opened up a problem in our consciousness. So, hey, we’re not exactly the exception we thought we were when it comes to having people living under the poverty line. –and not only in New Orleans at that. By now, no one can claim immunity from any kind of disaster.
It stands to reason that in any disaster, the most vulnerable social group, would be , the poor (whatever their color). If it’s an every-man-for-himself situation, certainly the mortality rates would hit them hard first. So, in any society, if there’s any social group that has to be organized way ahead of any disaster, it’s got to be the poor – that’s OUR poor. Aside from obvious humanitarian reasons, other reasons that stand out are better seen from a national security perspective – that the poor are the weakest links in our social fabric and can easily be exploited not only by local opportunists but by enemies of the state (read terrorists). If Homeland Security were really sincere with its mandate, they should be focusing funding on development among our poor (read ghettoes). Then there’s the economic perspective. Organizing the poor means developing their earning potential which increases their market potential for an advanced economy. Example, you can’t expect someone whose basic problem is the next meal to invest in software or even a personal computer. (but this argument is for those who can’t appreciate basic humanitarian reasons)
Organizing the poor doesn’t mean the same thing to all people, BTW. I remember one of the most efficient methods used by former Metro Manila governor Imelda Marcos in organizing the urban poor in the Philippines. She simply had a long white fence built on the roadside covering the unsightly squatter shanties so that her guests arriving from the airport wouldn’t think Manila was poor. It worked. What about the funds allotted for improving hygiene in a Filipino community which led to an abandoned community called Toilet City ? What happened was this fixation of government planners in providing porcelain toilets as THE answer to the rural poor’s problems. So, hundreds of toilets poured into this neighborhood, and with the next visit by social workers, they found the porcelain toilets being used as sophisticated stoves. Not to be undaunted, shacks were built for the toilets until the community decided to leave the still standing shacks with toilet bowls earning the place its infamous name.
When it involves the poor , disaster, and disaster relief plans in any other place, the scenario doesn’t change much. There’s miscommunication, socio-cultural differences, heroism ,opportunism, and , yes, graft. So, for the 72-hr. period after a disaster strikes when we only have ourselves and our neighbors-rich or poor- to depend on, it pays to know you can depend on one another. That is, if you’re organized. Here are some useful things to remember:
1) When it comes to organizing for disaster relief, the initiative always comes from the
more mature mind . Between economic classes, the one having access to a better
education, better information, meaning the better-offs are expected to be the more
mature, but wealth doesn’t automatically equate to maturity, specially if cultural and
social bias get in the way, so the initiative to organize and organize ahead of the
disaster can come from the poorest of the poor so long as he/she thinks that everyone
has a better chance of surviving a disaster if they organize efforts, talents and
resources together.
2) Humans are inherently social beings and are naturally receptive to
organization. In a study on group dynamics, attendees to a seminar were gathered
separately in a room with a facilitator whose job it was not to reveal her role and to
keep quiet for the first 30 mins. of the meeting. After some 10 mins. of staring at the
floor and at each other, spontaneously, leadership qualities started to show itself in
some members who posed the question, “excuse me, but who’s in charge here?”…
”We might as well get to know each other”..etc. Before the 30 mins. were up, a
concensus was already reached to select a representative to go to the seminar hall and
inquire what the purpose of the special meeting was. Imagine what these attendees
could achieve if the purpose for their organizing became crystal clear, as in surviving
a disaster.
Do you know your neighbors ? Do they know you? ( I’ve just relocated, but I’m sure
glad my neighbor works in the sheriff’s office.) Have you gotten so far as to know
which of your neighbors is blessed with a portable generator ? How about cell phone
nos.? Who takes care of security when we have to leave? How about transport ? Food?
3) It’ll take some GUTS. Courage is needed to overcome not just shyness but fear of
rejection and socio-cultural bias. In a ghetto where juvenile gangs (of whatever color)
thrive, there are natural leaders. Inherent in that leader is usually concern for the gang
members’ welfare . Somewhere between looking for jackets with their logo for
the gang members and casing a joint for looting, there must be some communication
corridor for the organizer to work on to redirect those energies to more life-saving
endeavors. The organizer just has to immerse him/herself in the neighborhood.
4) It’ll take PATIENCE. Organizing self-help groups take time. For disasters, it
pays to do it soonest. Do it yesterday.
It stands to reason that in any disaster, the most vulnerable social group, would be , the poor (whatever their color). If it’s an every-man-for-himself situation, certainly the mortality rates would hit them hard first. So, in any society, if there’s any social group that has to be organized way ahead of any disaster, it’s got to be the poor – that’s OUR poor. Aside from obvious humanitarian reasons, other reasons that stand out are better seen from a national security perspective – that the poor are the weakest links in our social fabric and can easily be exploited not only by local opportunists but by enemies of the state (read terrorists). If Homeland Security were really sincere with its mandate, they should be focusing funding on development among our poor (read ghettoes). Then there’s the economic perspective. Organizing the poor means developing their earning potential which increases their market potential for an advanced economy. Example, you can’t expect someone whose basic problem is the next meal to invest in software or even a personal computer. (but this argument is for those who can’t appreciate basic humanitarian reasons)
Organizing the poor doesn’t mean the same thing to all people, BTW. I remember one of the most efficient methods used by former Metro Manila governor Imelda Marcos in organizing the urban poor in the Philippines. She simply had a long white fence built on the roadside covering the unsightly squatter shanties so that her guests arriving from the airport wouldn’t think Manila was poor. It worked. What about the funds allotted for improving hygiene in a Filipino community which led to an abandoned community called Toilet City ? What happened was this fixation of government planners in providing porcelain toilets as THE answer to the rural poor’s problems. So, hundreds of toilets poured into this neighborhood, and with the next visit by social workers, they found the porcelain toilets being used as sophisticated stoves. Not to be undaunted, shacks were built for the toilets until the community decided to leave the still standing shacks with toilet bowls earning the place its infamous name.
When it involves the poor , disaster, and disaster relief plans in any other place, the scenario doesn’t change much. There’s miscommunication, socio-cultural differences, heroism ,opportunism, and , yes, graft. So, for the 72-hr. period after a disaster strikes when we only have ourselves and our neighbors-rich or poor- to depend on, it pays to know you can depend on one another. That is, if you’re organized. Here are some useful things to remember:
1) When it comes to organizing for disaster relief, the initiative always comes from the
more mature mind . Between economic classes, the one having access to a better
education, better information, meaning the better-offs are expected to be the more
mature, but wealth doesn’t automatically equate to maturity, specially if cultural and
social bias get in the way, so the initiative to organize and organize ahead of the
disaster can come from the poorest of the poor so long as he/she thinks that everyone
has a better chance of surviving a disaster if they organize efforts, talents and
resources together.
2) Humans are inherently social beings and are naturally receptive to
organization. In a study on group dynamics, attendees to a seminar were gathered
separately in a room with a facilitator whose job it was not to reveal her role and to
keep quiet for the first 30 mins. of the meeting. After some 10 mins. of staring at the
floor and at each other, spontaneously, leadership qualities started to show itself in
some members who posed the question, “excuse me, but who’s in charge here?”…
”We might as well get to know each other”..etc. Before the 30 mins. were up, a
concensus was already reached to select a representative to go to the seminar hall and
inquire what the purpose of the special meeting was. Imagine what these attendees
could achieve if the purpose for their organizing became crystal clear, as in surviving
a disaster.
Do you know your neighbors ? Do they know you? ( I’ve just relocated, but I’m sure
glad my neighbor works in the sheriff’s office.) Have you gotten so far as to know
which of your neighbors is blessed with a portable generator ? How about cell phone
nos.? Who takes care of security when we have to leave? How about transport ? Food?
3) It’ll take some GUTS. Courage is needed to overcome not just shyness but fear of
rejection and socio-cultural bias. In a ghetto where juvenile gangs (of whatever color)
thrive, there are natural leaders. Inherent in that leader is usually concern for the gang
members’ welfare . Somewhere between looking for jackets with their logo for
the gang members and casing a joint for looting, there must be some communication
corridor for the organizer to work on to redirect those energies to more life-saving
endeavors. The organizer just has to immerse him/herself in the neighborhood.
4) It’ll take PATIENCE. Organizing self-help groups take time. For disasters, it
pays to do it soonest. Do it yesterday.