Living on the Boundary

Research Report Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Cell (IMEC) PROSHIKA : A Centre for Human Development Dhaka, Bangladesh Research Report -1 The Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor (LEP) Study Living on the Boundary: Institutional Influences on the Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor S. M. Zubair Ali Khan March 2003 Research Guide Dr. Iqbal Alam Khan Deputy Director, IMEC, PROSHIKA Dr. Janet Seeley Lecturer, University of East Anglia, UK Ms. Clare Hamilton Shakya Regional Livelihoods Coordinator, DFID, B Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Cell (IMEC) PROSHIKA : A Centre for Human Development Dhaka, Bangladesh Published by Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Cell (IMEC) PROSHIKA: A Centre for Human Development Proshika Bhaban I/1-Ga, Section-2, Mirpur, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh Fax Phone Email Web : (880-2) 801-5811 : (880-2) 801-5812, 900-5795, 900-5797, 801-3398 : imec03@proshika.bdonline.com, imec02@proshika.bdonline.com : http://www.proshika.org  Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Cell (IMEC), PROSHIKA. 2003 The Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor (LEP) Study was conducted in collaboration with: Department for International Development (DFID), Bangladesh The Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor (LEP) Study Study Co-ordinator Gautam Shuvra Biswas Co-coordinators Nasrin Sultana S.M. Zubair Ali Khan Researchers Md. Salim Ahmed Purvez Munshi Israil Hossain Sinora Chakma Mohammed Kamruzzaman Ahmed Borhan Mayee Associate Researchers Mohammad Shazzad Hossain Atiquer Rahman Anila Parveen Shamsun Nahar Price Tk. 140 US$ 7 (Overseas) FOREWORD A considerable amount of research has already been conducted on the causes of poverty in Bangladesh. In recent years attention has turned to improving our understanding of the nature of èxtreme poverty', the poverty of the poorest of the poor. Although the occurrence of poverty is generally acknowledged to have reduced in recent years, the number of people living in poverty remains high, and about twenty percent of the population of Bangladesh live in extreme poverty without adequate food, shelter or a means of livelihood. These people are not reached by most development interventions, even those interventions that are targeted at the `poor' generally serve those who have a few assets and have the capability to utilise credit or the time to take part in training and group meetings to build their skills. Efforts are being made by different national and international organisations, as well as the Government of Bangladesh, to extend their programme support to the extreme poor. The purpose of this study was to contribute to PROSHIKA's efforts to improve the delivery of their programmes to the poorest of the poor by learning more about their livelihoods and the type of interventions that might really make a difference to them and lift them out of poverty. DFID has worked in partnership with PROSHIKA in this study. Both PROSHIKA and DFID want to have a substantial impact on national poverty level and want to tackle various constraints that poor households face. This study has sought to understand the livelihood conditions of the many different extremely poor people living in Bangladesh by analyzing their livelihood constraints and opportunities. It also tried to understand how the coping strategies that the poorest use in order to survive may be supported by some form of social protection as a means to help them escape from poverty and, importantly, to stay out of extreme poverty. The PROSHIKA team is very grateful to our partner organization DFID for the opportunity to undertake this work. We sincerely hope that our efforts can make a real difference to the lives of the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh. That was our aim and that is what remains as the most important outcome for us. Gautam Shuvra Biswas LEP Co-ordinator ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am immensely thankful to PROSHIKA and DFID Bangladesh for undertaking such a project, which has the aim of poverty eradication in Bangladesh. I am extremely indebted to PROSHIKA President, Qazi. Faruque Ahmed, for his overall support and constant encouragement which has been a source of inspiration for us. I am also greatly indebted to PROSHIKA's Senior Vice President, Mr. Mahbubul Karim, for his extended support throughout this study. Mr. Serajul Islam, Deputy Director, PROSHIKA and Chairperson of Steering the Committee of the study devoted a lot of time and attention to this study. I am greatly indebted to him and the other steering committee members for their suggestions and support. I would like to express my earnest gratitude to Mr. Donal Brown, NR adviser DFID-B, and Dr. Tamsyn Barton, social development adviser DFID-UK, who gave valuable suggestions to enrich the study. I express my gratitude to Dr. Iqbal Alam Khan who is the helmsman of this study. His guidance, intensive care and suggestions have made this paper possible and the whole study fruitful. Dr. Janet Seeley, the study advisor, constantly provided us with valuable insights, stimulating guidance and encouragement. I would like to express my earnest gratitude to Ms. Clare Hamilton Shakya, Formerly Regional Co-ordinator- DFID who gave valuable guidance initially to enrich the study. I am indebted to Mr. Gautam Shuvra Biswas, Co-ordinator of the study for his suggestions and encouragement for the betterment of work. I am indebted to Mr. Abu Naser, formerly Coordinator IMEC, PROSHIKA for providing all necessary administrative support and encouragement to do the work smoothly. I express my gratitude to Mr. Nilratan Halder, who painstaking edited this report. I am very much greatful to my colleagues Ms. Nasrin Sultana, Mr. Salim Ahmed Purvez, Ms. Sinora Chakma, Mr. Ahmed Borhan, Mr. Munshi Israil Hossain, Mr. Mohammed Kamruzzaman, Mr. Mohammad Shazzad Hossain, Ms. Mayee, Mr. Atiquer Rahman, Ms. Samsun Nahar, and Ms. Anila Parveen for their continued support in all respects. We shared the field experience, which provided the insights for the thematic ideas of this paper. I have found the team spirit to be the main strength of this study. I am very much greatful to Mr. Shahadat Kemal and Mr. Masud Rana for their help in report formating. I express gratitude to my beloved friend, brother and sister especially to my parents Shamsun Nahar Begum and S.M. Martuza Ali Khan for their continued support in all respects. Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge my deep gratitude to the villagers who shared with us the details of their livelihoods, which helped us immensely to gain insights into the dynamics of rural life. S.M. Zubair Ali Khan IMEC, PROSHIKA CONTENTS Page FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................. I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................ VI 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................1 2. Background and Methodology ...............................................................................................................................1 2.1 Methodological Approach ................................................................................................................................2 Pre-fieldwork .................................................................................................................................................2 Sample locations ............................................................................................................................................3 Methods used .................................................................................................................................................4 The Respondents and selected cases ..............................................................................................................4 3. A Snapshot of Study Area .......................................................................................................................................6 The People and their livelihoods....................................................................................................................6 Political Environment ....................................................................................................................................7 Natural Environment .....................................................................................................................................7 Physical Assets ..............................................................................................................................................8 Financial Assets .............................................................................................................................................8 Social Assets ..................................................................................................................................................8 4. Understanding formal and informal institutions ................................................................................................ 11 4.1 Facilities received from formal and informal institutions as also the obstacles created by them ................... 11 4.1.1 Facilities obtained from formal institutions ............................................................................................ 11 Facilities received from NGO ...................................................................................................................... 11 Facilities received from Union Parishad (UP) ............................................................................................. 15 Facilities received from Health Centre ........................................................................................................ 17 Facilities received from Land Settlement department ................................................................................. 17 Facilities received from Government Special Programme .......................................................................... 18 Facilities received from Religious Institutions ............................................................................................ 19 Support received from Law enforcing Agencies ......................................................................................... 20 4.1.2 Obstacles from Formal Institutions ......................................................................................................... 21 Obstacle from Health Centre ....................................................................................................................... 21 Obstacle from NGO ..................................................................................................................................... 21 Obstacle from Union Parishad ..................................................................................................................... 22 Obstacle from Other Govt. Agency ............................................................................................................. 25 Obstacle from the Law enforcing Agencies ................................................................................................. 25 Obstacle from Govt. special Institutions ...................................................................................................... 27 Obstacle from Religious Institutions ........................................................................................................... 27 4.1.3 Facilities received from Informal institutions ......................................................................................... 27 Facilities from Kin ....................................................................................................................................... 27 Facilities received from Neighbour ............................................................................................................. 30 Facilities received from Employer ............................................................................................................... 31 Facilities received from the Local Elite ....................................................................................................... 32 Facilities received from Political Leader ..................................................................................................... 33 Facilities received from Mahajan (Money lender) ....................................................................................... 34 4.1.4 Obstacle from Informal institutions ........................................................................................................ 35 Obstacle from Kin........................................................................................................................................ 35 Obstacle from Neighbour............................................................................................................................. 36 Obstacle from Employer .............................................................................................................................. 36 Obstacle from Political Party ....................................................................................................................... 37 Obstacle from Mahajan ................................................................................................................................ 38 Obstacle from Salish .................................................................................................................................... 39 5. Influences of Institutions on the Extreme Poor's Livelihoods (Visible And Invisible) .................................... 42 5.1 Formal entitlements (from formal institution) adversely influenced .............................................................. 42 Health centre ................................................................................................................................................ 42 Union Parishad............................................................................................................................................. 44 Other govt. institutions ................................................................................................................................ 45 Religious Institutions ................................................................................................................................... 46 5.2 Informal institutions as key influencing actor in livelihoods of the extreme poor ......................................... 46 5.3 NGO reaches the Extreme Poor as a civil society institution ......................................................................... 51 5.3.1 Creating option for enhancement of livelihoods ..................................................................................... 51 5.3.2 NGO turns the EP more insecure ............................................................................................................ 53 6. Cross-Cutting the Boundaries: Linkage Between Social Customs and State Regulations .............................. 55 6.1 Lack of co-ordination and unfavourable role produce denial of rights ........................................................... 55 6.1.2 Bridging institutional gaps (formal and informal) and improving livelihoods ....................................... 57 Local Elite.................................................................................................................................................... 58 Union Parishad............................................................................................................................................. 58 Kin ............................................................................................................................................................... 59 Neighbour .................................................................................................................................................... 60 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................. 61 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................... 62 APPENDIX -1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 64 APPENDIX -2 ..................................................................................................................................................... 65 GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS Amon Awami League Arathdar Bari Bazar Beel Bhaat Bhai Bhari Bhui Bigha Borolok Boro Borro Barind Kartipaksha/ Prokolpo Brinjil Bun Chapra Chatai Chatal Chalan beel Chara Chira Choukidar Chowdhury Chowki Dafadar Dalal : early dry season rice, harvested in November-December : one of the two major political parties (along with the BNP) in Bangladesh : Wholesaler : household : market : a body of water : cooked rice : brother; may be used to indicate a feeling of fellowship or affection : unit of measurement used when weighing gold : plain land : unit of land measurement (1 bigha = 1/3rd of an acre) : wealthy person : late dry season rice, harvested in May-June : big, or senior in rank or importance : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Dalil Decimal Dcr Denmohor : : : : Braind Multipurposes Development Authority aubergine a non-standard unit of measurement specifically for sheets of tin hut a hand-woven bamboo mat rice processing ground a large swampy water body in northern part of Bangladesh little water flow coming from hill beaten rice guard or watch-keeper and manager name or title for aristocratic class; wealthy sub-group of zamindar bed guard or watch-keeper of property intermediary who leases land from landowners, then sub-leases it to tenants (usually farmers) documents proving land ownership unit of land measurement (1 decimal = 50 sq. yards) land allotment system; license for land/area use (DCR paper) alimony Dal Dhap Dhekur Dheki : : : : pigeon peas; a variety of curry made with lentils a floating garden arise gas from belly wooden tool for husking rice i Dolna Don Dumba : cot or baby's bed : unit of land measurement (1 don = 25 decimals = 1250 sq. yards) : a livestock animal similar to a sheep; used in Muslim sacrifices to the poor, and often received in Bangladesh as gifts from other Islamic countries Durga pooza : major religious festival of Hindu community Dustha : destitute Eid : greatest religious festival of the Muslim community Fitra : optional religious charity for Muslims during Ramadan Gamari : a variety of wood Ganda : unit of land measure (1 ganda = 500 sq. yards) Gher : submerged land used for shrimp cultivation Ghoal : light curd Ghosh : an occupational group of Hindu people who make curd and sweetmeat Gool pata : type of vegetation, leaf, used in housing construction Hadis : a sacred Islamic text Hall : traditional tool used in agriculture Hat : periodic market, held weekly or bi-weekly Hilla marriage : if a husband divorces his wife, then wants to remarry her, she must first marry another person for a certain minimum time; after her new husband divorces her, she can hen remarry her previous husband Hujur : a Muslim priest and healer practicing voodoo IDB : a local NGO in Kotalipara Irri : high-yielding variety of rice; named after the International Rice Research Institute Jakat : charitable contributions given to poor people by the wealthy during Eid; mandatory for Muslims Jau : boiled rice Jum : method of slash-and-burn agriculture Kader bahini : Militia group from the independence war Kaji/Kazi : a marriage registry official Kani : a traditional unit of land measurement, not strictly standardized Kantha : traditional embroidered quilt Kaptai lake : a hydroelectric project constructed during the Pakistan regime in 1960s Karai, Titea karia, sagun : trees that grow in Mangrove forest Kasa : a household utensil Katha : unit of land measurement (1 katha = 80 sq. yards) Khas : common property Khat : a bed Khetan land : low and arable land Kobiraz : traditional medical practitioner ii Kote Kuche Kutcca Lungi Madrasa : : : : : Mahajan Maund Maji Majhi : : : : system of leasing land a type of lamprey an open latrine traditional Bengali men’s clothing an Muslim-supported school, but not necessarily religious in mission a traditional moneylender and employer unit of measuring weight (1 maund = 37 kilograms) boat operator a person who manages work for the working classes of people (particularly in Chakaria) Mastan : low-level mafia or gang; person engaged in highway robbery, extortion, and other crime matbar: village leader, usually responsible for organizing salish meetings Matbar : a local informal leader Melate : fair Metric Examination : now called Secondary School Certificate Examination Mushti chal : literally, a “handful of rice”; system of saving for times of scarcity Nafal namaj : a special prayer of Muslim people Napit : Barber Olima/Mosque Committee : a body that clarifies matters pertaining to Islamic beliefs and practices Ovab : period of food or money scarcity Paitkata : day labour (a local term) Pani pora/tel pora : a rite or healing method performed by a priest Pantha vath : leftover rice kept immersed in water for later use Para : a neighbourhood or part of a village, sometimes comprised of related families Pattan : leasing of land Pete bhate : work-for-food arrangement Phari : a mobile shop selling goods Pinon khadi : traditional dress of Chakma women Poa : unit of land measurement Poisha : Bangladeshi currency (1taka=100 poisha) Praja : person who lives on landowner’s property in exchange for work Projali : a traditional system in agrarian structure Purdah : the veil in Muslim culture; also, the accompanying set of restrictions on women’s activities Ramadan : Muslim holy month during which people fast from dawn to dusk Roti : flattened bread (very thin and shaped like a plate) Salish : informal judiciary meeting convened by local leaders to resolve conflicts Samity : co-operative society involved in credit-building for members iii Sarder Satin Shanti bahini Seba Seer Sundarbans Taka Tabu Talak Thana Thela gari Una Union parishod Upazilla Vashur Zamindar Zinar system Zotdar : a work crew leader : one of the wives of a man practicing polygamy : an ethnic rebel group fought for authonomy in Chittagong Hill Tracts : show respect to elders or seniors by providing services : unit of weight (1 seer = 850 grams) : world's largest mangrove forest : currency unit of Bangladesh (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002); divided into poisha (100 poisha = 1 taka) : tent : divorce : the lowest-level administrative units in Bangladesh; divisions are partitioned into districts, which are further divided into thanas (now it is identified as Upazilla); also refers to the police station : traditional form of transport, a carriage pulled by people : measurement of gold : lowest tier of local government : lowest administrative unit : husband’s brother : semi-feudal landlord; wealthy landowning class : wages paid in kind : Landlord Acronyms ASA BNP BRAC BSF BDR DCR HYV IDB IRRI MBBS NFPE NGO PROSHIKA RDRS SSC TMSS TNO UNO : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Association for Social Advancement, a national NGO Bangladesh Nationalist Party (Rulling party) Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, a national NGO Border Security Forces (Indiain) Bangladesh Rifles Duplicate Carbon Receipt High-Yeilding Variety A local NGO in Kotalipara International Rice Research Institute Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Non-Formal Primary Education Non-Governmental Organization A Leading National NGO Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service Secondary School Certificate Thengamara Mahila Sabuj Sangha, a local NGO Thana Nirbahi Officer Upazilla Nirbahi Officer iv UP VDP VGF VGD VUK : : : : : Union Parishad Village Defence Party Vulnerable Group Feeding Vulnerable Group Development Varindra Unnayan Kartripakka (Barind multipurpose development authority, a government organization for agricultural and infrastructure development of the Barendra tract) Conversion of calendar months (Bangla  English): Baisak Jaistha Ashar Shravan Bhadra Aswin Kartik Agrayan Paush Magh Falgun Chaitra : : : : : : : : : : : : mid-April to mid-May mid-May to mid-June mid-June to mid-July mid-July to mid-August mid-August to mid-September mid-September to mid-October mid-October to mid-November mid-November to mid-December mid-December to mid-January mid-January to mid-February mid-February to mid-March mid-March to mid-April v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Institutions play an important role in shaping the livelihoods of the extreme poor. In view of understanding the role of institutions in livelihoods in detail, the study team examined 320 cases. Among those, 156 contained information about the role of formal or informal institutions. Various qualitative data collection methods were used to collect the case material and observation of daily life in the study villages also enriched our thematic data set. Keeping the study objective in mind, we tried to understand how different institutions create opportunities for or constraints in the access of the extreme poor to social, material, natural and cultural resources. The following formal and informal institutions play a role: 1. Kin and neighbours act as the central institution for the livelihoods of the extreme poor, according to the study findings. The study finds 44 cases where people get help from kin and in 29 cases, help comes from the neighbours. The transient extreme poor get loans and cash support while the chronic extreme poor who are disabled or are chronically ill, particularly if they are women-headed households, get more material support like shelter, food, job from relatives and neighbours. The study finds that the extreme poor have common experiences of land disputes, conflicts over such matters as demarcation of homesteads, love affairs between children, and roaming chickens with relatives and neighbours. 2. NGOs are the main formal institutions which operate various programmes to enhance the livelihoods of the poor. The study reveals that though most of the extreme poor are not involved with NGOs on a regular basis, a significant number of them occasionally do get facilities from such organisations. Of the 320 cases examined, we find 40 cases where people receive facilities from NGOs. We find that in general the population of our study area get credit facilities, opportunities for wage labour, training, non-formal education for children and adult literacy, relief and self-employment facilities from NGOs, but the poorest people have only occasional access to such services. NGO activity is most widespread in Patgram and the least in Rampal and Chakaria. 3. The Union Parishad (UP), the bottom-most tier of local government, is another important institution and responsible for carrying out some compulsory infrastructure development works, enforcing law and order and welfare work. The study reveals that some of the extreme poor from all across our study area get various facilities like, food assistance, relief, food for work and government allowances from UP from time to time. We find that the poorest in the central village in Kotalipara get most of the facilities whereas both the remote and the central villages in Rampal, Patgram, Puthia, Niamatpur and Chakaria get the least UP assistance. A bias in the distribution of UP benefits is noticeable in all our study areas with assistance being given mainly to the poor people supporting the ruling party or to kin and other relations. Moreover, the study finds that the union parishad and local leaders mishandle and even accept bribes from the poor for distributing government assistance. vi 4. The study findings show that 32 persons from our study population were admitted to health centres or hospitals recently. While the study shows that the extreme poor of all the study areas have access to their local health complex, only those people who can pay get the proper treatment. We find that lack of medical facilities like medicine support, operation cost as well as the attitude of the medical staff and doctors and bribery mostly force them to look for treatment from traditional healers, quacks and village doctors. This leads to the poor patients’ health vulnerability. 5. The local elite and leaders are other influential players who shape the livelihoods of the extreme poor. The study finds 30 cases of extreme poor who received assistance like shelter, food, cash, and religious charity directly from the local elite and local leaders. But we also find that the poor, both male and female, were subjected to either threats or political harassment and even physical assault by either local leaders or the elite because of their political affiliation or because of disagreements. 6. We find 18 cases of the extreme poor getting khas land from land settlement office of Niamatpur, Rampal, Puthia and Durgapur. The study finds a wide range of corruption in the land distribution process. Although we find some poor people get possession of khas land—usually homestead, the rich and influential use political influence or bribe corrupt officials to capture the lion’s share of such land and water bodies at the expense of the poorer people. However, the study finds that under some land-related special government programmes the extreme poor get land. Barind Prokolpo has been established mainly for development of agricultural infrastructure in the Barind tract and the extreme poor find employment and shelter there and thus receive substantial livelihood support from the Prokolpo itself. 7. There is other government assistance that the poorest sometimes benefit from. The study also reveals that children get food assistance from school under a government food for education programme, which reduces the pressure on the guardians to get their wards out of school and thus they also feel mentally relieved. A section of the extreme poor who fishes in Rangamati gets opportunity for fishing in Kaptai Lake. The support is vital for their livelihoods. 8. The study reveals that a large number of the extreme poor still depends on Mahajans for credit and we find 14 cases who depend on it. We also find evidence that it is very tough for them to repay the loans with very high interest rates. Paying off the loans usually results in asset erosion. 9. It is evident in all our study areas that the employer provides a wide range of help like food, shelter, treatment loans and charity for their employed wage-labourers in addition to payment of wages. The study finds 12 cases in which the poor labourers get extra facilities from their employers. But we find labourers are discriminated against in respect of age, sex, ethnicity, locality and physical condition all over our study area. 10. The study reveals that some of the poor get treatment, relief and employment support from the church, where as Muslims get religious donations like 'zakat', 'fitra' and 'Kurbani'r mangso' from well-off families of the same 'samaj' . The study further finds that well-off people use religious institutions and distort its code of conduct to serve their own interests like hilla marriage and polygamy. 11. The Salish is a very important institution in all our study areas and we find land disputes, sexual harassment, theft, quarrels and failure to repay loans are the most common agendas vii for the salish. But most often the salish has played a negative role for the extreme poor in the study area and has given biased judgements towards kin and political affiliates and has even been influenced by those who can pay bribes. 12. Last but not the least, the law enforcing agencies provide little assistance for the poor-especially the extreme poor. The study finds five people who claimed that the police did not help them while they sought help from the agency but it provide helps only for the politically affiliated persons and some middlemen who act as toll collectors cum mediators between maastans and the police. 13. The study finds that formal entitlement sometimes have adverse impacts on the extreme poor. We find that while the UP leaders may work for development of their locality, they also abuse destitute women and men in different ways and deprive them of government assistance. The medical staff, members of law enforcing agency, land settlement officials etc. who resort to corrupt practices deprive the poor of their access to government facilities. Even government projects sometimes causes vulnerability to people in respect of material and social resources. For example, the construction of Kaptai Dam displaced a large number of the Chakma people from their ancestral homes and agricultural lands. 14. NGOs play a significant role in the enhancement of livelihoods by creating opportunities for wage-labour work, self-employment and diversification of livelihoods of the poor. People in the study area claim that discussions with NGO staff and other group members sharpens and boosts poor people’s insights and confidence in relation to their course of action. When it happens, it seems from our discussions with villagers, the extreme poor people’s involvement with NGOs strengthens their social status within the community and reduces their dependence on Mahajans. 15. Although NGOs are working for enhancement of poorer section’s livelihoods, sometimes they have some negative influences on poor people and make them more vulnerable than before. The study finds that a poor person who defaults on a credit repayment can be put under considerable pressure by NGOs and may end up in a worse state financially and socially. We find evidence of this in Niamatpur but our group discussion also refers to cases in Kotalipara, Patgram and Durgapur. 16. Lack of co-ordination between different formal institutions and local government keeps the poorer section away from the complicated support services. They also experience corruption in, negligence and apathy from government-run institutions and also informal institutions, which deny them their rights. 17. The study finds that well-off kin, neighbour, local leaders and employers act as important bridging institutions as they provide a wide range of help for them to have access to different formal institutional facilities. They take initiatives to connect their poor relatives, followers and clients with their wider social network so that they can have a better scope for enjoying work opportunities, relief, VGF, khas land, charity and treatment facilities etc. Conclusion The study confirms that institutions are the reinforcing spirit in the extreme poor people’s life. Kin and neighbours are the prime institutions to create most of the opportunities for the extreme viii poor. Most of their daily needs and crisis they face with the help of kin and neighbours. The local elite, local leaders and their political followers are also important for their livelihoods. The extreme poor people are unaware of their rights to the facilities of formal institutions and these institutions seem to do nothing to make them aware of those rights. Most of the formal institutions show apathy and negligence to the poorer people but some of the institutions help them to have access to formal institutions, which ensures for the poorer section some facilities and assistance. The poorest often live on the boundary of institutions, only occasionally getting assistance, and sometimes being harassed and harmed by the institutional structures which influence their day-to-day lives. ix 1. INTRODUCTION The study of the livelihoods of the extreme poor has been undertaken with a view to understanding the role institutions play in the poor people’s lives and how it influences their livelihoods. Institutions affect people’s opportunity or constraint, providing them with access—or its denial-- to social, material, natural and cultural resources. The participation in and rights to services from formal and informal institutions both at government and community levels depend largely on how these organisations reach out to the people and the services they render for all sections of people. The formal government institutions, except a few exceptions, working in upazila cannot properly attend the poorer section. The more the institutions reach the poor the better the service. Why is it so important to reach the people when the majority of the poor people have few intangible assets like social network/ connection with these institutions? Because of their lack of social capital--one of the most important assets, the poorer section most of the time is deprived of the services and assistance they are supposed to get. Both in central and remote villages, different informal and formal, visible and invisible institutions play a very important role--positive or negative-- in their lives. 2. BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY Approximately 45-53% of Bangladesh’s 123 million populations live below the poverty line (Rahman 1998)1. Statistics indicate that the percentage decline in poverty rates is lower than the rate of population growth, so the absolute number of poor people is actually increasing (Gill, 2000). Different definitions and methodologies used to determine the nature and extent of poverty result in a lack of clarity over the extent and depth of poverty levels. Recent reviews of poverty studies however do reveal a broad consensus on the following trends2:  There has been a modest decline in poverty indicators both in ‘aggregate’ and extreme indicators; however even the most favourable estimates put the decline at less than one percentage point per year;  Despite the pace of urbanisation, poverty levels have fallen faster in urban than rural areas;  Greater progress has been made in the reduction of human poverty indicators than income poverty indicators;  There has been a significant decline in certain manifestations of extreme poverty such as access to basic clothing and housing and the proportion of population having one or no meals a day in certain seasons. Of particular concern are the 23-35% of people who live in ‘extreme poverty’ (BIDS, 1998), the majority of whom live in rural areas where inequality in income distribution is considerably higher.3 1 2 3 This figure is contested, for example a more recent report by the Bangladesh Planning Commission (1999) puts the figure at 44.7%. Rahman (1998); Nabi et. al. (1999); (Soban, 1999); Montgomery et al. (2000); Gill (2000). The gini index of inequality is 36 in rural areas in comparison to 26.4 in urban areas (Gill, 2000). 1 Terms such as ‘absolute poor’, ‘extreme poor’4, ‘hard core poor’, ‘poorest of the poor’, ‘ultra poor’ are used seemingly interchangeably by a variety of organisations and studies. Any assessment of the issues relating to the extreme poor will be related to the degree to which the definitions, methodologies and indicators consider some of the following factors: the income or non-income dimensions of poverty (e.g. demographic, ecological, vulnerability; structural, social, political or economic factors); poverty as a ‘state’; poverty as dynamic process; and poverty as an outcome of an interplay of all of the above. Whatever approach is used, the fact remains that as a proportion of a population, the percentage figure of those living in ‘extreme poverty’ in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world. NGO’s in Bangladesh, including PROSHIKA, have a good track record in targeting poor and extreme poor households. However, the extent of the impact of development programmes is less clear. Both PROSHIKA and DFID want to have a substantial impact on national poverty levels and tackle the wider political and institutional constraints, which prevent the involvement of the extreme poor in the development process. This study is premised on the belief that in order to do this, we can and must, do more to target and reach the extreme poor more effectively and contribute to the sustainable enhancement of their livelihoods (DFID-B CSP, 1998; PROSHIKA Phase VI plan 1998). 2.1 Methodological Approach The purpose of this research is to understand the livelihoods of the extreme poor. The study area was chosen purposively from each agro-ecological zone and the areas in which PROSHIKA is working where levels of extreme poverty are high (according to PROSHIKA’s baseline survey). The study team used a wide range of methods to capture the rural livelihoods of extreme poor. The sampling procedure and methods used in this study are explained below: Pre-fieldwork i. Literature Review The study began with a selective review of the literature related to poverty and the livelihoods of the poor in Bangladesh. The team members reviewed secondary published literature and unpublished documents from different organisations. PROSHIKA's policy and field status reports were reviewed in more detail. ii. Exploratory field visits The team visited 20 thana in different parts of Bangladesh where PROSHIKA is working to begin to find out what types of issues and processes influence people’s livelihoods. The researchers held discussions with villagers and observed life in the villages. 4 Rahman (1998) classification defines the èxtreme poor’ thus: extreme poor, moderate poor and tomorrows poor 2 iii. Theme selection As a result of the exploratory field visits different issues were identified as themes for the study. After discussion of their findings the study team chose eight main themes:  Social injustice and Insecurity  Female Headed Household  Calamities and Coping  Migration and Remittance  Social Network  Labour Market  People’s perceptions  Policy and Institutions At the time of the project review, in August 2002, an additional theme was added: food insecurity. Sample locations A purposive sampling technique has been applied to select the sample locations for this study. Firstly every thana of Bangladesh has been clustered according to the agroecological regions into which the thana fell (the 30 agro-ecological regions were grouped into eight broad agro-ecological zone considering same river flood plain, soil type and fertility). The thana were also categorised using the income poverty index (IPI). The team then focused on the thana in which PROSHIKA works. Two thana were chosen from each zone, where PROSHIKA is working and where PROSHIKA’s baseline survey shows that 70% of the population are classified as `poor’. Then during our selection of sample locations we tried to cover all income poverty index zones. Next, by consulting PROSHIKA staff, local personnel and PROSHIKA wider federation members, the study team physically visited every selected thana and collected primary information at least 3 central (close to the thana head quarters) villages and 3 remote (far from the main centres) village from each thana using the following selection principles: 1. Concentration of the Extreme Poor 2. Cover both central and remote villages in each selected thana 3. Look for diversification of life style among remote and central villagers 4. Look for diverse geographical conditions 5. Select villages, which have both homogenous and heterogeneous ethnic and religious communities. After completing the collection of primary data of villages of every selected area, the study team synthesised the data and selected one remote and one central village from each selected thana. 3 Methods used Qualitative research methods have been used in this study. Among the qualitative research methods the following were used most: general group discussion, focus group discussion (FGD), observation, and one to one in-depth semi-structured interviews. Group discussions were carried out to get the general information about particular themes of livelihoods study. Focus group discussions with women, men, ethnic and religious groups were also used to probe for information regarding different issues related. In-depth interviews were also carried out to collect life histories and detailed information on livelihoods from individuals. General observation was important for learning about peoples behaviour, physical infrastructure, resources and life styles. The Respondents and selected cases In each village the study team began by conducting a well being ranking exercise with villagers to stratify their community into different groups according to socio-economic conditions. By asking a range of different people the team then collected basic information on occupations, demography, amount of land, chronic illness etc. of the poor people in the village. A list of the extreme poor in each village was then drawn up and used for selecting the people to interview. 4 88° 90° 92° BANGLADESH (MAP SHOWING THE STUDY AREA) Patgram 26° 26° Pan cha garh Nilph am ari Th aku rg ao n Lalm on irh at Kurigram Dina jpu r Ra ngp ur INDIA Gaiba nd ha Joypu rh at Jam alpu r Durgapur She rp ur Na oga on Sylh et Sun am ga nj Ni am atpur Ne trakon a Bog ra Mym ensin gh Na wa bg anj Ra js hah i Puthi a Sira jgan j Na tore Ha biga nj Ta ng ail Mau lvibaza r Kishore gan j 88° 24° Na rsin gdi 24° Gazipu r Pab na Braha ma nb aria Kush tia INDIA Man ikga nj Meh erpu r Dh aka Na ra yang an j Ra jb ari Ch uad an ga Fa rid pu r Jhen aida h Mun shig anj Mag ura INDIA Co milla Ch and pu r Sha ria tpu r Kha grach hari Mad aripu r Na ra il Gop alga nj Jessore Kotal i P ara Fe ni Laksh mip ur Barisal Ra nga m ati No akh ali Piro jpur Rangam at i Sadar Jhalo kati Ram pal Bag erha t Bho la Khu ln a Satk hira Ch it tag on g Patu akh ali Bargu na 22° 22° Ban darb an Chak aria Co x'S Ba za r BAY OF BENGAL LEGEND International Boundary N District Boundary W E S Thana Boundary 100 0 100 200 Study Area Kilometers 90° 92° 5 3. A SNAPSHOT OF STUDY AREA The study villages of the Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor project were chosen purposively to represent each of the eight broad agro- ecological zones in Bangladesh. From each agroecological zone one thana was selected which contained a high concentration of the èxtreme poor’5. Then two villages were selected from each thana for detailed study, one close to (termed `central’) and one far away from (termed `remote’) the thana headquarters for detailed study. Agro-Ecological Zone Tista Korotoa flood plain North Eastern Hills & Madhupur tract Ganges flood plain Meghna Flood plain Brahmaputra flood plain Ganges Tidal Flood Plain Coastal Plain Barind tract Thana Patgram Rangamati Puthia Kotalipara Durgapur Rampal Chakaria Niamatpur Qualitative data collection was done through the use of appropriate PRA tools like social mapping, well-being analysis, mobility map, seasonal map, venn diagrams, occupational ranking, complemented by a number of anthropological tools like observation, in-depth interviews and group discussion. The following section describes the socio-economic and environmental situation of the villages and the assets which people, particularly the poor, have access to in order to make their livelihoods. The analysis of the in-depth study, described in the thematic papers, tries to understand how the policy and institutional environment generates opportunities and constraints for the villagers and helps some of the people to better their lot or while others are pushed into chronic poverty. The People and their livelihoods The largest village population of 4597 people is found in the Central village of Patgram thana (Tista Korotoa flood plain) and the lowest, with a population of 200 people, in the Central village of Durgapur thana (Brahmaputra flood plain). The literacy rate is the highest (90%) in the Remote village of Puthia thana (Ganges flood plain); the lowest (10%) in the Remote village of Kotalipara thana (Meghna flood plain). Some occupations like small businesses, vending, subsistence cultivation, share cropping, day labouring (including agriculture labourers and other non-specific works), employment as housemaids, begging, etc. are common to all villages. But some occupations were only found in particular places in the study like butchers, blacksmiths, and shoemakers. These occupations were found in Niamatpur thana (Barind tract). Various forms of cross-border business go on in Patgram and Durgapur thanas. Salt production is carried out in the Chakaria thana (Coastal plain) and fishing is the main occupation for people in both the Chakaria and Rangamati (Madhupur and Northeastern hill) thanas. Shrimp cultivation is prevalent in both Rampal (Ganges tidal flood plain) and the Chakaria thanas. People fish crab in the study villages in Rampal thana. Jum (shifting) cultivation is prevalent in the 5 According to PROSHIKA’s definition of èxtreme poor’ and the PROSHIKA baseline study. 6 Rangamati thana. Hunting of wild animals, especially by ethnic people, is common in the study villages of Durgapur, Rangamati, Puthia and Niamatpur. Some occupations like selling of milk and ghoal, treating cattle diseases are found in Kotalipara. Van/rickshaw pulling is common in all villages, except for Rangamati thana (which is hilly). The eight thana are quite distinctive in terms of the culture of the peoples. The ethnic group of Santa’l lives in the Niamatpur and the Puthia areas, the Chakma only in Rangamati. The Garo and the Hajong live in the Durgapur area. These ethnic groups belong to different religions. The Santa’ls and the Hajongs are Hindus, the Chakmas are Buddhists, the Garos are Christians. The Bengali live in all zones. No Hindus were found in the Patgram and Rangamati study villages. The status of women in different cultural groups is not the same. In most cases, it appears that the Muslim women enjoy less freedom to go out to public places and to work away from home compared to Hindu, Buddhist or Christian women. In the Muslim communities, only a destitute woman is usually granted some freedom to work in public places. Festivals of different religious/cultural groups play an important role in bringing solidarity and unity among them. The giving away of Zakat and fitra and celebration of Eid, Korbani, Ramadan by the Muslims, Durga puja by the Hindus, Christmas by the Christians and the Buddhist Purnima and kathin Chibor Dan all bring people together. Political Environment The livelihoods of people in the eight thana are influenced by the involvement of the political leaders, political parties and Union Parishad/Pourshava (Local government bodies) in activities concerning their interests. The Karbari (traditional leader), Headman (traditional leader)and Raja (king) tend to become leaders of the Chakmas so far as political processes are concerned. The Zamindar in the Chakaria thana study villages, Zamat and Samaj in the Patgram study villages play an important role in political decisions of people in many ways. In general, rich men in a particular area have access to and control over leadership. So their role in shaping opinions about political affairs is very influential. Natural Environment Land is common to all zones, but its nature and patterns of use are not the same. Hilly land is found in Rangamati and Durgapur areas. The land in the Niamatpur villages is slightly stratified which causes problems for irrigation. Arable land in most of the regions is heavily used for crop production, but land in the study villages in Chakaria and Rampal is mostly used for salt production, shrimp and crab culture, because of the availability of saline water there. There are plenty of Khas lands in the Niamatpur study villages, but less in the study villages in other thana. So far as water bodies are concerned, rivers flow in great numbers through the Patgram, Chakaria, Rampal, Durgapur and Kotalipara. Haor and beel exist in the study villages in Kotalipara and Puthia.. A large number of ponds dot the landscape in the Niamatpur study villages, but no ponds were found in the study villages in Rangamati. A huge number of smallsize ponds containing saline water are found in the study villages in Rampal. Forest is predominant in the study villages in Rangamati and Durgapur, but the Sunderbans mangrove forest, which is unique to the area, is the only dense forest in Rampal. Wild elephants are common to Rangamati and Durgapur study villages. Patgram and Durgapur study villages have stone which can be quarried and cut. Bamboo clumps grow in Patgram and the Rangamati areas. 7 Physical Assets The infrastructure of the central study villages in all thana was more developed than in the remote study villages. Central villages also had more services and institutions. However there are some exceptions. The remote village of Durgapur is more developed than the central one because there is a BDR camp near it. The remote village of Chakaria thana has a good road connection to the thana head quarters. The central village of Niamatpur has no such road connection as the village was built a number of few years ago. The Central village of the Rangamati has no road connection because it is close to the Sector Headquarters of the BDR. Three NFPE schools have been established in remote villages in the eight thana. Religious institutions (mosque, temple and church) are far greater in number in the remote than the central village in Durgapur. Generally, the impact of government organisations is much more pronounced in the central villages, except for the central village of Durgapur where charitable organisations have concentrated their work. Financial Assets Wage payment, both in cash and in kind, occurs in all the study villages. But the rate of payment is not the same, varying from place to place and also changing according to the season. The lowest wage is paid in the Patgram study villages and the highest in the Rangamati study villages. In general, men get higher wages than women but for the Santa’l men and women in the Puthia study villages, the wages are the same. The production season of crops, shrimp etc. determines the rate of the wages in most cases. In general, in the peak farming season people get the highest wage and in the lean period the lowest. Wages in kind is usually paid with rice or paddy. Richer people in the Rangamati villages make money out of the sale wood, and other products from the natural environment, poorer people can collect and make use of such products in their day to day life. Credit provision is available in all study villages. It is mainly given to the needy/poorer people by the rich/mahajan informally and also formally by NGO’s. People, rich or poor in the Rampal study villages, are heavily dependent on NGO’s for their credit needs and shrimp culture. The ethnic people in the Rangamati study villages receive money through mortgaging ornaments to goldsmiths belonging to the Bengali Hindu community from outside their village. Social Assets People with assets are generally the 'patrons' in society. A landowner has access to and control over zamat, samaj etc. in the Patgram study villages. A Zaminadar or Sardar or mahajan can exercise great influence on the non-poor people among people in the study villages of Chakaria. A Zotdar or a Chowdury or a Mandal, in case of informal relations, emerges as a patron for the non-poor people in the Niamatpur study villages. Arathdar or businessmen are supportive of poorer people in both Rampal and Rangamati. In the Christian community a Father of a church commands great authority from the Garo community in Durgapur and the Bengali Christians in Kotalipara. The role of dalal (middleman) is important in the study villages in Chakaria, Patgram, Rangamati and Durgapur. 8 Influencing Livelihoods Capital Assets: (matrix) Asset Tista korotoa floodplain (Patgram) Coastal plain (Chakaria) Barind tract (Niamatpur) North eastern hills (Rangamati) Ganges tidal floodplain (Rampal) Brahmaputra flood plain (Durgapur) Ganges flood Meghna flood plain (Puthia) plain (Kotalipara) Population Central Remote Centr Remote Centr Remote Centr Remote Central Remote Central Remote Central Remote Central Remote al al al 4597 750 297 1018 317 2500 300 200 950 1278 310 2000 550 264 583 310 Literacy rate 50% 45% 35% Katcha road for Physical Environment the remote, culvert, shop, registered primary school, high school, Hindu Islam Ethnicity: Bengali, 50% 40% Islam Hindu, Christian Ethnicity: Bengali, Santa’l (Orang, Paharia) Union Parishad, Political Union Political party/leader, Parishad, environment political party/leader, Zaminder, Zotdar/rich samaj, zamat, Union men/political patronization leader/ political Parishad,/ (educated and party, pourshava community rich people) based leadership (ethnic) Land, river, sea, river, land, Land, ponds Natural (khas/private), Environment stone, bamboo- saline water, hill, weather clump wild animals (sunny) Culture/ Religion Islam Ethnicity: Bengali, 70% Pucca road, NFPE school, temple, madrassa mosque, shop, culvert, STW, 45% 60% 40% 90% Islam, Buddhist Islam, Hindu Ethnicity: Ethnicity: Bengali, Bengali Chakma, 60% 65% Islam, Christian, Hindu, Shungsharic Ethnicity: Garo, Bengali, Hajong Karbari,/ Political political party, Headman /Raja, party/leader, Union political leader, , Union Parishad, Union Parishad, Parishod/CHT council, political party, political elite, kaptai lake, forest, jum land, chara (steep canal), elephant 90% Islam, Hindu, Ethnicity: Bengali, Santa’l 60% 10% Islam, Hindu, Christian, Ethnicity: Bengali rich political leader, men/political political party, leader, political Union Parishad, party, Union Parishad, land, pond, trees, land, pond, trees wild animals, on road side plantation, haor, beel river, water lily, snail No all weather shop, pucca road for the shop, straw tin bridge, shop, bridge, pucca road road, ponds, straw/tin/bambo central & no road made housing, eidgah, for the central and culvert, canal, o made housing, for the remote, katcha pit/katcha katcha road for the shop, deep tube wall, mosque, temple, mosque, latrine/open field, latrine, tube remote, bazaar, well, STW, NFPE school, madrassa, cyclone deep tube well, well, pucca and shop, rice mill, school, college, temple, STW, shelter cum school, pucca road for the mud made school, mosque, mosque, club, 9 land, saline water, land, river, hills, river, pond, forest, stone, Sunderban, crab, sand, coal shrimp 60% Asset Tista korotoa floodplain (Patgram) Coastal plain (Chakaria) Population Central Remote Centr Remote al 4597 750 297 264 mosque, BDR NGO’s camp, madrasa, bridge, Indian pocket (chit), NGO’s Financial assets Social assets Barind tract (Niamatpur) North eastern hills (Rangamati) Centr Remote Centr Remote al al 1018 317 583 310 church, chantal katcha latrine ( processing NGO’s unit of paddy), grave yard, mud made housing, katcha latrine, open field, NGO’s Ganges tidal floodplain (Rampal) Brahmaputra flood plain (Durgapur) Ganges flood Meghna flood plain (Puthia) plain (Kotalipara) Central Remote Central Remote Central Remote Central Remote 2500 300 950 10 remote and no road for the central, mosque, hospital, NFPE school, maktab, NGO’s 1278 310 house, hospital/clinic, college, mosque, pacca road for the central and katcha road for the remote, NGO’s Wage (cash and Wage (cash and Wage (cash and wage (Cash and wage (cash and wage (cash and wage (cash and kind), credit, kind), credit, kind), credit kind), credit, kind), credit, kind), credit, kind), credit, remittance, remittance, remittance, remittance, remittance, wage remittance, wage Money Mahajan, salish Rich men, land land owner, mahajan/arathdar, father, matbar, pradhayn, lender/mahajan, committee, owner, money karbari, monk, land holder/gher middlemen, matbar, rich land owner, commissioner, lender, group of owner, community men, land middlemen, zamindar, community goldsmith, owner, business leader, zamat, samaj, sarder(fishing), leader middlemen, men salish (mandal), middlemen BDR, arathdar, committee, BMDA, Source: LEP field study NFPE school, club, STW, gool/bamboo/tin made housing, pucca/katcha latrine, shop, NGO’s 200 2000 550 temple, church, club, bamboo, straw, tin, and hugla made house, tube well NGO’s, wage (cash and kind), credit, remittance, wage land owner, matbar, mahajan, father 4. UNDERSTANDING FORMAL AND INFORMAL INSTITUTIONS The study of the livelihoods of the extreme poor tries to understand those formal and informal institutions which are largely associated with the lives of the extreme poor. In our study we consider some institutions formal and some informal on the basis of a number of set criteria. We consider those institutions formal which have either obtained government registration or are run by the government and follow rules, regulations and principles specifically set for them. At the same time they need to have transparent governance and accountability. In our report we have discussed only those formal institutions which are associated with the poorer section. We depend on our study findings in the villages. In the study we find few formal institutions which are associated with the poorer groups in all our study areas. These formal institutions are Union Parishad–the lowest tier of the local government, non-government organisations (NGOs), health centres, land settlement department, schools, special government projects, religious institutions etc. The study considers those institutions informal which have evolved from the community and have no legislative policy and principle. But these institutions are socially recognised and create opportunities or constraints for people. We find the following informal institutions in operation among the poor in all the villages under study: kin, neighbour, employer, local elite, local leader, salish, mahajan 4.1 Facilities received from formal and informal institutions as also the obstacles created by them The study of the livelihoods of the extreme poor tries to understand institutional influences on the poorer section and in order to do this, it examines different formal and informal institutions and their activities. The basic criterion is of course those institutions’ association with the poor people’s lives. The facilities offered and obstacles created by different formal and informal institutions for the extreme poor are as follows: 4.1.1 Facilities obtained from formal institutions The study gives the impression that the extreme poor in general enjoy various facilities from different formal institutions. It reveals that some formal institutions closely connected with the poor section provide it with facilities to fulfil its needs. Facilities received from NGO NGOs are operating various programmes to enhance the livelihoods of the poor. Most of the NGOs concentrate on financial matters and provide credit facilities to the poor. Some NGOs are concerned with various other programmes rather than credit. These programmes are non- formal primary education, street plantation, fisheries, livestock, raising awareness about social and environmental issues etc. The study finds the evidence that the extreme poor in general enjoy facilities from NGOs although a large number of them are not involved with such organisations. Of the 320 cases examined we find only 40 cases receiving facilities from NGOs. But most of the extreme 11 poor beneficiaries of NGOs receive credit support in particular. The case studies show that 29 cases or members of poorer households are enjoying credit support. And this trend is more noticeable in Patgram and the least involvement of these people with credit programme is in Rampal and Chakaria. Of the 29 cases, six are from Patgram and the lowest number—one each—was found in Rampal and Chakaria. A group member of NGO is termed a "samity sadosya" in Bangla. The case studies highlight that majority of the samity sadosyas (group members) get willingly involved with the NGOs primarily to meet their credit demand but enjoy on top of it a wide range of facilities from those organisations—both national and local. The involvement is found more concentrated in the central village than in the remote village in all our study areas excepting Kotalipara. The study reveals that the beneficiaries of different NGOs of Patgram, Rangamati, Niamatpur and Chakaria noticed that they only get credit support. In fact, the case studies from those areas quoted below seem to represent a strong opinion about NGOs’ role in their lives. Box no-4.1 Abdur Rahman, 45 years of age, has two wives and living in Patgram. He is a member of a local NGO. Initially, Abdur Rahman collected 4000 taka through a loan from an non-governmental organization (NGO). He involved with that NGO only for credit. He didn't get any other training, support from that NGO. Source: LEP 2003, Patgram-2 & see detail in appendix The study reveals that the extreme poor get facilities for work through NGOs. Some of the national and local NGOs have taken up a few rural maintenance programmes like road construction, guarding social forests etc. These programmes ensure working opportunity comparatively for a longer period of time for the poorer section and provide substantial financial support. The study finds this evidence in Kotalipara. Box no-4.2 Khadija, 23, is a female head of household in the village of Unoshia. She works with a road maintenance crew for a non-governmental organization (NGO), IDB (it is the abbreviation of the NGO, the elaboration has not been found during fieldwork) Her crew is responsible only for the road connecting Gacha Para and Shua Para. Source: LEP 2003, Kotalipara-1 The NGOs are also trying to develop self-employed groups from the poorer sections. They encourage and support women in particular to get involved with the self-employment programmes. Group members of all our study areas claim that the NGOs are very much interested in women’s self-employment but the major part of the benefit goes to relatively well-off people. But some of the women from the poorer section in all our study areas receive cattle-rearing facility. The case studies also suggest that women from the poorer section in both villages in Patgram receive poultry-rearing facility from NGOs. 12 Box no-4.3 Majeda is the only daughter of Abdul. She is a member of the samity cooperative association run by the non-governmental organization, PROSHIKA, and like the other members in the samity, gets loans with the aim of starting businesses and gaining experience. Along with other samity members, she secured a loan for raising poultry on a farm. She got 3 two-month-old roosters, 5 hens, a 10-day supply of chicken feed, and logistical support for raising them. The initial service provided by PROSHIKA cost her group 900 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002), and support was to be provided to them until the hens began laying eggs. Source: LEP field study (Patgram) The study also finds that some NGOs are distributing income-generating tools to the chronic poor, particularly the disabled or destitute among them in Kotalipara and Durgapur. Such job opportunities help reduce their vulnerability and sustain their livelihoods. Box no-4.4 Shamal Boddo is a 45 years old disable man and works as a boatman on the river of remote village of Kotalipara. He didn't go to school but only knows signature. He has a good relation with NGO. Caritas a NGO gave him a boat without interest to earn something. During his diseases period they helped him much. Source: LEP 2003, Kotalipara -2 The study also finds that the people of both the central and the remote villages in Durgapur get treatment facilities from NGOs but cases and field experiences have nothing to support such facilities in other study areas. Box no-4.5 Ramesh is a, 42 years old, disable person. His wife is a day labourer. He is, in fact, a day labourer. He has been suffering from Gastric for seven years. It pains in his abdomen and can't eat anything. He didn't eat rice in the previous two days. He says that his abdomen in loaded before eating something. At the very beginning his abdomen used to pain. Gradually he used to feel this pain in the morning, afternoon and at night. Ramesh didn't go to doctor for treatment. He went to Mymensingh for treatment under the father of Church. The Father gave him pill and liquid medicine but there was no improvement taking those medicines. Then he didn't go anywhere. But sometimes he takes the medicine of Gastric taking from Birisiri area. Source: LEP 2003, Durgapur-3 13 The poorer section becomes especially vulnerable during natural calamities and then the NGOs play an important role to mitigate their suffering by providing relief for them. The study confirms that the poorer section of central Kotalipara, Rampal and Puthia get relief from some NGOs. Among the six (6) cases, two each from central Kotalipara and remote Durgapur get relief and one case each from central Rampal and Puthia confirms acceptance of relief. Box-4.6 A section of villagers of the Christian para of Kotalipara have no homestead land. They live in other’s land. Kakon Mandol is one of them. Her husband name Abdul Mandol is a agricultural day labour. Her husband works in other person’s land. He earns 40-50 taka per day. The landlord is kind enough that’s why he gave permission to live in his land. They made a house with straw and the roof is supplied by ‘Caritas’. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) A cross-section of people in our study areas confirms that during natural calamities NGOs take a major relief initiative for people, particularly the extreme poor. The poor people in all our study areas also confirm that the non-formal primary school setup is very helpful for enriching human assets as it imparts free education to their children. And NGO-run non formal primary education (NFPE) school is a common set-up in our study areas except in both villages in Niamatpur, the remote village in Kotalipara and the central village in Durgapur6. We observed during our field work that a large number of children go to school everyday. Discussion with people and cases also confirm children’s attendance at school. Out of 320 cases, 89 children go to NFPE school for better education. For example: Pran Sarder a 42 years old day labourer of central Puthia. He is married and has three sons and one daughter. Two of his son read in non-formal primary school runs by PROSHIKA. Guardians and non-formal primary students in all our study areas praised the schooling programme of NGOs and confirm that NFPE School helps a lot in their children’s schooling. A cross-section of people also supports this view. The facilities provided by the NGOs prove very helpful to the poorer section, but a section of the extreme poor belonging to the chronic group can hardly avail themselves of the opportunities provided by the NGOs. However, sometimes those groups take credit and end up making their lives even more insecure. Box-4.7 Abdur Rahman, 45 years of age, has two wives. Abdur’s household has lost all of the assets it once had. For the marriage of his eldest daughter, the cow 6 See further details in livelihoods profile number 1-8 14 was sold, and for the marriage of his youngest daughter, he will have to sell the land their home is on. After selling their land, they will be homeless, and he will still have to repay the 4000-taka loan he borrowed from the NGO. Source: LEP 2003, Patgram-2 & see detail in appendix Facilities received from Union Parishad (UP) The Union Parishad, as we find in our study, is an important local government institution in rural Bangladesh. It is a democratically elected body. The Union Parishad is an agency at the grassroots level and responsible for carrying out some compulsory works like infrastructure development, providing relief and assistance, enforcing law and order, implementing family planning programmes, local resources development and registration of birth and death. Union Parishad chairman and members are key actors on Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) committee and other committees functioning under the Union Parishad. Although we know that the Union Parishad is responsible for a wide range of community works, its role for the extreme poor leaves much to be desired. The study reveals that the Union Parishads of our study areas are responsible for distributing government food assistance and different allowances like Vulnerable Group Development, old-age pension, widow allowance etc. for the poorer section. In most cases, the facilities provided by the Union Parishad include the issuance of VGF cards to the deserving poor. The study finds that two among our cases from both remote and central villages in Durgapur get assistance from the Union Parishad. Interestingly the study gets three such cases from the remote village in Rangamati but no cases in the central village. The people from the central village in Kotalipara get most of the above-mentioned facilities and five persons of the central village and one person of the remote one get the facilities. Box-4.8 Ninety-year-old Mannat Bishas lives in Unoshia village in Kotalipara Thana. The infirmities of old age have left him largely incapacitated and unable to support himself. He has two sons and two daughters, all married and living separately. His eldest son, Zahinger Bisas, provides him food and clothing when his financial situation allows it. In 2000, a local Union Parishad government official gave him a card entitling him to benefits for senior citizens, and using this he got 100 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) per month. He is the only person in his neighbourhood who has received this support. After a recent change in government, he received aid only once, and in the five months since then, he has not gotten any more. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) The study also finds that both the remote and the central villages in Rampal, Patgram, Puthia, Niamatpur and Chakaria get the least UP assistance. And only one person each gets assistance from the UP in those areas. A cross-section of people in all our study areas claims though the VGF card is mainly for the extreme poor group, the card is either distributed to the poor people supporting the ruling party or to kin and other relations of the UP members and chairmen. 15 The study reveals that Union Parishads of central villages in Rampal, Kotalipara, Puthia and Durgapur distributed "test relief" (the grain assistance) to the destitute only for once. And this "test relief" helps reduce their vulnerability for the time being. Box-4.9 Madu is a 36-year-old man who lives in the village of Krishnapur, Puthia thana within the district of Rajshahi in northern Bangladesh. He occasionally has received assistance from the local Union Parishad government chairperson and representatives. He also got 10 kilograms of rice last Eid-ulAzha, an important two-day Muslim festival. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-2 The poorer section gets wages for road maintenance and construction under the Union Parishad. Cases show that the poor people of Puthia give their labour under the UP’s food for work programme. Box-4.10 Saleha Begum is a fifty-year-old woman Bahirshamul Village. In 1996, when her youngest son had died from drowning in a pond, her husband could not cope with the tragedy, and became unable to function normally. Thus, her family lost its main income earner, and faced a great crisis economically. She started doing road construction, as part of the food-for-work programme sponsored by the non-governmental organisation (NGO), CARE. She was earning 300 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) plus 80 kilograms of wheat per month. Source: LEP 2003, Kotalipara-5 Although we came across the food for work programme only in Puthia and nowhere else in our study areas, a cross-section of people mentions that the programme goes on in some of the neighbouring villages. The UP also provides relief for the poor during natural calamities like cyclone, flood, tidal surge etc. The study reveals that the poorer sections of the central villages in Rampal, Puthia, Kotalipara and the remote villages in Chakaria get relief when they are affected by natural calamities. Box-4.11 Promila, 50, lives in a central village of Rampal Thana. She has one son and two daughters. She is a road construction worker. Her husband divorced her 10 years ago, and since that time, she has been living on land provided by her father. Two months ago, a heavy storm destroyed Promila’s house. Fortunately, she got 3000 taka (1£=93 taka, as of November 2002) from Union Parishad and was able to reconstruct her house. She feels that if it had not been for that assistance, then her family would have been left without shelter. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) 16 A cross-section of people of all our study areas points out that the Union Parishad also provides sanitation facility for the inhabitants of the locality but most of the facility goes to well-off households. Another most important responsibility UPs usually discharge is the arbitration in social conflicts. Facilities received from Health Centre A health centre provides support for a large number of extreme poor. Government medical infrastructure exists in all our study areas. But the question is whether this set-up provides facilities or function well for the poorer section or not. Our findings have it that 32 persons from our study population were admitted to health centres or hospitals. Cases point out that the extreme poor from the central and remote villages of all the study areas have access to their local health complex. Both the chronic and the transient extreme poor get admission to a health centre but only those are able to continue their treatment who can afford expenses. Box-4.12 Jagadish is a 38-year-old day labourer of village Talbunia. He never went to school in his childhood, and is now illiterate. His wife can read at a class five level. The couple and their six-month-old son live in a one-room, mud house with a tin roof. One month ago, his son suffered from severe diarrhoea. Jagadish was away from home in Fakirhat at the time. He received word two days later that his son was sick, and he returned to Talbunia. He took his son to nearby Zhanzhania hospital, where the doctors told him that his condition was not good, and administered saline solution to him. Jagadish spent 800 taka for his medical care, which came from the savings he kept for off-season expenses. Source: LEP 2003, Rampal-4 Apart from the above-mentioned facilities, the poor people become aware of their health by different health campaigns. This is corroborated by the opinions of a cross-section of people in all our study areas. The remote villages of Rangamati and Kotalipara are an exception. Facilities received from Land Settlement department The Department of Land Settlement provides facilities for the extreme poor population. It is responsible for keeping records of land ownership, distributing and allotting khas land among and to the poor groups. Among the study population, 18 get khas land and the highest number of owners of khas land is in Niamatpur. The study finds that three persons from the central village and six persons from the remote village get khas land for their shelter. Box-4.13 Tajuddin is an inhabitant of Dhansha Village. He started migrating some fifty years ago. He has settled down in this village for now, but it is temporary. He bought a Pattan (settlement) of a bigha for six hundred taka and built a house for his family. Source: LEP 2003, Niamatpur-6 17 The study also finds that some people from the poorer section of Rampal, Puthia and Durgapur also get facilities from the land settlement department under the arrangement of "bondobosto" DCR paper. The study finds that two extreme poor, one each from the central village in Rampal and Puthia get Khas land from the land settlement department. Three extreme poor from the remote village in Durgapur get the same facilities from the land settlement department. Box-4.14 Kendu is a 40-year-old extremely poor person who lives in Baharatali village. "I am a permanent extreme poor,” he said. He has been suffering from abdominal pain for nearly 13 years, and is unable to work. His wife collects sand from a riverside to sell. He is not a landowner, but lives on communal khas land. Source: LEP field Study(Durgapur) The study reveals that the Saontal people live in a portion of the central village in Puthia which is declared as khas land by the district administration and the land settlement office. Box-4.15 Harish Sarder is a forty-two-year-old day labourer from the village of Krishnapur. Harish and his family live on communal khas land, and do not own any property, as is true of all the Santa'l members of the neighbourhood. And every Santa'l family has DCR paper approved by the deputy commissioner. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-1 Facilities received from Government Special Programme The study finds some special contextual institutions and special programmes run by the government to provide help for the extreme poor. These institutions are Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) widely called "Prokolpo" in Niamatpur, Kaptai Dam in Rangamati and girls’ education stipend programme in all our study areas. Barind Prokolpo has been established mainly for development of agricultural infrastructure in the Barendro tract. A large number of poor people have built their shelters on Barind Prokolpo khas land. The study also reveals that six persons from the remote village in Niamatpur came to live in Barind Prokolpo. The central village of Niamatpur in fact came into being on Barind Prokolpo khas land. Moreover, Barind Prokolpo constructs and maintains pucca (metalled) and kutcha (nonmetalled) roads all over Barind tract. The extreme poor find employment there and thus receive substantial livelihood support from the prokolpo itself. Box-4.16 Sumita Karmakar is a 27-year-old widow from Korkoria, a central village of Niamatpur. Her husband, an agricultural day labourer, died one-and-a-half 18 years ago following an illness. --due to his problems with alcoholism and gambling. She was engaged in wage-earning activities since before she was married, and had been working with Barind Prokalpo for the last 12 years. Source: LEP 2003, Niamatpur-1 The study findings noted the primary education facility children of the extreme poor households receive. This comes as a great support for the poor families. The study finds that five children of our examined cases get food assistance from school and among them two cases are from the central village in Puthia, one each from the remote villages in Puthia, Patgram and Chakaria. Box-4.17 Madu is a 36-year-old day labourer who lives in the village of Krishnapur. His 15-year-old daughter, Suktara, reads in class nine in a school and she got a 210-taka stipend for female secondary students. His 12-year-old son, Manik, is in class six in the same school, but he did not get any financial aid. Madu said that if the school had not provided assistance for his daughter, he would not have been able to support her regular attendance at school. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-2 A cross-section of people in Patgram, Puthia and Chakaria points out that the food for education programme ensures attendance and continuation of education for poor families’ children. At the same time it reduces the pressure on the guardians to get their wards out of school and thus they also feel mentally relieved. Some of them even sell the food and save the money for their daughters’ marriage. A section of the extreme poor pursuing fishing as an occupation in Rangamati gets fishing facilities from Kaptai Lake. The support is vital for their livelihoods. Box-4.18 Khalil Mia is 37 years old. Fishing is his source of income. He has six sons and one daughter. His first son, Tulal, completed driver training in Rangamati. His second son, Nayan, catches fish from the river and Lake Kaptai with him. The rest of his sons are unemployed. His wife is a homemaker, but sometimes she also goes to the river and lake to catch fish with her husband, their son, and young daughter. Source: LEP 2003, Rangamati-4 Facilities received from Religious Institutions Religious institutions like mosque, church and temple provide services for the extreme poor. The study reveals that the local church provides education and medical facilities in Niamatpur and Durgapur. Two persons each from the central village in Niamatpur and Durgapur get treatment support from church. 19 Box-4.19 Ramesh is a 42-year-old day labourer who has a disability. He has been suffering from a gastric disorder for seven years (later he says 4-5 years ago). The severe pains in his abdomen sometimes prevent him from eating. Due to his lack of ability to pay for health care, Ramesh will not go to see a doctor. Instead, he went to the town of Mymensingh, where he sought care under the supervision of the church priest. The priest gave him some pills and liquid medication, but they brought him no relief. Since then, he has not gone anywhere else to seek care. However, sometimes he takes medicine for his gastric problems from Birisiri (an adjacent place of the central village). Source: LEP 2003, Durgapur-3 A cross-section of people of both villages in Durgapur, the central village in Kotalipara and the remote village in Niamatpur confirmed that church provides financial help, relief and employment for some Christian families. Mosque-based Maqtab teaches boys and girls to read the Quran, the holy book of the Muslims. The study team observed this in all our study areas where the Muslim inhabitants are concentrated. But it was not found in both villages of Rangamati, the central in Durgapur, Niamatpur, Chakaria and the remote village in Rampal where the majority of the inhabitants are non-Muslims. A cross-section of people among the Muslims in all our study areas also supports the view that the poor Muslims get religious donations like 'zakat' , 'fitra' and 'Kurbani'r mangso' from well-off families of the same 'samaj'. Support received from Law enforcing Agencies Last but not the least, the law enforcing agencies such as the police, ansars and village defence party (VDP), as our study finds, provide a very negligible assistance for the poor-especially the extreme category among them. The study shows that the police are not very keen to maintain law and order in villages. Only one person from the remote village in Kotalipara is known to have received positive support from the law enforcing agencies. Box-4.20 Uday had sold a piece of land to Abser Mia, a Muslim man who is a resident in a neighbouring village. The land he sold him was a bell-shaped plot of lower fertility, but Abser intentionally encroached onto some nearby land that seemed more desirable. In the paddy-cutting season, Uday saw that Abser was cutting the paddy on his property and protested to him about this. Abser paid his words no heed, and the conflict spread out into the wider Muslim and Hindu communities. In the end, Uday reported his story to the police, who eventually settled the matter and returned the land to him. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) A cross-section of people of all our study areas points out that the law enforcing agencies provides facility for the well-off families and political leaders. 20 4.1.2 Obstacles from Formal Institutions The extreme poor in general have to confront various obstacles from different institutions. The study reveals some formal institutions closely related with such people’s livelihoods, instead of helping them, create obstacles in their way. Obstacle from Health Centre The extreme poor in general can seek admission to a health centre but lack of medical facilities like medicine support, operation cost and attitudinal problem of medical staff and doctors mostly force them to look for treatment from traditional healers, quacks and village doctors. They are compelled to discontinue treatment halfway because they cannot afford the ‘high incidental’ costs. This leads to the poor patients’ health vulnerability. As the study focuses on two patients who were admitted to the local health complex but were denied access to government free medicine support and medical attendant support. A negative attitude of the staff at the health centre towards the extreme poor renders the asset almost useless to the extreme poor. See Appendix-2, case no-2 A cross-section of people in our study area also complained that most of the time they have experienced rude and unacceptable behaviour from the health staff and doctors when they have sought treatment there. So they do not prefer to go for treatment at the health centre. Their first choice is a traditional healer or a quack doctor. As Siraj of the central village in Rampal says "Gorib manus haspatal zaibo ki, dactar aar kormochari ra ki gorib re manus mone kore" means how poor people will go to hospital as doctor and the staff do not treat them like human beings. A cross-section of people in all our study areas claims that doctors are very reluctant to treat patients at the health centre and prefer private treatment in their chambers. A serious allegation voiced by people from all our study areas is that doctors do not regularly attend duties at their upazila or union health centres. Obstacle from NGO As an institution, the NGOs are trying to reduce poverty but in reality expend little effort for eradication of the acute poverty. This was found true for both the central and remote villages in our study area. The villagers of our study area inform us that in most cases NGOs are complacent that they give loans. But they usually provide loans for the comparatively well-off families in the community and some of them have the intention to exclude the extreme poor groups. The study findings suggest that the chronic extreme poor in all our study areas cannot get access to NGO programmes, particularly the credit support programme though this group needs the support most. NGO programmes cannot provide strong support for most of the poorer section. They allege that the terms and conditions for repayment of loans are unfavourable to them. Some of them are of the opinion that the NGOs take away their savings and the interest rate is outrageously high on the loan they take. The study finds that a large number of the extreme poor in our entire study area are interested to be the beneficiaries of NGOs but they are not included in the programmes. 21 Box-4.21 Khadija, 23, is a female head of household in the village of Unoshia. Various factors have made her livelihood very vulnerable to crises. Khadija has sought involvement in a co-operative credit association run by the NGO, PROSHIKA, to secure a loan. Her plan was to invest in raising poultry, and thereby strengthen her livelihood. However, she maintains that the wealthy Borolokra (Rich persons) people (Members of PROSHIKA) did not want to include her, as she was poor. She also said that her name was also listed by (PROSHIKA officials listed her name before group formation) but ultimately she will not be included due to her economic status. She also tried to join the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), but they have rejected her as well. Source: LEP 2003, Kotalipara (I)-1 The study also finds that some of the NGOs take initiative or implement projects for the poor of all classes. But due to lack of monitoring and weak feasibility study, the projects, we noticed, have failed to deliver the goods. In the process the greatest loser of all was none but the poorer section of the community. They have to repay the loan and this causes them a great deal of mental agony. Box-4.22 Majeda is the only daughter of Abdul. Majeda’s parents moved here with her before the cyclone that hit in 1991. She is a member of the samity cooperative association run by the non-governmental organisation, PROSHIKA, and like the other members in the samity, gets loans with the aim of starting businesses and gaining experience. Along with other samity members, she secured a loan for raising poultry on a farm. She got 3 two-month-old roosters, 5 hens, a 10-day supply of chicken feed, and logistical support for raising them. The initial service provided by PROSHIKA cost her group 900 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002), and support was to be provided to them until the hens began laying eggs. Unfortunately, after 28 days, the chickens started dying. Source: LEP field study(Patgram) Obstacle from Union Parishad People have experiences of corruption in government-provided relief and assistance. The study finds that the extreme poor become a casualty of such corruption. We come across two incidents of corruption—one each from the central village in Rampal and the remote village in Kotalipar. The Union Parishad leaders and local leaders accepted bribe from the poor for distributing VGD cards among them. Moreover, the study shows that in the remote village in Patgram allocation of VGD card not only depends on bribe but also on its amount. 22 Box-4.23 A 35-year-old woman named Khaleda, a divorcee who lives in the remote village of Najirgomani with her younger sister. She lives in extreme destitution, and has no children to help support her. She has no formal education, and her literacy is limited to the ability to sign her name. She sometimes gets sari (traditional women’s clothing), or a little money from the Union Parishad chairperson and wealthy people during eid, the Muslim holidays. However, it is not consistent and she typically gets only one thing from each household. Her father gets fetra contributions for the needy, given by well-off Muslim families. She has no access to benefits for widows, or any other support from the government. She contends that only women who are able to give bribes to the local leaders receive benefits, and the more they can give, the more they will receive. If Khaleda gives 300 taka to obtain a card entitling her to benefits, but another woman gives 400 taka, then Khaleda will not get the card, and they will return her money to her. Source: LEP 2003, Patgram-3 The majority of the poorer people of the village express disrespect for and distrust and anger at the members of the local formal institutions. They face humiliation, intimidation and helplessness, instead of receiving support, because of them. A wide range of people in our study areas say that in most cases corruption predominates the distribution of assistance. At times the well-connected persons like kin and near ones are favoured with such assistance. The dominating members of the local formal institutions ignore the really needy. We find one case each in Durgapur, Rampal and Chakaria. Box-4.24 Giasuddin Pathan is a day-laborer working for a Gher of the central village in Rampal. Several times he has received relief from union parishad because the local member is very close to him. His intimacy developed with the member at a tea stall where they meet every evening to play with cards (tass). He also gets camel meat sent from Saudi Arabia for distribution among the poor people. After the last parliament election he changed party and joined the BNP. Earlier he was with the Awami League. He tries to obey the local leader’s orders. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) Moreover, the study finds that the union parishad also pays lower wages to the poor labourer than the fixed rate for the food for work and other programmes. Sometimes the local union leaders themselves get the contract for a particular project and cheat the poor labourers by not paying them the last instalment of wage package. One case each from the remote Puthia and Kotalipara confirms this. Box-4.25 Jamal is a 45-year-old day labourer in the village of Nisanpur in Puthia Thana. Last year, Jamal worked on a Nisanpur road construction project, 23 which was initiated by a UP elected official. However, he received only 900 taka in wages, out of the 1000 taka originally agreed to for completion of the work. The UP representative meanwhile has refused to provide the rest of the funds Jamal is owed. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-3 & see detail in appendix A cross-section of people of both villages in Puthia, Rampal, Chakaria and the central in Kotalipara claims that the union parishad leader and its faction are locked in political conflict with other factions over the control of resources and exercise of power. Sometimes the political leaders use the poorer section in taking revenge on their opponents physically. See above Box no- 4.24 A cross-section of people of both villages in Rampal and Kotalipara and the remote village in Puthia points out that some local leaders use poor women in spreading scandals with the ill intent of humiliating their political rivals. As a consequence, the lives of the women involved become miserable. They could not however refuse to comply with the leaders’ instruction. People of our study area raise allegation against union parishad leaders regarding their partiality in salish. Most of the time the verdict of salish goes in favour of well-off families. People argue that the local leaders usually consider relationship with the complainant and defendant or take bribe from one party and give verdict in its favour. Box-4.26 Safia is a 30-year-old woman who lives in the village of Shomsherpur, Patgram Thana, in the district of Lalmonirhat. Safia and her husband named Abali are day labourers. Their economic situation is not stable and it seems that they face various crises everyday. Sometimes the stress leads them to quarrel with each other. One day, Abali was so angry with Safia that he gave her a talak, or divorce, verbally. Safia did not respond to this, but her neighbour heard it and decided to report it to the authorities (local leader). However, Safia and her husband would not co-operate. At last, mosque representatives arranged a salish judiciary meeting, and told the couple to go to the Olima Committee of Patgram to get their judgement on the matter. Abali’s older brother, Tosor Uddin, paid the fee for the Olima Committee to consult the Hadis, a Muslim religious text, and decide the matter. Tosor meanwhile told his younger brother that if he divorced his wife, he would arrange a marriage with a beautiful girl and Abali would be highly regarded for doing so. However, Abali did not agree to his proposal, so Tosor became angry with his younger brother and wanted his money returned. However, Abali was unable to return his money, so Tosor took from him the only valuable possession he had: a cow. He sold the cow for 600 taka (1£=93 taka, as of November 2002), and promised that he would keep only the amount he lost dealing with his brother’s marital problems, and would return the rest to him. However, a long time has since past, and he has yet to return the money. Abali finally decided to arrange a salish to judge the matter, but 24 his brother gave bribes to the Union Parishad government officials so he would not have to return the money. Source: LEP field study(Patgram) As a result most of the time the poor do not get proper justice from the salish and union parishad and in the process lose their remaining assets. Obstacle from Other Govt. Agency Although we have cited examples of the help the extreme poor people receive from the land settlement department, a cross-section of people complained of a wide range of corruption in the land distribution process. The officials are prone to taking bribe from the beneficiaries having no connection with influential people. The study has findings in the central village in Kotalipara, Rampal and the remote village in Niamatpur to support this. Box-4.27 Kazal is a day labourer of the central village in Rampal. He builds a house on government allotted Khas land. To get the piece of homestead land, he gives bribe to the land settlement official and the deal is mediated by a local leader. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) A cross-section of people of both villages in Rampal, Puthia, Durgapur, Chakaria, Niamatpur claim that corruption in land settlement and upazila administration deprived the poor section from its right to khas land. Alhough some poor people get possession of khas land, the rich and the influential use political influence or bribe corrupt officials to capture the lion’s share of such land and water bodies at the expense of the poorer section in particular. Two years back (in the year 2000), the government took an initiative for surveying and recording land all over Bangladesh. People of our study area claim that during the time amin (surveyor) and land record officer took bribe in kind or cash from them for recording their land to their names despite the fact that they had 'asol dalil' (original land registration document) to show. Obstacle from the Law enforcing Agencies The study confirms that five people did not receive any help from the police when they turned to the agency in their danger. Among them two persons from the central Kotalipara and Rampal and one person each from the remote Niamatpur and Durgapur claim that the police did not help them while they sought help from them. Box-4.28 Basantha is a day labourer and does various types of work: catching tortoises, digging soil, and doing agricultural labour. He does different things in different seasons, but no longer goes out to other districts to find work. When he did so previously, he faced many threats to his physical and emotional well-being. Two years ago, he went to Dhaka and Narsingdi to catch 25 tortoises, but some of the local mastans (a low-level Mafia or criminal gang) stole his money and physically assaulted him. The abuse recurred, and Basantha’s efforts to enlist the help of the police failed. Basantha asserts, “Police keep their distance, and only after the mastans robbed me and left the area did they come. The police also fear them.” Due to concerns for their security, most of his fishing partners now avoid working outside their area. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) A cross-section of people of all our central study villages complains that the law enforcing agencies provide help only for the politically affiliated persons and some middlemen who act as toll collectors cum mediators between maastan and the police. Box-4.29 Four years ago Daban took a job in Mongla with a timber businessman. That businessman is actually a timber smuggler. Daban and other contract labourers went into the deep forest of the Sunderban. They cut wood and brought to Mongla. They brought that wood to Mongla surreptitiously because it is illegal to take the wood from the Sunderbans. They submerged the wood in the river and dived into the water themselves to avoid the eye of Coast guard. Daban said that the Police and forest authority know about these activities but as they get bribe from timber businessman so they are not bother about this. Source: LEP 2003, Rampal-11 Cross section of people also claim that they face misbehaviour from the police and they force people to part with bribe in exchange for any work they do. The study findings in the central village in Durgapur also support this. Box-4.30 Sonali Mankine is a 45-year-old extremely poor woman. At one time, she sold homemade wine, and had been running her wine business for many years. One day, the police unexpectedly arrived to search her house. They wanted her to show proof that she had a license for selling wine. As she failed to show them any license, they demanded that she pay them a bribe to overlook the infraction and leave. Rupali refused, and they responded by destroying about 1000 taka-worth (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) of goods in her home. Source: LEP field study (Durgapur) A common complaint is "When this is the situation people of different strata face, it is anyone’s guess how shabbily the extreme poor are treated by the police or other law enforcing agencies". A large number of poor people in our study area claim that they are scared of the police and they do not want to go to them for help as they are very rude to the poor. Most of the central village people of our study area also claim that the police insult or harass them while they ask for help. On the other hand, the remote villagers of our study area are afraid of the police. We even observed in remote villages of Niamatpur, Puthia, 26 Patgram, Durgapur that when the extreme poor see any tall man with short hair, they are very hesitant to talk to him, fearing that he might be a member of the law enforcing agency. Obstacle from Govt. special Institutions Although a section of the poor enjoys facilities in the Barendro Prokolpo's, the study gets the evidences that the central village was set up on khas land and most of the inhabitants of this village are members of the Hindu community. During the rule of the Awami League (1996-2001), local leaders of that party established this village for the poorer section. But they are not allowed to use fruits and timber for firewood from the Prokolpo. The employees of the Prokolpo threaten them. But the employees themselves use those illegally. Obstacle from Religious Institutions The extreme poor usually have no opportunity to run or manage the local religious institutions like mosques, temples and churches. But they do so where most of the inhabitants belong to their class. The study finds a situation like this only in the remote villages in Rampal, Kotalipara, Patgram and the central villages in Rangamati, Niamatpur and Chakaria. Mostly the committees of religious institutions are run by the local elite and head of the samaj except in areas mentioned above. The study finds that most of the extreme poor achieve only the prayer status in all our study areas. As a result they merely follow the religious rules and rituals but cannot take action against anyone by using religious rules and injunctions. Usually the well-off people use these institutions to serve their own interests. Moreover, some local people refer that a significant portion of people, especially poor people, still believe in sorcery and magical healing power of huzur or tantrik (voodoo) in all our study areas despite the fact that sometimes such treatment causes risk to their lives. 4.1.3 Facilities received from Informal institutions The study shows that the extreme poor also receive some facilities from different informal institutions. In this section, the study throws light on some informal institutions and groups like samaj, employer, local elite, political leader, mahajan all of them have a great deal of influence on extreme poor people's livelihoods. The extreme poor are used to breaking down the samaj into two parts: kin and neighbour. The study reveals that those informal institutions are firmly linked with the poor section which provide it with facilities to maintain its members livelihoods. Facilities from Kin Network of kin plays a significant role for the vulnerable group to cope with critical situations. Kin-based network provides an important safety net for the most vulnerable group like the women-headed households in every study area. They get support from the kin especially in food crisis. Kin act as the central institution for the livelihoods of the extreme poor, according to the study findings. Most of the time kin support either helps them to face different adverse 27 situations or reduce their vulnerability. The study gets evidence from 44 cases that different types of help are provided by kin when the extreme poor are exposed to multi-faceted vulnerability. Kin help their extreme poor relatives with cash, material support and credit. The extreme poor of the transient category get from their kin more loan and cash support compared to the chronic extreme poor. Box-4.31 Nargis Khatun, age 48, lost her husband Ismail in 1987. She has two sons and five daughters. She arranged her first daughter's marriage six months after her husband's death. She had to give 2500 taka as dowry, which was raised with the help of her brothers and neighbour. Source: LEP 2003, Chakaria-3 However, the study also reveals that when the blood relations find them in deep crisis, some close kin extend their helping hand. On the other hand, the study finds that both the transient and the chronic extreme poor of all study areas get support from their relatives during crisis period but the chronic poor are mostly given goods instead of cash. Box-4.32 Thirty-eight-year-old Golapi Rani is a widow. She has one son and three daughters. She is employed outside the home as a domestic worker. Golapi did not work outside the home before the death of her husband in 1991. She had been responsible for domestic work such as cooking and looking after the children, while her husband earned income by fishing. With his earnings, they had been living moderately well, until he became ill while he was in the Sundarbans. Upon his return home, it was discovered that he had liver cancer. He suffered for five long months before succumbing to the disease. During that painful time, the families of both husband and wife gave them as much financial and emotional support as they could. Source: LEP 2003, Chakaria-6 In contrast, the study finds that the extreme poor of Patgram receive the least amount of cash, goods and loan support from kin. Interestingly, the study finds that a section of the chronic extreme poor who are disabled or are chronically ill, have women-headed households, get more material support from relatives compared to the chronic extreme poor. We get the impression from our talks with the members of the community that kin perform this act of kindness from moral obligation. The study has similar findings all across our study area except in Patgram. Box-4.33 Bimol Das, 65, is a pottery seller. Four years after his marriage, Bimol contracted tuberculosis and became gravely ill. His doctors gave up hope at one point. His wife sold five katha of land, and some cattle to pay for his 28 medical care. Their relatives and neighbours helped them with financial aid for the duration of his one-year stay in the hospital. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-4 The study finds one case each from central villages in Rampal, Patgram and Niamatpur getting shelter in kin's home following devastation by natural calamities. The study also finds that in the central village in Kotalipara and Durgapur kin help their relations with physical labour when the latter become victims to natural calamities. Box-4.34 Hafiz is a share-cropper. Three years ago, floodwaters suddenly threatened his rice paddy field. He sought help from friends and relatives to cut his paddy as quickly as possible. The combined effort of four people saved his crop within six hours. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) Kin also provide shelter for their relatives during natural and social hazards.7 Box-4.35 During last attack over Afghanistan, some fundamentalist agitated against Christian. But some religious pious men make them understand that America is very far from Bangladesh and what is their (Bangladeshi Christian’s) relation with that country. The same God creates every one. Within a week this tension became normal. During the period of Afghan war, lots of Christian took shelter in central village’s Christian para from Barishal. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) As the study finds in both the central and the remote villages of Kotalipara and Durgapur, the extreme poor avail themselves of job opportunity through their relatives.8 But a cross-section of people of every study area has confirmed that a large number of the extreme poor of all the communities get working opportunity courtesy of their kin. Box-4.36 Akram is a 16-year-old boy who works in the silver business in Barisal. He is a head of household, and struggles to survive. He lives in Bahirshamul village, Kotalipara Thana, in the district of Gopalganj. He has never gone to school, and knows only how to sign his name. His father, Abdul Latif Shake, died when he was six. His mother, Bosiron, is a homemaker. As the third of five children born to them, he has three brothers and two sisters. Three years ago Akram migrated to Barisal with his uncle and started to work as a hawker of plastic utensils. Source: LEP 2003, Kotalipara-4 7 8 See further detail in Chakma (2003),Fighting with calamiities: Coping Strategies of the Extreme poor see further detail in Purvez (2003), Making Use of Social Networks as Mediating Resources 29 Facilities received from Neighbour Neighbours are another important informal institution for the extreme poor, as our study suggests. The study finds 29 incidents involving help provided by the neighbours when the extreme poor find themselves exposed to risks of vulnerability. The study gets this picture in both the remote and the central villages of the eight agro-ecological regions. In every village of our study area we found that the poorer section and their neighbours are reciprocally dependent on each other. The extreme poor of the transient category receive more cash and goods as help compared to the chronic extreme poor. See appendix-2, case-2 The study also comes with the findings that the extreme poor of Patgram get cash, material and loan support from neighbours when they face health hazards. Interestingly, the study finds that a section of the chronic extreme poor receive charity from their neighbours while the transient extreme poor get loan support. A cross-section of neighbours who gives charity to the extreme poor simply states that it performs this act out of moral obligation. The study finds nine cases in this respect. From the nine cases the study gets the impression that the central neighbours are more helpful than the remote ones. Of the nine, two cases each exist in central Rampal, Kotalipara and remote Rangamati while one case each exists in central Chakaria, Rangamati and the other one is in the remote Niamatpur. In the central village in Kotalipara and the remote in Rampal, neighbours are also extremely concerned about the chronically ill member of their community and take initiative of innovative types to share the treatment cost. Moreover they help with mental and physical support. In both cases we find that the provider and receiver of support belong to the Hindu community. A section of people also confirms that the Hindus are more helpful and ready to share burden than the Muslims in this regard. Box-4.37 Joydeep is a 21-year-old young man who lives in a central village of Kotalipara. He was born into a very poor family. His father, Sunil Ghosh, is a day labourer in the traditional practice of caring for diseased cows. Joydeep cannot do any work due to an extended illness; has been sick for two years now. His doctor has thus far been unable to identify the cause of his illness. Joydeep’s father has already spent a lot of money on his medical treatment, but so far to no avail. Unable to bear the burden alone, the family must look to their neighbours and relatives for help—not just financially, but to meet Joydeep’s care needs as well. One can clearly see the support and compassion felt for Joydeep by residents in the Ghosh neighbourhood such as Ajit Kumar Ghosh, a neighbour who accompanied him for a recent visit to his doctor. Community members created a fund to raise money for Joydeep’s medical care, and donations have come in from everyone in the area. They also received help from prominent wealthy people and the local chairperson. As they consider the numerous prescriptions and hospital receipts they have accumulated, the family is disappointed that doctors there have not been able to cure him. The ordeal has made Joydeep’s family question the quality of 30 medical treatment available in their country; many people have supported the idea of him travelling to India to receive care. Community members have also applied for benefits on Joydeep’s behalf from the area’s Union Parishad government office, but received no response from officials. In the meantime, his father reluctantly pawned his land to secure funds for his ongoing treatment. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) Neighbours also show their sympathy verbally and help physically while one of them falls sick and it is a common practice in all our study areas. The study finds that the extreme poor get jobs by the help of their neighbours. A crosssection of people of every study area has also confirmed the fact that a large number of extreme poor of every community get work opportunity courtesy of their neighbours. The study finds 12 cases in this regard. Of the 12 cases, 5 are in remote Durgapur, one each in central Kotalipara, Rampal, Patgram, Puthia, Niamatpur, Chakaria and in remote Rangamati. Box-4.38 Dilara Khatun is a 14-year-old girl who works as a house cleaner. She earns 500 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002), plus meals, per month. A neighbour took her to Dhaka for work, so she is now able to come to her village only once every three or four months to see her family. Source: LEP field study (Durgapur) A cross-section of people of all our study areas confirms that the poor people get shelter in their neighbours’ homes on a temporary basis when they lose their own to natural calamities. Facilities received from Employer Employers facilitate the extreme poor people’s access to work and other facilities most of the time. The study gets evidence that the employer provides a wide range of help for their employed wage-labourers in addition to payment of wages. The study finds 12 cases in which the extreme poor labourers get extra facilities from their employer, especially when they face natural calamities. The findings are true for all our study areas. It is found that the employer gives cash or material support to the poor day-labourers in the central and the remote villages of all our study areas. The extreme poor from the chronic category get more help in kind or cash than the transient extreme poor when they face any health hazard and natural calamities such as a sudden illness of the head or a member of the household, damage to houses by storm, cyclone etc. See appendix-2, case-4 The help mentioned above is not regular but most of the time a section of employers and members of their families provide such support out of moral obligation when the labourers fall sick or face natural and other hazards. On the other hand, another section does the same to take extra advantage in respect of their future labour. Box-4.39 Tajuddin is a share-cropper of remote village in Niamatpur. He cultivates lands of Bulbul. He had the opportunity to cultivate Bulbul’s land because of his 31 association with the family. He has been working for Bulbul’s father Haider Gang who died a few years ago, from his childhood. He receives various help from Bulbul. During any crisis, he can count on Bulbul’s financial help or advice. Source: LEP 2003, Niamatpur-6 People in all our study areas state that some of the employers also provide cash help for the poor labourers during the marriage of the latter’s daughters. This is also done out of moral duty and it depends on a reciprocal relationship. Facilities received from the Local Elite The local elite is another influential player to shape the livelihoods of the extreme poor. The study finds that the extreme poor get various institutional facilities and charity support courtesy of the local elite. In their turn the elite gain and strengthen their leadership in the community by distribution of such favour. The study finds that 19 extreme poor get various assistance like shelter, food, cash, religious charity directly from the local elite. Of the 19 cases, 15 get shelter support. It is widely prevalent in the central village in Chakaria and the remote village in Durgapur. Box-4.40 Abdul Khabir is one of the sons of Nurul Hoque in the village of Tekpara. Khabir is 35 years old and lives on land owned by the zamindar—a group of upper-class people who hold power and influence in the area. His father also lived on zamindar land in the western neighbourhood of Pachim Bara Veulia, but after an incident occurred there, he was forced to leave the place and went to another, Beala Manikchar, far from Tekpara. Many years later, Nurul Hoque again came back to Bara Veulia and obtained land in Tekpara from the local Union Parishad chairperson, who was popular at the time. It has been ten years now that they have lived on this land. Zamindar people own the property, and his family at one time had to pay rent for it, but they are no longer obligated to do so. Source: LEP field study (Chakaria) One case each of religious charity (Jakat) was found in both the remote villages in Patgram and Chakaria. People get religious charity from the local elite. Box-4.41 Khaleda a divorced woman of the remote village in Patgram is about 35 years old. She is reduced to destitution after her divorce. She has no children and no male member to support her. She sometimes gets Shari and money (Tk 20-25) from chairman and rich men during eid. But the amount is not fixed and different families distribute different things. Her father receives ‘fitra’ money because of his old age. Source: LEP 2003, Patgram-3 32 A cross-section of people of our study area opines that the poorer section cannot have access to different formal institutional facilities without help of the local elite. Most of the time those poor people get formal institutional facilities, who have relatively closer ties with the local elite. Facilities received from Political Leader Political parties and local leaders play a significant role in the lives of villagers, especially in the central villages of our study area. The study observes during the fieldwork that local political leaders of the central villages are very much concerned about the incidents taking place in their villages, neighbouring villages and the upazila. Local leaders play a mediating role in the distribution of government assistance and khas land. This fact is confirmed by the cross-section of people of every study area. But they also confirm that the distribution takes into consideration either the political identity of the extreme poor or their existing relationship with them. Otherwise, they take extra advantage from those extreme poor. The central villages in Rampal and Durgapur however present a different picture--political leaders there financially help the poorer section. Nazrul Sheikh is a 28 years old van puller of the central village in Rampal. He got cash and government assistance last year from the local parliament member (MP). Again the study reveals that two cases each from Kotalipara and Chakaria get help from political leaders who provide shelter or homestead land for the poor and lessen their vulnerability. Box-4.42 Zarina is a 47-year-old widow lives in central village of Kotalipara. Her husband passed away with one son & daughter when Zarina was at age of 32. After her husband's death she lost her shelter from in laws house. Earlier she used to call a local political leader as "bhai" who provided her a small piece of land for dwelling. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) The study reveals that the extreme poor are sometimes harassed by the activists of a rival party. We get evidences from the cases that in central Rampal, Chakaria and Puthia the extreme poor were subjected to political harassment and even physical assault. Again the transient extreme poor are more vulnerable than the chronic in this respect. See appendix-2, case-2 The study gets the evidence in the central village in Rampal that the local leaders and the activists of the ruling party and its alliance harassed female members of the families of their opponents and the minority community in particular. Box-4.43 Hema Bala Pal, a 25-year-old widow, lives in a village in central Rampal Thana. Her husband died about three years ago. She has no children. . She is now able to support herself by teaching at the school sponsored by 33 PROSHIKA, a major non-governmental organisation, where she earns 500 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) per month. Her husband had one acre of land, on which he farmed shrimp for 20 years. After the recent change in government, she lost the gher shrimp farming land and equipment to some neighbours who forcefully took them. This political opposition group had always threatened her family. The other villagers recognised the injustice, but felt powerless to do anything about it; if any of them spoke up to help Hema Bala, they would become the target of threats. Therefore, everyone lives in silence. The situation has left Hema Bala feeling upset and frustrated. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) A cross-section of people and the national newspapers also confirm that a series of incidents occurred in Rampal and other areas immediately after the last parliament election (in 2001). Facilities received from Mahajan (Money lender) Mahajan is a key figure in the informal credit market. To overcome their financial crises, the poorest people without supportive kin, neighbour, employer and local influential persons have to turn to mahajan for loans. Though the NGOs are running credit programmes, a significant portion of the extreme poor remains outside of those programmes. The study reveals that a large number of the extreme poor still depends on Mahajans for credit in all our study areas except in Durgapur and Puthia. The study reveals that 14 cases get loan from Mahajans during crisis. Most of these loans are sought when NGO credit follows formalities and take a long time to get. Again the extreme poor do not get credit in their emergency need. Then only the Mahajans are the last hope. People, as we find, from the remote villages are more dependent on Mahajans than the central villagers in all our study areas. Box-4.44 Abdus Sattar, 38, lives in the remote village of Tekpara. His wife Hamida Begum, 32, works in the home. They have two sons and two daughters. Sattar works on a shrimp farm, or gher, owned by a zamindar, a member of the wealthy land-owning class. Since the nature of the work he performs is so demanding, he has spent many sleepless nights totally isolated from his family. He works long hours standing in the water on the farms, and no one is there to look after him. Weakened by the stressful job conditions, he suffered from fevers and a sore throat for three months in 1999. During that time, he was out of work and had to spend a large amount of money—more than 10,000 taka—for health care. As he is the only earner of his six-member family, it was difficult for him to bear the medical expenses using only his meagre savings. So, he was compelled to take a loan of 10,000 taka, with compound interest, from a traditional money-lending woman. Now, he and his family are 3000-4000 34 taka in debt. A sense of tension and insecurity exist in the household due to the vulnerable health and finances of its sole income earner. Source:LEP field study (Chakaria) The study also reveals that mostly the transient extreme poor receive the Mahajan's credit support more compared to the chronic. So the transient can get access to informal credit market while the chronic cannot. And this is a common picture in all our study areas. A cross-section of people of all our study areas also confirms this fact. See appendix-2, case-3 By and large the chronic poor also try to depend on the Mahajan's credit during crisis and the Mahajan sometimes provides loan for them considering the value of their human, financial, natural assets as well as their reciprocal relations. 4.1.4 Obstacle from Informal institutions The study reveals some informal institutions closely associated with extreme poor’s livelihoods, instead of helping them, create obstacles in their way. Obstacle from Kin A section of transient extreme poor also faces obstacle from kin. The study finds from 11 cases in Kotalipara, Rampal, Puthia, Durgapur and Chakaria that relatives illegally occupy land by force or cheating. In most cases land is the prime source of intra-kin conflict. The extreme poor of both villages in Rampal and Puthia and of the remote village in Kotalipara, Niamatpur and Chakaria have experiences of such feuds. See appendix-2, case-4 People of our study area, during group discussion, came up with the assertion that the poorer section sometimes get into conflict with their kin over petty matters. They even break up with each other as a result of this and thus lose network support. The origin of such intra and inter-household conflicts is either quarrel between children and over chicken. The study finds cases of this nature in the remote village in Chakaria and the central village in Niamatpur. Box-4.45 Golam Rasul is a 32 years day labourer of Remote village of Chakaria. Golam Rasul was around 14 years old then, an unfortunate incident made them homeless. One-day a goat belonging to Malek was stolen. He was extremely unhappy with Golam Rasul farther-Nurul Hoque for the loss; as his praja, he had the responsibility to look after Malek’s cattle and other livestock. Malek alleged that somebody from Nurul’s family was involved with this incident. This was shocking for them, as they did not know who had stolen the goat, but were being blamed for the crime. This was a major setback to relations between the two families. A few days later, a quarrel between two children from the two families proved to be the last straw, and they were asked to leave the land as soon as possible. The two kids were playing chakka, a game played with a small, hard board and some balls. At one point, they started quarrelling during the game. Malek’s child, in tears, complained that the other boy beat him. Malek became incensed at this, and ordered the family to leave the land immediately. Source: LEP 2003, Chakaria-2 35 Obstacle from Neighbour Again the transient extreme poor face obstacles from influential neighbours over land dispute. The study finds seven cases in Kotalipara, Rampal, Niamatpur and Chakaria where the powerful neighbours grab the poor people’s land. The extreme poor of both villages in Kotalipara and Niamatpur, of the central village in Rampal and Chakaria have to surrender land to encroachers. Box-4.46 Depak Sarker, 55, is a practitioner of traditional veterinary medicine in Unoshia village. At the time of the war for liberation in 1971, he and his family fled to India. Before they left, his Hindu neighbour, Kalicharan, advised him to hand over all of his land documents, to him for safekeeping. However, at the end of the war one-and-a-half years later, when his family returned to Unoshia, he made the terrible discovery that they had nothing remaining save for the land their home was on. Local Muslims had looted everything in his house, and to his great dismay, Kalicharan did not return his land documents to him. Furthermore, he was occupying some of his property with the help of some powerful Muslims. Source: LEP 2003, Kotalipara - 3 Obstacle from Employer The refusal by an employer to pay the labourers their due wages is a source of conflict between the two parties. Labourers are discriminated against in respect of age, sex, ethnicity and physical condition all over our study area. But our findings suggest wage cheating is dominant in Puthia and Rampal.9 Box-4.47 Harish Sarder is a forty-two-year-old day labourer from the village of Krishnapur. Harish and his family members frequently migrate different places to work in agricultural land. Most of the time, he goes to Natore, Singra, Taherpur, Bagmara, and Rajshahi with his wife and children to work the farms and do landscaping. Harish reported that employers have cheated him out of the wages he was due for his work. They employers sometimes pay less than the agreed wages, but he feels powerless to do anything about it. Because he is a migrant worker, and member of a minority group, he feels he cannot effectively protest these injustices. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-1 The study also finds that employers pay lower wages than the agreed rate and such cases are found in the central village in Puthia, Kotalipara and in the remote village in Chakaria. 9 See further detail in Kamruzzaman (2003), The Extreme poor in Labour Market: Participation & Vulnerability 36 But the poorer section of all our study areas claim that they have been forced to accept lower wages than the agreed by their employers at different times. The study suggests that employers pay irregular wages to labourers in Patgram and Durgapur area causing the latter to suffer financial insolvency and food insecurity. Box-4.48 Ambia Shangma, 45, lost her husband, Shingra Shangma, five years ago. He worked as a day labourer. As a day labourer, Ambia earns only 45 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) plus two meals a day for her work planting seeds. Her earnings increase to 60 to 65 taka per day when she does the additional tasks of cutting seeds and digging the soil, which she does when her economic situation requires it. Property owners generally come to call on her when they have work that needs to be done, however, they do not always pay wages on time. Source: LEP 2003, Durgapur -11 Poor day-labourers of all our study areas claim that they are subjected to rude and rough behaviour of the majority of the employers. They are given to eat left-over food and it is considered part of the wages. The study finds evidences of this in Rangamati and Patgram area. Box-4.49 Thirty-year-old Moniruzzaman lives in a remote village in Patgram. He lives with his wife, and two sons under the age of six. Moniruzzaman lives on Tofajjal’s land, and is obligated to work during the crop-growing season. He is not paid wages on a daily basis, but earns 4000 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) annually, which is paid to him in instalments throughout the year. His wife also works in Tofajjal’s house, but only sporadically, and she receives food as pay. Source: LEP field study (Patgram) It emerges from group discussions with people in all our study areas that young and goodlooking housemaids are physically insecure in the employers’ homes. Some of the employers themselves or their relatives view the girls as a sex object and try to use them for the purpose. The study finds one such case in Patgram. See above box no- 4.23 A cross-section of people of our study area claims that the above-mentioned issue is very much common in society. Obstacle from Political Party By and large a political party and its activists sometimes create tension and chaos in a particular area. The study reveals that both the central and remote villagers of Rampal and Kotalipara faced political threats during the last parliament election and in the following months. The transient extreme poor are comparatively more vulnerable in this respect. See Appendix-2, case-3 37 The incidents of political chaos and persecution in Rampal have also been highlighted by the national newspapers after the 2001 election. The study finds that the extreme poor of the central villages in Puthia and Chakaria faced political threats during the last general election and in the following months. Again the transient extreme poor are particularly vulnerable in such times. Box-4.50 Ganash is 28 years old and he lives in Krishnapur village. He is a shopkeeper and he owns his own shop. He is involved in politics with the Awami League. During the last election his party was defeated, when this happened some people threatened him and told him to leave politics. He faced verbal abuse from rival political parties. Some time ago some people from the rival party attacked him. They hit him with an axe and knife and when they thought he was dead they left him. But after a proper treatment he is better today. He said there is no problem with politics in Puthia now. Source: LEP field study (Puthia) The study also reveals that the local political leaders of the central villages in Kotalipara, Puthia and Rampal forced some political activists among the poorer groups to shift their party support and join their party. A cross- section of people argued that most of the time the local leaders target activists who are brave and play an active role in political conflicts. At times the poor political activists themselves shift their party support after the change of government on the consideration that they were neglected during the past regime and now have a chance to reap political dividends. A case in central Rampal confirms this observation. See above box no- 4.24 A cross-section of people of our study area, both from central and remote villages, claimed that political leaders create obstacle to proper distribution of government assistance and relief. Mostly the help goes to their followers, kin and all who are well connected to them or they allot those by unfair means. Rokeya of Kotalipara represents our study area. She says, “ sorkari sahazzo, subidha sob neta chor era khaia felai, na hoile ogo lok go dei, mohilara chaile betara suzog khuze" (Government assistance and relief are misused by local leaders who distribute those among followers, kin and close ones. If women seek assistance, the local leaders or their friends harass them or try to use them). Obstacle from Mahajan The poorest people who have other sources to turn to are compelled to go to moneylenders for loans and suffer a lot because of the high interest they have to pay. The study reveals that Mahajans are active in both central and remote villages of our study area except in the remote village in Rampal. The study finds that it is very risky for the poorest people to take credit from mahajans as they have hardly any asset. It is very tough for them to repay the loans of absurdly high interests. 38 Box-4.51 Shahjahan is a 50 years old day laborer of remote village of Niamatpur. The poorest people of the area generally do paitkata, or work to meet food demands, in houses owned by mahajans, village employers and moneylenders. Shahjahan has no specific mahajan who employs him, but can change mahajans due to the strong demand for workers at harvesting time. He prefers to work for the mahajan closest to him; this brings him some advantages, like being able to seek assistance during times of crisis. For example, he usually needs to take out loans in the off-season when he faces food scarcity. He can easily get the loans, because he keeps in contact with the mahajan. Shahjahan sometimes takes advances on his salary, to cope with the lower income of the Aswin and Kartik months, on the condition that he will have to work at lower-than-average labour market wages for some time to pay back the loan. Source: LEP 2003, Niamatpur-6 In some cases, they lose everything and become paupers. The loss is not just financial but it also reduces their human, natural and social assets. See appendix-2, case-2 The extreme poor seeking loans from a moneylender are aware of the danger high interests can pose to them. They have no high opinion about their creditors. But since there is no other alternative, they have to approach a Mahajan (moneylender) for credit. As Sushanta of the central village of Kotalipara says, " Mahajan harami ra onek sud nei, kintu ki kormu upai nai, upai thakle ki aar ogo kache zai" meaning the devils of moneylender realise high interests but since we have no alternative, we have to turn to them for loans. Obstacle from Salish The Shalish is a very important informal institution for both central and remote villagers in the study area. Usually it solves the disputes and conflicts--both intra and inter-household. Land dispute, sexual harassment, theft, quarrel and failure to repay loan are most common agendas for the salish in our study area. The allegation of corruption and injustice against the salish is also there in the study area as the shalish is controlled by the relatively well-off families and the local elite. The poorer section of the villages under the study has little access to salish body, and their participation in it is limited to the capacity of witnesses only. The majority of the decision-makers belong to the well-to-do class. The study finds that out of 16 cases, in 15 cases the salish has played a negative role-- the extreme poor finding themselves at the receiving end in all our study areas. Interestingly, the study observed that the negative incidents are same in proportion in the study areas. The salish is biased towards kin and political allegiance and can be bribed. Box-4.52 Saiya is a 30-year-old woman who lives in the village of Shomsherpur, Patgram Thana, in the district of Lalmonirhat. Twelve years ago, she got 39 married to Abali, Saiya and her husband are day labourers. They have no land suitable for farming. Their economic situation is not stable and it seems that they face various crises everyday. Sometimes the stress leads them to quarrel with each other. One day, Abali was so angry with Taiya that he gave her a talak, or divorce, verbally. Saiya did not respond to this, but her neighbour heard it and decided to report it to the authorities. However, Saiya and her husband would not cooperate. At last, mosque representatives arranged a salish judiciary meeting, and told the couple to go to the Olima Committee of Patgram to get their judgement on the matter. Abali’s older brother, Tosor Uddin, paid the fee for the Olima Committee to consult the Hadis, a Muslim religious text, and decide the matter. Tosor meanwhile told his younger brother that if he divorced his wife, he would arrange a marriage with a beautiful girl and Abali would be highly regarded for doing so. However, Abali did not agree to his proposal, so Tosor became angry with his younger brother and wanted his money returned. However, Abali was unable to return his money, so Tosor took from him the only valuable possession he had: a cow. He sold the cow for 600 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002), and promised that he would keep only the amount he lost dealing with his brother’s marital problems, and would return the rest to him. However, a long time has since past, and he has yet to return the money. Abali finally decided to arrange a salish to judge the matter, but his brother gave bribes to the Union Parishad government officials so he would not have to return the money. This is how Saiya and Abali lost their last savings and became extremely poor. Source: LEP field study (Patgram) Sometimes the ‘salish’ excludes the extreme poor from the rest of the village. Box-4.53 Sumita Karmakar is a 27-year-old widow from Korkoria, a central village of Niamatpur. Her husband, an agricultural day labourer, died one-and-a-half years ago following an illness. --due to his problems with alcoholism and gambling. Sumita and her family have faced their worst period of hardship since an incident in which she allegedly had an illegal relationship with a man from another neighbourhood. Some of the prominent members of the community claimed that one evening earlier in the year, a man was seen leaving her house. Both Sumita and the man accused of having immoral relations with her were then beaten by the mondal, a traditional community leader, and taken before the local Union Parishad government representative to receive judgment. Except for her sister and brother, the entire community condemned them. Sumita and her sister lamented, “amther kewo nai, tai amdather bolar loko nai”—they have no influential person to support them, so they find favour with no one. In the presence of the local traditional leaders, the UP official 40 ordered them both to jail. Promila and the man then spent 16 days in the Naogaon district jail, some 40 kilometres away from the village. Apart from their legal punishment, the social scorn was far tougher for Sumita and her family to endure. They were virtually excluded from the society by salish; her children were not even allowed to play with others in the community. Source: LEP 2003, Niamatpur-1 The poorer section gets deprived of fair justice because of its lack of a strong network with the local elite. The study finds that the poor people are meted out injustice by the salish in both villages in Patgram and in the remote village in Rampal area. Box-4.54 Seventy-year-old Kabir Uddin is illiterate. He has had ongoing boundary issues with the man who bought the property adjacent to his. The man has since threatened that if Kabir does not abandon the disputed property, he will have a big problem. Kabir has not gone to see Union Parishad (UP) government officials regarding this problem, because the matbar, a local leader of the village, said to him that when the man tries to put up a fence, then they will call the UP representatives. Source: LEP 2003, Rampal-3 Again, a cross-section of people of our study area alleged that salishdars (jury) take bribe from one of the parties and manipulate the verdict in its favour. People also claim that the shalish sometimes deliberately creates social conflict among them. This does not help establish the rights of the poor in both central and remote villages. In the process both the chronic and the transient extreme poor become victims. 41 5. INFLUENCES OF INSTITUTIONS ON THE EXTREME POOR'S LIVELIHOODS (VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE) The study finds some formal and informal institutions which operate various programmes and influence on livelihoods of the poor. Those influential visible or invisible institutions also shape the livelihoods of the extreme poor. 5.1 Formal entitlements (from formal institution) adversely influenced The study finds that formal entitlement sometimes have adverse impacts on the extreme poor. Health centre Although the cases do not reveal the attitudinal problem of the medical staff but a crosssection of people complain that the medical staff misbehaves with the poorer section. Lack of co-operation from the medical staff and their inability to bear the attendant costs at the health facilities usually force them to discontinue treatment. When the conditions of the patients worsen they once again seek treatment there. But again they face similar lack of support from the health centre. Lack of health facilities leads to vulnerability of the poor, especially the chronic extreme poor. We find a case in Rampal, Durgapur, Patgram and Rangamati area. People there have not enough money for medical treatment. A large number of people develop disability simply because they cannot either afford proper treatment or at the right time. If a serious disease attack them or they meet with a grievous accident, the likely prospect is disability to the victims. But a health centre is of no help to them in their vulnerable situation. Box-5.1 Fakba Begum is a widow. She is 35 years old. She has two daughters and one son. Her husband was a day labourer. He had no cultivated land. After her marriage she found that her husband that her husband had a disease (she didn't know what it was). She could not afford her husband's treatment in health center. After she had had their third child her husband became seriously ill and could not move. Two years ago her husband has died. Since that time she has been leading the household. Source: Field study (Puthia) The study also finds that the medical staff is very careless about the patients’ treatment. Box-5.2 Rahela Begum, a 60-year old widow, is a female head of household who lives in extreme poverty. She lives in Talbunia village, in the Union of Bashtoli in Rampal Thana. Her eldest son, Moti, became disabled as the result of an unfortunate series of events. One day in his early childhood, he was climbing a tree at his grandfather’s house, when he suddenly slipped and fell out of the 42 tree and broke his hipbone. With the help of her family and neighbours, Rahela rushed Moti to the hospital in Khulna for treatment. Unfortunately, the recent death of an influential local person at that hospital had severely disrupted services there. The supporters of that person held the doctors responsible for his death, and had been threatening the hospital staff continuously. As a result, nearly all of the beleaguered staff of the hospital fled, leaving all the patients unattended. Under these circumstances, Rahela decided to leave the hospital with Moti, though his condition was critical at that moment. She was unable to afford treatment at one of the private clinics, so she could do nothing but return to their village some 35 kilometres away. Without proper medical care, Moti’s physical condition deteriorated, and he was left partially paralysed. Source: LEP 2003, Rampal-7 Although the government supplies medicines to the health centres for the poorer section, in reality those medicines are not given to the intended people. So in time of serious illness of someone in the poor families, people have to sell whatever small property they have to bear the treatment cost. This drags them into abject poverty. Box-5.3 Bashir Ali, 30, has a disability. His wife, a homemaker, is 25 years old. They have two daughters. Bashir Ali says that about seven months ago, his right leg became infected with a disease that causes the flesh to die. He first noticed it due to the pain it produced in his leg. He went to see a doctor after three or four days, who told him that it was a skin disease. He gave Bashir Ali medicine for it, but the pain was still increasing day by day. He went to the same doctor a second time, but still got no relief. Bashir Ali said that the two visits to the doctor cost him 2550 taka. Then he tried going to the M.B.B.S. doctor (less qualified than an M.D.) in Mymensingh in Haluaghat Thana. After examining an X-ray of his leg, the doctor prescribed 630-taka worth of medications. These resulted in no improvement in his condition, so he later returned to Mymensingh. He was prescribed another 1260 taka of medicine, but still got no relief. Since that visit, he has not returned to seek any other treatment. At present, he is not taking any medicine due to his inability to pay. To pay the costs of his health care thus far, he has been forced to sell one katha (1 katha = 80 sq. yards) of land, one khat(cot), one alna (cloth hanger), one pata (a tool for grinding spices), a chair, a table, cookery, and various other possessions. Now he is left with only his empty straw house. To date, he has not received any assistance from the government or any nongovernmental organisations. His father-in-law gave him 2000 taka, but that money was used for travel expenses during his daughter's marriage. At present, Bashir Ali feels that he can do nothing more but pass the days with worry. Source: LEP 2003, Durgapur-1 43 People of remote and central villages in all our study areas usually take loan from Mahajans or neighbours to meet the treatment cost of the ailing member/s in the household. Thus they fall into a debt trap and lose more assets. Box-5.4 Horinath, 50, is an extremely poor man from a central village in Chakaria Thana. He fishes for a living, but has no boat or net of his own. He is living with extended family in a joint household having 22 members, but the only two earning income are he and his brother. He has two sons and two daughters, one of whom has gotten married. At the time of his daughter’s marriage, he borrowed Tk.30,000 (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) at a high rate of interest from a traditional mahajan moneylender, and has not yet repaid the loan. In response, the mahajan organised a salish judiciary meeting, which made the decision that Horinath will have to work on his boat as free labour for four months; if he catches an adequate amount of fish then his debt will be reduced. He now works without gaining income on the mahajan’s boat, and his family tries to get by day-to-day in a desperate situation. Source: LEP field study (Chakaria) Union Parishad The study finds that some local leaders of the central Rampal physically abused a poor widow, an abandoned destitute woman in connection with the distribution of government assistance. As we get the impression from interviews with a cross-section of people if a local leader has the ill intention of taking advantage of the helplessness of a young or middle-aged widow or abandoned woman for sexual purpose, he manipulates the situation in his favour. Women desperate to receive government facilities fall easy prey to the sexually obsessed. Box-5.5 Jorina is an 28 years old abandoned woman. She catches crab from river and sells it to local depot. She got shelter in government-constructed houses of "Ashrayan Prokolpo" (A housing project for extreme poor). She also gets VGF card. Some people confirm that a local leader has maintained sexual relation with her in exchange for the facilities. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) Again the study finds that in the remote village in Puthia a woman gets a "Dushtho mata (destitute mother)" card from the Union Parishad. A member of the local elite serves his political interest by forcing her family to vote for his party and leader in election in exchange for the card. See Appendix-2, case-4 The study reveals that poor people do not have the freedom to choose a leader. 44 Other govt. institutions Accepting bribe for services by the land settlement officials is not all. As the study finds, the land settlement officials of Rampal took bribe from the extreme poor all the same. But they conveniently forgot to do what they were supposed to do. In fact, they gave false assurance of allotting khas land to the hapless poor people. Thus the hard-earned money of the poor goes down the drain. They become a little more vulnerable in terms of economy and at the same time develop mistrust in the state-run formal institutions. See Appendix-2, case-3 The Kaptai Lake finds its origin in the Kaptai dam. When the dam was constructed, a vast area of land became inundated in Rangamati. The ethnic Chakmas in the area lost their homesteads and agricultural land to the lake. They were forced to settle on hilltops and on lands beyond the lake area. The Chakma community of both remote and central villages had to leave behind their ancestral homes and agricultural lands. The electricity produced from the hydro-electric dam has benefited a large section of the country’s population but only at the expense of an ethnic community. Box-5.6 Krittolota is a widow of the remote village in Rangamati. She possesses a piece of homestead land and one kani cultivable land called dheba bhui. This is inferior type of cultivable land because it remains under water almost throughout the year. In the early1960s after the construction of the dam most of the land went under water and she along with others had to settle in this village. At the time most of the high land of this village belonged to Ulo, her father-in-law. But the Kaptai dam displaced many people some of whom migrated to this village and her father-in-law allowed some people to build houses on his land. Source: LEP field study (Rangamati) As we mentioned earlier that a section of the poor enjoys the opportunity to live on khas land of the Barind Prokolpo. But they are often falsely victimised by the office staff. The staff brings allegation of stealing trees and their branches against the poor with the intention of evicting them from the khas land. Thus the Prokolpo staff turns a family homeless and helpless overnight. Box-5.7 Barind Prokalpo, a programme of the Agricultural Extension Department, has a great deal of control and influence over the two villages in this region. The small woodland of the central village of Niamatpur belongs either to the government—in the common-property khas land—Barind Prokalpo, or is controlled by chowdhury, an aristocratic class. The villagers have to seek prior permission even to chop a branch let alone the right to use it. A common occurrence, when any tree or branch is broken or cut down, is that the monitoring authority involved blames someone from the poorer areas for stealing it. The reality often is that the authority sells the tree or branch, and 45 to hide the misdeed, places blame on the poor villager's shoulders and sometimes forced them to evict. Source: LEP field study (Naimatpur) Religious Institutions The study suggests that the extreme poor have only the right to pray and usually are not entitled to managerial duties in religious institutions. So they only follow the religious rituals and the instructions of their religious leaders. The study reveals that the mosquebased religious leader of Patgram declared a "fatwa", making the lives of the extreme poor even more vulnerable. The study finds one person each from central and remote villages in Patgram was handed the "fatwa". This makes the lives of the two more miserable than before. See above box no- 4.52 We observe in all of our study area that people have to arrange sumptuous meals to feed community people on occasions like an obituary, marriage etc. They have to borrow money for the purposes. Box-5.8 Habib, 40, is a day labourer in a remote village in Chakaria Thana. He owns no land for housing or farming. His income as a day labourer is insufficient to meet his daily expenses. Nevertheless, his strong sense of social duty compelled him to arrange a large celebration at the time of his son’s circumcision. He invited his neighbour, some rich people from his village and some from a neighbouring village. He paid for the festivities by borrowing 3000 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) from a traditional mahajan moneylender, and using money that he had saved over many years. In total, he spent 5000 taka. When asked why he arranged for such an expensive festival when he was very poor, he replied that it was his duty as a man in their society. If he had not arranged it, then people would have neglected him and he would have felt ashamed. He also told me it was important for strengthening his social network, so that he can get work easily and feel secure in the society. Source: LEP field study (Chakaria) Poor people have to incur financial losses on account of those few religious and social obligations, customs etc. 5.2 Informal institutions as key influencing actor in livelihoods of the extreme poor In our study we find that the extreme poor and their families mostly depend on some informal institutions. These institutions have tremendous influence on them and also connect them to different formal institutions. Thus the informal institutions control their livelihoods in various ways. The following discussion highlights how informal institutions influence the lives of the extreme poor. Kin are at the centre of all actors associated with 46 the lives of the extreme poor. Their influences are mostly positive and cases also confirm the same as all of them mostly get facilities from informal institutions. We have already discussed in our previous section the facilities the poorer section gets from kin. It emerges from case studies and discussion with a cross-section of people that the poorer section gets the greatest support from kin and we detected 42 cases getting various supports from kin. The study already reveals that the poorer section gets working facilities, shelter, credit, charity and material support from kin during or after various social and natural hazards. All these supports from kin reduce poor people’s risks and make sure that they lead their lives within the community. A cross-section of people of our study area contend that whenever the poor face problems, they try to depend on kin and usually turn to them. Kin are the poor people’s first option when they require any help. Although kin are a focal point of the extreme poor people’s lives, their influence can as well be negative at times. Cases suggest that land dispute with kin is common in our study area except in Rangamati and Patgram. See Appendix-2, case-3 Poor people also spend a significant amount of money on salish and court cases. A crosssection of people of all areas refers that land disputes with members of society other than kin sometimes creates solidarity among relatives. But if there is a land dispute involving kin, it causes the bond between relatives to suffer. The study finds an evidence of this in the central village in Rampal. See Appendix-2, case-3 Again we find during our FGD that the poor people have to move about a lot with the intent of bringing an end to such land dispute. Thus they cannot do their daily work and in the process lose wages. A cross-section of people points out that land dispute with kin sometimes create physical insecurity for the poor and makes their lives vulnerable. They are exposed to physical danger and mental agony. If the relatives can find any fault with land distribution, they would do everything to make the life of one who has been favoured with a better or more share of ancestral land, miserable. Similarly, another key actor in the lives of the extreme poor is neighbours. Their role is almost as crucial as that of kin. We find 42 cases get various supports from their neighbours as well as kin. In the previous section we discussed that the poorer people get loan, work facilities, shelter, cash help for treatment from their neighbours. A cross-section of people of our study area claims that whenever the poor face any problem, they seek help from neighbours and they are poor people’s next option to kin. The majority of the poor people depend on neighbours when they face a sudden crisis. Some of them even assert that a good neighbour is better than kin. As Bimol of Putia said “ valo ekzon protibesi hoile attior chaiea onek upokar e ase”, means a good neighbour is more helpful than a relative. The poorer section also makes up for their daily food shortage with commodity loan from neighbours. It is a common practice among them in all our study areas. This commodity loan helps them to tide over the crises and reduces their mental stress. Box-5.9 Bimol's whole family suffered terribly when he was attacked by tuberculosis. As their primary income earner had become bed ridden, their ability to cover 47 living expenses vanished. His wife looked for help from their neighbours and relatives, and sometimes went begging from door-to-door. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-4 Although neighbours have a crucial role to play in the lives of the extreme poor, the study also detects some negative influence they have on them. Cases suggest that occupation of land by influential neighbours poses to be a serious problem. In most cases, a cross-section of people claims that the powerful players in society grab lands, taking advantage of loopholes in land documents. Behind most of the land disputes, demarcation of homestead land is found to be the main villain. Sometimes neighbours try to push their demarcation line a foot or two into the adjacent homestead. The study also finds that some women and children of the neighbouring homes quarrel with each other and create conflict. Ultimately, the conflict drags into it other members of the households. Hens and ducks are allowed to roam about freely. Very often they damage or eat neighbour’s paddy or other corn seeds kept in the sun for drying. This is a potential source of conflict between the owner of the livestock and the loser of cereal. A cross-section of people claims that this is a very common issue of conflict among neighbours in our study area. Love affairs between young boys and girls of neighbouring houses sometimes give rise to conflict as the guardians consider such advances a transgression. Boys and girls from the poorer families in most cases have to take the blame. The comparatively better-off guardians usually get other neighbours on their side. Thus the poorer family is subjected to social harassment and humiliation. Box-5.10 Jalil’s second daughter is a strikingly attractive 16-year-old girl. She became pregnant by a wealthy married man. Jalil is reluctant to name the man responsible for the illegal act. He held out hope that the man would marry his daughter, but was dismayed to learn that he was already married and has one daughter. Jalil had wanted to abort his daughter’s pregnancy, but did not because he failed to learn of it only until after the sixth month. At the time he spoke with the author, the age of the baby was 13 days. Jalil said that he called to meet with the father a few times, but the man failed to appear—due to his status, according to Jalil. Jalil lamented that there are many animals and people in Bangladesh, and the behaviour of some people is like that of the beasts. Source: LEP field study (Durgapur) Inter-religion and inter-ethnic love affairs or marriages also create conflict among neighbours and this is despite the fact of equal economic status of the families concerned. Cases have evidence of this in Rangamati and Niamatpur. 48 Box-5.11 Sushil Chakma is the grandson of Tonueja Chakma, a large property owner in this village. Sushil is 25 years old. He earns money fishing, and has a class eight reading level. During his school days, Sushil fell in love with a girl named Ranu, who lived in the same village. One day, Sushil’s father saw them together, and after Sushil returned home, his father angrily scolded him. Sushil insisted that he loved the girl, but his father could not approve of it because Sushil is a Chakma and Buddhist and she is a Bengali- Muslim. Nevertheless, Sushil and Ranu eventually got married without the consent of their families, and Sushil changed his religion. He converted to Islam, and changed his name to Abul Hassan. After Sushil’s marriage and change of faiths, he moved away from the village where his family remained with heavy hearts. He made his new home in Tabalchari Bazar. Sushil‘s cousin, Sukulo, was in a similar situation of courting someone outside his religion, but the outcome was worse because the father of the girl pressed legal charges against him, and now Sukulo is in jail. However, Ranu’s father did not create any problems for Sushil, but was much more lenient. Source: LEP field study (Rangamati) A cross-section of people of our study area claims that inter-religion love and marriage are looked down upon within a community. Both Hindu and Muslim guardians do not want to accept such relations. When such a marriage cannot be averted, the poor families lose some social-support network. The local elite is also another important actor in poor people’s lives. The study finds that 19 cases get various help from the local elite. The elite provides the poor with shelter or homestead land, religious charity, cash and commodity support, help to get access to different formal institutional facilities. We discussed those matters in the previous section. Cases and field observation suggest that some of the local elite use poorer section for different illegal purposes like cross-border business (smuggling) in Durgapur and Patgram. Most of the time they use those among the poor who have very little support network or are destitute. They abuse women in particular.10 Box-5.12 A section of destitute women of Durgapur is involved in cross-border business. They usually carry sugar and spice. Some local elite run their crossborder business and use them for the purpose. Women's service is in demand because their wage is cheap. But it is very common that those women are verbal and physically abused by members of the cross-border business syndicate. Source: LEP field study (Durgapur) 10 See further detail in Mayee (2003), Breaking and Making the Chain: Livelihoods of the female headed extreme poor household 49 Cases also reveal that some of the local elite harass poor women in various ways. Some of the local elite sexually abuse poor and destitute women. Cases were found in Niamatpur, Rampal and Kotalipara. But a cross-section of people holds the view that the local elite and their sons are responsible for such incidents. Yet the women are usually punished by the salish. See above box no -4.53 A cross-section of people points out that the poor women hate what they are forced to do. But they cannot defy the local elite, who and the political leaders are birds of the same feather. Their interests meet together at the common confluence. Land occupied by the local elite is a cause for the harassment of the poor at the former’s hands. We find this in Rampal and Kotalipara. People who have hardly any support network face this problem. In Rampal the poor people are forced to surrender their land to the local elite for cultivation of different crops. As a result, the local elite derives profit from land and the poor are deprived of the intended benefit from land. Box-5.13 Hema Bala Pal, a 25-year-old widow, lives in a village in central Rampal Thana. Her husband died about three years ago. She has no children. Her husband died in a work-related accident handling cargo. His death placed her in a very difficult situation. Her husband had one acre of land, on which he farmed shrimp for 20 years. After the recent change in government, she lost the gher shrimp farming land and equipment to some neighbours who forcefully took them. This political opposition group had always threatened her family. The other villagers recognised the injustice, but felt powerless to do anything about it; if any of them spoke up to help Hema Bala, they would become the target of threats. Therefore, everyone lives in silence. The situation has left Hema Bala feeling upset and frustrated. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) The study gets the evidences from cases in central Rampal, Chakaria and Puthia that the extreme poor were subjected to political harassment, even physical assault by local leaders or their followers. Even in central Puthia and remote village in Rampal, some of the poor opposition political activists were intimidated, forcing them to leave the area. Box-5.14 Omar is a 35-year-old man from Talbunia Village in Rampal Thana. He works as a day labourer for gher shrimp farms. He has two daughters and a sister who share his house. He owns the 10 decimals (1 decimal = 50 sq. yards) of land they live on, but he has no agricultural land or gher land for farming shrimp. He is extremely poor, but socially he has some influence because he is a political member of the Awami League party. However, after the last government change, some nefarious characters who supported the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party threatened him. He finally was forced to leave the area three months ago and went to an unknown location. Villagers are of the general opinion that he probably discreetly moved somewhere in the Barisal district. Source: LEP field study (Rampal) 50 A common verbal threat used by political activists to their rivals is:“ Elakai dekhle khobor ache” meaning if you are seen in the village, no one knows what will happen to you. Another important actor in the lives of the poor people is an employer. In our previous section we found 12 cases get various supports from employers such as cash for medical treatment, cash and commodity support, money for repair of damaged houses. The study reveals that the employer also has negative influences on the poor. Most of the employers provide them with agricultural work. The employment is not of the formal type. No contract paper is signed for the job. So the employer at times pays lower wages than was fixed. Furthermore, the role of the local political leaders is very important to the poorer section. The study finds that the poorer section has very limited access to different formal and informal institutions. Among the poorer groups, the chronic category has the least access. The transient poor are more fortunate in this regard. The yard-stick however is the patronclient relations with the local political leader. The study finds in our study area that the poor people get a variety of facilities from the local leaders. But we observe that to get those facilities the poor have to prove their loyalty towards the political leaders. The study finds 7 cases from Puthia, Rampal, Kotalipara and Rangamati area, who by virtue of establishing relations with local political leaders, receive shelter, relief, charity, work opportunity etc. But a cross-section of people confirms that this trend is found in operation all over our study areas. We observe that the leaders are always surrounded by some poor people who try to please the former by doing petty works for them. 5.3 NGO reaches the Extreme Poor as a civil society institution NGOs are the main formal institutions which operate various programmes to enhance the livelihoods of the poor. NGOs are significant influential civil society who reaches to the door of extreme poor. 5.3.1 Creating option for enhancement of livelihoods In our previous section we discussed the facilities NGOs provide for the poorer section in our study area. Apart from these facilities, NGOs help create options for the enhancement of livelihoods of the poorer sections. NGOs play a significant role in the enhancement of livelihoods especially of a section of the extreme poor with the potential to create options for themselves. NGOs take initiative for raising the capability of the poorer section and destitute. They create opportunities for self-employment and diversification of livelihoods of the extreme poor. Some of the poor have their household income raised by availing themselves of the opportunities that come their way courtesy of NGOs. The study finds such evidences everywhere in our study area. Box-5.15 Musah is person with a physical disability who lives in the remote village of Tekpara in Chakaria Thana, in the district of Cox's Bazar. He started doing 51 business from the age of nine, and purchased a small grocery store. Before the severe flood of 1988, the shop was running well and after losing his shop in the flood, he fell on hard times. The household again invested 12,000 taka, which was taken as a series of small loans over the course of a year from NGO. His wife also vending jewellery and cosmetics in nearby villages to this day. Now their economic condition is better compare to before. Source: LEP 2003, Chakaria-5 NGOs also try to empower the poor people-- especially women among them because they are the poorest of the poor. To achieve this target women among the extreme poor are included in NGO programmes and they successfully run their projects and move to different public spheres. The study reveals that in some cases, the extreme poor women overcome the cultural barrier and creditably perform their jobs of which they are the employers and employees. This gives their families a comparatively better standard of life. Rahima is a member of a samity credit association operated by the nongovernmental organization PROSHIKA in central village of Rangamati. With a loan she took out through them, she bought a boat for 1000 taka. NGOs also help create a new mental set-up among their beneficiaries. They feel inspired to diversify their income. Already some people have diversified their sources of income. We have the findings that some of the beneficiaries of the extreme poor households are not dependent on a lone source of income. A section of beneficiaries tries hard to enhance its livelihoods options and reduce risk to life and property. The study comes across such findings in both central and remote villages in Kotalipara, Chakaria, Rampal and Puthia. Box-5.16 Bimol Das, 65, is a pottery seller. Bimol's wife and daughter have been raising another cow. His son has a rickshaw that he pulls all day long to earn wages. Bimol sells the pottery his wife and daughter make at various markets or fairs—melate—as he is unable to do any heavy work. His wife also fries groundnuts that he sells every evening in a nearby market. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-4 A cross-section of people of our study area contends that discussions with NGO staff and other group members sharpen and boost poor people’s insights and confidence in relation to their course of action. We observe in our study area that the NGO staff not only brings credit and other supports but also share views on contemporary issues with poor people, thus enabling them to be connected with the wider world. The study also finds that the extreme poor also get the benefit of indirect options for livelihood enhancement. A significant number of the extreme poor migrate for better wages. This migration option for labourers is sometimes created by their group members as they frequently sit together for shamity meeting and disseminate their working experiences. This is a good enough motivation for many of them to migrate to new places. A cross-section of people of our study area suggests that NGOs also create option for the extreme poor to educate their children in non-formal primary schools. Most of the extreme 52 poor's children of our study area get enrolled in schools run by NGOs as they are situated in their villages and education is free. Moreover, teachers are regular in their duties. These schools not only educate children but also raise their awareness about common health issues. The students in their turn share the health and hygiene information with their parents. The group members of NGOs also get another interesting option for settling conflicts among themselves. Group members themselves help solve the conflicts that are not so serious and complicated. When a female group member gets harassed by her husband, inlaws or someone else, the members of her group come forward with advice, suggestions or even play a mediating role. To some extent, NGOs enhance extreme poor women's mobility and decision-making power. Though women have not made enough progress in this regard, a good number of women enjoy mobility and liberty in public domain as they participate in training, meeting and credit activities. Women can share their thoughts with other women and interaction with NGO staff gives them new insights into issues of the current world. Group members of all of our study areas point out that NGOs cultivate mutually supportive attitude among the group member as they assert that in crisis, group members try to help each other according to their ability. Again in some way, NGOs also create savings attitude among both NGO and non-NGO extreme poor groups. The study finds that now some of the extreme poor try to diversify and raise their income and save money for their emergency needs. This is not seen to be practised widely but some transient extreme poor have developed the habit. And when other non-NGO poor people observe this, they also take the cue from those savers. We observe that some of the very discreet poor always keep some provision for future crisis. As Kafar says, "NGO amago poisa zomano sikhaiche, bipoder jonno "-NGO taught us how to save money for crisis. 5.3.2 NGO turns the EP more insecure In our earlier section we discussed that NGOs are working for enhancement of poorer section’s livelihoods. But they also have some negative influences, making at times the poor people more vulnerable than before. NGO activities, if not properly and actively monitored, sometimes end up making people’s lives more insecure and helpless. The study reveals that sometimes NGOs’ credit recovery process is humiliating for people and the defaulters are left to nurse their wounded dignity in society. Suddenly the defaulter loses his/her social capital. The study gets this evidence from cases only in Niamatpur but our group discussion refers to cases in Kotalipara, Patgram and Durgapur. Box-5.17 In the central village in Niamatpur, there was a complaint that a local NGO grossly humiliated a family of Monu when it failed to repay several installments of loan. The NGO workers attempted to take away the tin from the roofs of the house. But in the face of strong protest from the villagers, the sheets of tin were not pulled away. Source: LEP field study(Niamatpur) 53 Again if NGO credit is not used and monitored properly, the intended beneficiary, especially women among them, are likely to become helpless. The study has findings from cases in Patgram only but our discussions with a cross-section of groups suggest similar development everywhere in our study area. See appendix-2, case-1 Some of the extreme poor in our study area argue that they have to undergo tremendous psychological pressure in paying the instalments of loan regularly. A common complaint by villagers of our study area is, “ghare mora thakleo kistiar taka maf nai”. This means that there is no reprieve from repayment of instalments even if there is a death in the family. The quoted incident described below seems to represent a strong opinion about the NGOcreated obstacle in their lives. From our discussion in the previous section we find that informal institutions are the key actor, which initiate a process either to make life easier or difficult for the poorer section. We can show institutional influences by this diagram. Diagram: Institutional influence on the extreme poor Ensure facilities Relationship with Informal Institutions Easier to get Access to formal inst. Improving livelihoods Create options Face Constraints Declining livelihoods The study finds that the poorer section gets facilities and face constraints from formal and informal institutions. It also reveals that informal institutions have great influences on poor people’s lives as they provide facilities and take initiatives to get them connected with formal institutions. And poor people having a wider informal institutional support network can easily have access to formal institutional facilities. This creates options for them. Thus they can improve their livelihoods. On the other hand, those having few informal institutional support networks largely face constraints and their chance is next to nothing for improving their livelihoods. We find that in most cases they have followed the pattern of declining households. 54 6. CROSS-CUTTING THE BOUNDARIES: LINKAGE BETWEEN SOCIAL CUSTOMS AND STATE REGULATIONS The study finds that lack of co-ordination and unfavourable role played by formal institutions lead to denial of rights. Some of the institutions however try to bridge gap between formal and informal institutions. 6.1 Lack of co-ordination and unfavourable role produce denial of rights The extreme poor voice their dissatisfaction at the negligible contribution by formal institutions to their struggle for survival. They experience corruption in government-run institutions. Most of the poorer sections of the study villages look at the members of the local formal institutions distrustfully, sceptically and even angrily. They have to suffer humiliation, intimidation, and helplessness at the hands of those local power-wielders, instead of getting support. Lack of co-ordination between different formal institutions and local government keeps the poorer section away from the complicated support services. A weak local government cannot do anything positive as they face constraints from different government offices. The government staff exports its corruption down the union parishad as power is confined to their hands in some respect. The study finds from discussions with local leaders in our study area that the union parishad itself faces difficulty in receiving its allotment of government assistance and relief. A section of corrupt government officials takes bribe from union parishad chairmen before releasing the allotment letter. Again when they collect grain or rice from the food department, they have to bribe or else get less quantity than the allotted one. As a result, the cost goes up. In an earlier section we saw how corruption becomes a rule of the day in the distribution of assistance. Connection with political and local leaders is a decisive factor for qualifying for such assistance. No wonder, the really deserving candidates with no such connections is ignored. Box-6.1 Jasim is a 28 years old day-labourer of the central village in Rampal. Jasim has taken advantage of an opportunity made available to him during the reign of the last government, which was in power from 1996 until 2001. Through the local Union Parishad (UP) government office, he enlisted in the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme, which provides wheat to the poorest residents. Under this program, an eligible beneficiary receives 30 kilograms of wheat for 18 months. Jasim has been getting 26-28 kilograms— he does not know why it is less than the proscribed amount, but knows that others have received similar quantities—for the last 16 months. Source: LEP 2003, Rampal-9 A cross-section of people of our study area claims that the handling of the union parishad responsibilities is not transparent and accountable. Transparency is not a strong point of the union parishad leaders so far as distribution of VGF, Old-age pension, widow allowance etc. is concerned. People are kept in the dark about the criteria a union parishad follows in the allocation of government assistance. Local leaders and union parishad leaders never sit 55 with poor people to inform of the actual situation nor are they interested to know about the needs the poor. Union parishad members, chairman and the local elite sit together with their followers and make a list according to their whims. As Amol of central village of Kotalipara Says " Ora kokhono amader kache zante chai na kar besi sahazzo dorkar, neta aar chamcha ra sob thik kore," means leaders never want to know who needs the government assistance most, the leaders and their lackeys decide everything. A wide range of people of our study area complains that land settlement office also plays a dubious role in the distribution of khas land. Some of the extreme poor of our study area got khas land for homestead. This we discussed earlier but in general the poorer section has access to khas land on a limited scale even though it is their prime need. A section of corrupt official takes bribes from well-off people and gives them DCR paper. Most of the time the poorer section cannot satisfy their demand so they are deprived of their due rights. Sometimes the land settlement officials also take bribe from poor people on false promises. The union parishad cannot take or are not interest in taking any action against the corrupt officials. The study finds an evidence of this in Rampal. See Apeendix-2, case-3 In Rampal and Kotalipara, the study reveals, sometimes the land settlement department allocates khas land to the extreme poor. In most cases however the land is occupied and controlled by some local elite or local political leaders. So the poorer people cannot put to use the allotted khas land according to their own wishes. Neither have they sought any help from the union parishad or the police because they know it for sure that those institutions are less likely to help them against the powerful actors. Box-6.2 Amio Gosh is a kobiraz, a traditional herbalist veterinarian. He lost his land when a local leader, Khaleq Mia, created a document slandering him. In response, Amio Gosh lodged a complaint with authorities (district court) against the document, and he won a favourable decision. Despite this, Khaleq Mia threatened that though he won the verdict in court, he will not take control of the property, and Amio Gosh has still not repossessed his land. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) The medical staff is supposed to provide medical facilities for a cross-section of people and the government appoints it particularly to do the assigned job. But in every study area people claim that some of the health complex staff are corrupt and sell government medicine in the open market. Not a single case confirms that s/he gets any medicine while s/he is under treatment. The study finds that some government free medicines are available in the local drug stores in Puthia, Kotalipara and Niamatpur. This confirms that medical staff sells government medicine in the market. This is why the poorer section does not get any government medicine although it is entitled to get the facilities. Marriage registration office is another government appointed body whose main responsibility is to register marriage according to government law. But in some respect the kaji also plays a contradictory role, which leads to create women's vulnerability. The study reveals that in Patgram child marriage is quite common. This is a punishable crime, according to law. But the study finds that early marriage is widely prevalent in both 56 villages in Patgram. The Kaji takes bribe from the bride’s and the groom's families and show in the register false ages to facilitate marriages of the under-aged. The union parishad, law-enforcing agencies know about this but they do not take any action. As a result, a large number of young mothers and their babies face health insecurity and hazards in the long run. See Appendix-2, case-1 The study finds that in Kotalipara the police did not take any action against miscreants while they looted under their nose poor people's money. See Above box no- 4.28 By and large, the law-enforcing agencies’ hostile role makes the lives of the poor extremely insecure. Law enforcing agencies cannot do their duty on account of pressure from some corrupt local political leaders. But their interests are mutually served. The police do not interfere in influential people’s activities and the leaders overlook law enforcing agencies’ corruption. As a result, the law-enforcing agencies would get into action in any matter, keeping in mind the interest of their allies among political and local leaders. 6.1.2 Bridging institutional gaps (formal and informal) and improving livelihoods An NGO is a very important institution for the poorer section as it bridges relation with other formal and informal institutions to enhance their livelihoods. The study gets the evidence from discussion with a cross-section of people in every study area that the extreme poor people’s involvement with NGOs strengthens their social status within the community. This is so because it reduces their dependence on Mahajan. Moreover, it also boosts people's confidence in their loan repayment capabilities. As a result, the extreme poor can widen their support network. NGOs also create space for people, especially for the poorer section to get access to different institutional facilities from union parishad, school, local leader, neighbour, kin etc. The study finds it from discussion that when the poorer people form any group, their collective strength is recognised by the local leaders because they become a vote bank. Again neighbours and kin think that the poor, united as they are, are no longer helpless in every respect. So they also give importance to them. We observe in both central and remote villages in Rampal, Puthia, Niamatpur and Kotalipara and in remote villages in Durgapur and Chakaria that the members of union parishad show their concern over the poorer section’s plight and try to help them in crisis period. Box-6.3 Baten Mia, 40, lives in the village of Krishnapur in Puthia Thana, in the district of Rajshahi. At present, his financial situation is not good. He has no land and lives on others’ land. He faces insecurity regarding shelter, as the roof and walls of his house are made only of straw. He now lives with his family and works as a rickshaw driver. He has a good relationship with Chonchal, and has relied on his help frequently. Chonchal loaned Baten money and goods, such as imported rice, dates, and camel meat, whenever he needed them, and let him repay the loans by working on his land. Last year, Baten received 1000 taka from the Union Parishad when his house was destroyed by a cyclone. He also borrowed 2000 taka from Ranue Bala, who is the wife of Chonchal's brother. Source: LEP 2003, Puthia-5 57 The study also gets the impression from a cross-section of people all over the study area that those who are involved with NGOs have more access to loan from kin and neighbours. They also get invitation to different social functions from kin and neighbours. On the other hand, the extreme poor who are not associated with any NGOs find no improvement in their status in the community and get no monetary support from kin and neighbours. Local Elite The local elite is a very important institution for the poorer section as it helps them to have access to different formal institutions. At the same time the poorer people can enhance or strengthen their position within and outside their community by showing their intimacy with the local elite. The connection increases their chance to widen their relationship with other people within and outside their community. The study finds the evidence in Rampal, Kotalipara and Puthia. A wide range of people of our study area confirms the abovementioned fact. See above box no- 6.4 People in our study area suggest that the local elite also works as a bridge between the poorer section and the local political leader. The local elite takes initiative for facilitating the extreme poor people’s access to different government institutions like, educational institutions, department of land settlement, health centre and the police station. The local elite confirms facilities for the poor with the help of some local political leaders. The extreme poor of our study area on their own do not have access to government-run institutions. Though some of them are eager to get facilities from government institutions, they are afraid of going there because of misbehaviour or neglect from the government employees. So whenever the poor people are in desperate need of availing themselves of government facilities, they turn to the local elite for help. On the other hand, by handling such matters the local elite also strengthens its position in the community, outside the community and in the eyes of the political leader. See Appendix-2, case-4 Beside the above mentioned facts, the study also recognises from discussion with a crosssection of people that although the poorer people have access to health centres and schools, they usually need help from influential members of the local elite to get proper treatment. We find that the poor can get admission to different upazila health centres but they are very much neglected by doctors, nurses and office staff. So some of the poor people seek help from the local elite. The local elite responds to their appeal if the poor show their unreserved allegiance. Union Parishad Union Parishad is another very important institution in the lives of the poor as it helps them with different formal institutional facilities. The poorer section can enhance or strengthen their position within and outside their community by showing their intimacy with Union parishad members and chairman. This is a means to widening their relationship with other people, institutions and local leaders within and outside the community. A crosssection of people of our study area holds the view that most of the poor people like to be well-connected with union parishad leaders. But the chairman and members are clever enough to choose those poor who are intelligent, can be of help in matters of politics and are capable of physically supporting (muscleman) their political agenda. See above box no- 4.24 58 On the other hand, conflicting relations between supporters of the elected leaders of the union parishad and their rivals create opportunity for a section of people as union parishad leaders always try to woo their followers and supporters with institutional support. As Gias of Talbunia village of Rampal said “Dola doli thik rakhbar zonnoi gorib ra netago kach thika kichu pai, na hoile tou gorib manus zar lobon khaibo tar loge thakbo”, means the poor receive something just because partisanship is there in politics, they will be with the party from which they get benefit. Kin The study finds that kin are a very important bridging institution as they provide a wide range of help to their poor relatives. The poorer section gets work facilities in their relatives’ productive units. People of all our study areas say that usually some relatives take initiative for employment of their poor relatives in other well-off relatives’ productive units. The initiative confirms work for some poor people and helps them to maintain their livelihoods. The study finds this evidence in the central village in Kotalipara. Box-6.4 Forty-three-year-old Sulekha is a female head of household. She is divorced, and has one son and one daughter. She lived by a riverside in the village of Unoshia until 1998, when she lost her dilapidated thatched house due to flooding of the river. After the loss, a wealthy distant relative, Abul Kalam, gave her shelter and provided her with a half-decimal of land, which she built her new home on. Now She also works in Kalam's home. On another occasion, Abul Kalam also helped Sulekha to finance her daughter’s marriage. Source: LEP field study (Kotalipara) Some of the kin also take initiatives to connect their relatives with a well-known migrated labour force. The study finds cases of this type in all our study areas. Poorer people can earn more income in the process, widen their social network and get better scope for migration to different places. Box-6.5 Nazrul Ali, 55, lives in extreme poverty in Baharatali village of Durgapur. He owns no land for building a home or farming. He went on his own to Rangamati to plant rice in the paddy fields for three months. He earned 30-40 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) per day in addition to food. His stay was cut short because he became ill with jaundice. He also migrated to Gazipur in Dhaka. His son got married there and helped him move to the city. He found work as a night guard on a poultry farm, a job that paid 1800 taka per month. After budgeting food costs, pocket money and the house rent, very little money was left over from his salary. He noted that the owner of the farm, who generally treated him fairly, always paid him on time. He returned to his village after two and half years. Source: LEP field study (Durgapur) 59 The study also finds that some influential kin help their relatives to develop relations with local leaders for their access to different government institutions and facilities. It finds that the poor people use influential kin's well-acquainted local leaders and the local elite to get relief, VGF, khas land, charity and treatment facilities. Box-6.6 Daban is a 32 years old van puller. He is illiterate and lives on riverside khas land in Talbunia. Two years ago (in 2000) Daban was given khas land from government. He spent some money as bribe to the land settlement staff. These staff had demanded the bribe to allot this khas land in his name. He and some people he knew gave the bribe to get khas land. The local union parishad chairman helped him to get this land as that chairman is close to his father. Earlier his father was leader of country boatmen. His father had supported and helped that chairman politically while he was leader of the boatmen. Now Daban is living on this khas land. Source: LEP 2003, Rampal-11 Apart from the above-mentioned initiatives, the study finds the evidence that some influential relatives constituting part of the local leadership themselves also connect their poor kin to different institutions. Thus they can get facilities like, VGF, relief, educational stipend, scholarship, relief, khas land and treatment facilities etc. A cross section of people of our study area confirms the fact. Neighbour The study has findings from our study areas that neighbours take initiatives to connect their poor neighbours with well-known migrated labour forces. So some of the poor people can get work, earn more income, widen their social network and thus have more livelihood options. Box-6.7 Majeda is a 40-year-old woman. She went to Dhaka one year ago to work in a home as a domestic worker, with the help of another neighbour woman there doing the same job. Her income was 400 (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) per month plus meals. Source: LEP field study (Durgapur) The study also finds that some influential persons help their neighbours to develop relations with the local leaders. See Appendix-2, case-4 It finds that poor people use influential neighbour's well-acquainted government officials, local leaders and the local elite to obtain relief, VGF, khas land, charity, educational stipend and treatment facilities. These facilities save them money, both on the cost involved and for the future. 60 7. CONCLUSION In this paper, the study explores formal and informal institutions associated with the extreme poor people’s livelihoods. It also gets a measure of the influences those institutions have on their lives. The study also finds how those institutions create constraints, vulnerability for the poorer section. At the same time it takes note of how those institutions play a significant role in constructing opportunity and livelihood options for the poor. The study shows that informal institutions are the spirit of the extreme poor people’s life. Kin and neighbour are the prime institutions to create most of the opportunity and options for the extreme poor. Most of their daily needs and crisis they face are overcome with the help of kin and neighbours. The local elite, local leaders and their political followers are also important for them. All these people play a vital role in the poor people's livelihoods. At the same time those informal institutions create constraints and vulnerability for a section of the poor. Again the local elite and leaders control most of the local formal institutions. As a result, the poorer section is very much dependent on the well-off kin and neighbours, the local elite, local leaders and political activists, all of whom can ensure for them access to formal institutional facilities or keep them away from those. The extreme poor people of our study area are very much unaware of their rights to the facilities of formal institutions and these institutions do nothing to make them aware of those rights. Only the NGOs play some role in this regard. The prevailing situation gives extra advantage to the government staff, the local elite and leaders either for misappropriation of poor people’s resources or exercising their undue power to establish control over poor people's resources. So the poor people largely depend on informal institutions. Most of the formal institutions neglect the poorer section but some of the informal institutions help them to have access to formal institutions, which ensures for the poorer section some facilities and assistance. So the poor people always live on the boundaries of informal and formal institutions. 61 REFERENCES Biswas, Gautam Shuvra & S.M.Zubair Ali Khan (2003), Inclusion of the extreme poor in PROSHIKA activities, research report no-9, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Borhan, Ahmed & Atiqur Rahman (2003), Livelihoods profile of two villages:A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Patgram Upazila, livelihoods profile no-1, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Borhan, Ahmed (2003), Looking Towards for Better Future: Reflection of the Extreme Poor's Perception, research report no-6, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh BRAC (2000), BRAC’s Poverty Eradication Strategy 2001-2005, Focusing on the Poorest’, BRAC, Dhaka Chakma, Sinora & Shamsun Nahar (2003), 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Rangamati Upazila, livelihoods profile-6, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Chakma, Sinora (2003), Fighting Against Odds: Coping Strategies of the Extreme Poor, research report no- 4, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh GOB (1997) `Five Year Plan 1997-2002’ Hossain, Mohammad Shazzad (2003), Living with Food Insecurity: coping strategies of the livelihoods of the extreme poor, research report no-8, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Hossain, Munshi Israil & Atiqur Rahman (2003), Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Durgapur Upazila, livelihoods profile no-2, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Hossain, Munshi Israil (2003), Moving Forward Looking Behind: Creation of Livelihoods Options through Migration, research report no-3, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Kabir, Md. Azmal (2003), Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA) Study in Bangladesh, IDPAA, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Kamruzzaman, Md. & Anila Parven (2003), Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Puthia Upazila, livelihoods profile no-4, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Kamruzzaman, Md. (2003), The Extreme Poor in (the) Labor Market: Participation and Vulnerability, research report no-5, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Khan,' S.M.Zubair Ali & Mohammad Shazzad Hossain (2003), Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Rampal Upazila livelihoods profile no- 8, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Mayee & Shamsun Nahar (2003), Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Niamatpur Upazila, livelihoods profile no-7, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh 62 Mayee (2003), Breaking and Making the Chain: Livelihoods of the Female Headed Extreme Poor Household, research report no-7, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh PROSHIKA (1999) Towards and Poverty Free Society: Five Year Plan, 1999-2004 Purvez, Salim Ahmed & Atiqur Rahman (2003), Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Kotalipara Upazila, livelihoods profile no-3, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Purvez, Salim Ahmed (2003), Making Use of Mediating Resources: Social network of the Extreme poor in rural Bangladesh, research report no-2, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Rahaman, Hossain Zillur (2000) Poverty issues in Bangladesh: A strategic Review Rahaman, Hossain Zillur, and Mahbub Hossain (eds) (1995) Rethinking Rural Poverty: Bangladesh as a case study Sultana, Nasrin & Anila Parven (2003) Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Chakaria Upazila, livelihoods profile no-5, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh Sultana, Nasrin (2002), Conceptualising Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor, conceptual paper-1, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh LEP Team (2003), Case Studies of Poor Household, IMEC, PROSHIKA, Dhaka, Bangladesh 63 APPENDIX -1 THE LIVELIHOODS OF THE EXTREME POOR STUDY The livelihoods of the extreme poor (LEP) study are a collaborative project between PROSHIKA Manabik Unnayan Kendra and Department for International Development (DFID). PROSHIKA and UK, DFID (Formerly the Overseas Development administration) funded the study. Advisory Committee : Dr. Qazi Faruque Ahmed Md. Shah Newaz Mr.Masrurul Islam Mr. Iqbal Alam Khan Ms. Fawzia Khondoker Steering Committee : Mr. Sirajul Islam Mr. Sahadat Hossain MS. Fawzia Khandaker Dr. Dipak Kumar Biswas Mr. Nuru Miah , Mr. Abu Naser Research Guide : Dr. Iqbal Alam Khan Deputy Director IMEC, PROSHIKA Dr. Janet Seeley Lecturer, University of East Anglia, UK Ms.Clare Hamilton Shakya Formerly Regional Livelihoods Co-ordinator, DFID DFID, B Senior Livelihoods Advisor : Mr. Donal Brown DFID, B Study team member Study co-ordinator Co-coordinators : : Gautam Shuvra Biswas Nasrin Sultana S.M Zubair Ali Khan Researchers : Munshi Israil Hossain Md. Salim Ahmed Purvez Sinora Chakma Mohammed Kamruzzaman Ahmed Borhan Mayee Associate Researchers : Anila Parveen Atiquer Rahman Mohammad Shazzad Hossain Shamsun Nahar 64 APPENDIX -2 Case no-1 A Case Study of Abdur Rahman in Patgram Abdur Rahman, 45 years of age, has two wives: Fagiron and Chabijon. With his first wife, 40year-old Fagiron, he has two daughters: Samina, 16 years of age; and Amina, who is 12. As he believed his first wife was to blame for not producing any male children, he got permission from her to remarry—hoping that his new wife would have a boy. However, this scheme failed as the second wife failed to conceive any children. His family lives in destitution, and he and his two wives try to support themselves by making bamboo mats, or chatai, and selling them at the market. He now has no land, and has only the skill to make mats Abdur arranged for his daughters’ marriages only eight months apart. The household had limited assets, only a cow and eight decimals (1 decimal = 50 sq. yards) of land, and he had to sell their cow for 5000 taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) to pay a portion of Samina's dowry. According to the agreement between the two families, the bride's household would provide 12,000 taka and a bicycle as dowry. With financial help from neighbours, relatives, and some wealthy local residents, Abdur used the money from the sale of the cow, plus some savings, to provide 7000 taka and the bicycle. Five thousand taka has thus remained unpaid, and eight months after the marriage, his eldest daughter must remain in his house. She will be allowed to go to her husband's house when the rest of the money is provided. For Amina's marriage, which took place only recently, it was predetermined that the bride’s household had to pay 16,000 taka and a bicycle as dowry. Initially, Abdur collected 4000 taka through a loan from an non-governmental organisation (NGO). However, it was not sufficient to pay the whole amount of the dowry, so he has decided to sell his land, the only remaining property he has. The property value has already been agreed on at 10,000 taka. In the meantime, his daughter paid a six-day visit to her husband's house, and then returned to her father's house. She will be allowed to live permanently in her husband's house only after her family pays the rest of the dowry money. Abdur had believed that having a son would be a very important factor in improving his condition. He reasoned that a male child would be a potential income earner, while a female child would be costly, generate little income to support the household, and then move to her husband’s house after her marriage. He thinks that a male child is the bonsher bati (the light of the descent) and protects the family during all sorts of crises and hazards. He also believes male children increase a family’s assets and property, whereas female children erode assets and property. Thus, his obsession with producing a son led Abdur to practice polygamy, which in a poverty-stricken family can actually be a cause of increasing poverty. Both of his daughters, like most young women in the village, got married before the legal age of 18 years. Samina married at the age of 16, and Amina married at the very young age of 12. To conceal their actual ages, and enrol their names in an official registry book as legally married, the 65 family paid bribes to the kaji registry official. For Samina’s marriage, Abdur gave 400 extra taka to the kaji. Marrying at a very early age is a widespread practice in the village. Almost all of the marriages in poor families involve underage females; Abdur’s household is not an exceptional case. The poor families feel pressure to marry their daughters by the time they reach adolescence, as the other villagers may begin to spread rumours concerning their young daughters. Abdur was especially anxious about his youngest daughter, who is relatively fair and attractive. That is why he did not want to risk waiting until she was older to arranger her marriage. When a marriage proposal came for her, he immediately agreed, even knowing the enormous demand for dowry. His main responsibility as the father of two daughters was thus fulfilled, and he was released from its accompanying pressure. Both of his daughters can read at a class-three level, but Abdur’s lack of money did not permit him to support their continued education. Samina’s husband is an agricultural day labourer and occasional wood mason. The money he got as a dowry from Abdur was invested to lease land, and he says that he intends to use the money he is still owed in a similar fashion. Amina’s husband, who is 20, is also under the legal age of marriage for males, and works as a labourer in fruit-transporting trucks. His family lives in Burimari, 25 miles away from the village, so Abdur worries about his 12-year-old daughter moving to a far-off place. Abdur’s household has thus lost all of the assets it once had. For the marriage of his eldest daughter, the cow was sold, and for the marriage of his youngest daughter, he will have to sell the land their home is on. After selling their land, they will be homeless, and he will still have to repay the 4000-taka loan he borrowed from the NGO. 66 Case no -2 A Case Study of Jagadish Pal in Talbunia Jagadish is a 38-year-old day labourer. He never went to school in his childhood, and is now illiterate. His wife can read at a class five level. The couple and their six-month-old son live in a one-room, mud house with a tin roof. Jagadish owns only four decimals (1 decimal = 50 sq. yards) of land for their home, and no agricultural land. They have only one chowki (bed), a mat, dolna (a baby cot), and no cattle. His mother is alive and lives next door to them, along with his unmarried younger sister. His father was also a day labourer, and his mother did domestic work in the homes of wealthy landowners. Jagadish has three sisters and one brother. He and his siblings never attended school, though Jagadish wanted to go, as their parents were unable to afford it. Sometimes he cried as he pleaded with his father to send him to school, but this only made his father angry. He found work for Jagadish in the home of a wealthy neighbour, but the arrangement failed due to Jagadish’s unacceptable behaviour. His parents maintained a very big family on his relatively low income, which was sometimes limited to what he could earn in only a few working days per week. Therefore, Jagadish suffered much deprivation as a child. Some days, they could not even eat two times in a day, and his mother had to feed them using only what she received from her employers’ homes, and spinach she gathered from the roadsides and fields. His grandfather once had 18 bigha (1 bigha = 1/3rd of an acre) of farmland, but his economic situation slowly declined over time. He got married twice, and therefore was responsible for supporting two families, which included five sons and three daughters. He also spent a substantial amount of money on his habits of smoking and drinking liquor. To cover these expenses, plus the costs of his daughters’ marriages, his grandfather had to sell the majority of his land. He eventually distributed the remainder between his father and uncles, who received only one bigha of land each. To help support his family, Jagadish started doing farm work and fishing at around the age of 13. Some of the fish he caught were for household consumption; the rest he sold, and gave the earnings to his mother. He also collected firewood, and water from a distant tube well. In those days of his youth, an employer once struck him repeatedly because he caught him napping at noontime in the field. He did not work for several days after that incident. Jagadish’s father lost his land gradually in a traditional kote (leasing of land) process. In times of job scarcity, his father did not get any work for several days at a time. He would then take out loans from a traditional mahajan moneylender, and lease some of his land to him. After repeating this several times, his debt gradually accumulated to the point where it was impossible to repay it. As a result, he was eventually forced to forfeit ownership of his property to the moneylender. Jagadish has had much experience with natural disasters. He recalls several instances in which his home was damaged. In 1988, a tidal surge washed away his house and cattle, forcing he and his family to stay for several days with relatives. He then went to one of his seasonal employers in a 67 neighbouring area and got a 3000-taka (1£ = 93 taka, as of November 2002) loan from them, under the condition that he would repay this loan by working. That money was vital in that it allowed him to rebuild his home, and he was quite happy to repay his employer through working. He has a very high opinion of that employer, as he did not alter Jagadish’s wages while he worked to repay the loan; by contrast, most employers pay less wages when they give salary advances. Last year, Jagadish wanted to start a small business selling fruit. However, his plans were interrupted by the unrest following recent parliamentary elections. Some local Bangladesh National Party activists were then harassing supporters of the Awami League, who were mainly members of the Hindu community. Jagadish had bought some fruit at the market for his business, and returned to his home. The following day, he was afraid to enter the village to conduct business, as some political activists had been threatening people and an atmosphere of lawlessness had swept over the village. He learned that political violence had erupted just outside the village, and some Hindu and Muslim Awami League supporters had been beaten. Jagadish then stayed at home for several days, and watched helplessly as all the fruit he had purchased rotted away. Jagadish has difficulty finding sufficient work in his village, so he occasionally migrates for short periods to various places. He usually goes to Fakirhat, Mollahat, and Ronjitpur for one or two weeks at a time. He can generally earn 300-400 taka in a week in those places. Before he leaves home, he buys food his family will need during his absence. While he is away, his wife and younger sister have insecurity concerning their personal safety. Last year some unidentified youths knocked on his sister’s room while Jagadish was away from home for work. She and their mother shouted for help, and one of the neighbours came out with a stick, making the boys flee. After this incident, his wife stays with his mother and sister for safety while he is gone. They did not report the incident to local Union Parishad officials or any other community figures, as they think that nobody will do anything regarding this. In the meantime, everyone they spoke with advised his sister to go out less. One month ago, his son suffered from severe diarrhoea. Jagadish was away from home in Fakirhat at the time. He received word two days later that his son was sick, and he returned to Talbunia. He took his son to nearby Zhanzhania hospital, where the doctors told him that his condition was not good, and administered saline solution to him. Jagadish spent 800 taka for his medical care, which came from the savings he kept for off-season expenses. Jagadish thinks that he and his family are now in a good economic condition as compared to when his father was the head of household. His wife keeps one handful of rice, or mushti chal, every day as a means of saving for times of scarcity. They eat that rice during the lean periods when Jagadish is unable to secure work every day. At those times, he catches fish for family consumption from the river, and sometimes catches crabs that can be sold at the market. Jagadish generally has good relationships with his neighbours and relatives. He feels that most people of the village are good to him and his family, other than the few who have political motivations for harassing him. After every election, the social hazards and oppressive atmosphere can temporarily make their lives more complicated, but everyone generally lives happily in their village 68 Case no-3 The Case of Fazlu Sheikh in Rampal The crisis in Fazlu's family began many years ago, in the 1970s, when his father, Hasen Ali Sheikh, was still alive. Land lies at the centre of the problem. The land on which Fazlu is now living did not belong to his grandfather, but was owned by a relative of Hasen Ali on his mother’s side. As her son, Hasen Ali was allowed to live here; Fazlu has known this fact since his childhood. His father’s cousins, who are also living on this land, will get their share of it by inheritance. The total amount of land for their household is roughly two bigha (1 bigha = 1/3rd of an acre). In addition, there are six bigha of farmland. Fazlu has two brothers, Abdul Kuddus and Abdul Kadir, with whom the land became a disputed matter. Siraj Mallik, a rich man and one of the influential figures in their village, was related to Hasen Ali by birth. Fazlu alleges that Siraj is behind his poverty, and supported his brothers in their case against him. Now he considers Siraj his enemy. Fazlu Sheikh got married about 32 years ago. He was the eldest son in the family, and somewhat favoured over his younger brothers. He did a lesser share of the work in the family, and often ordered his younger brothers to work. They disliked his behaviour intensely, and frequently protested against his demands. Their father died 12 years after Fazlu’s marriage, but the family had already separated three or four years before his death. Hasen Ali did not distribute the land to his sons before he died. Fazlu said that his father was a very honest and imandar person, very devoted to Allah, so he did not think in any detail about what would happen to the land in the future. He did not realise that a dispute over land could arise in his family. “He hoped for unity among us,” said Fazlu. Tensions arose concerning the land after Hasen Ali’s death. Initially, village leaders tried to resolve the matter by a salish judiciary meeting, but failed. According to Fazlu, the salish failed because Siraj opposed him, and was not interested in finding a mutually acceptable agreement. Then, about 12 or 13 years ago, Fazlu’s brothers filed a case in court. The younger brother, Abdul Kuddus, filed the case and the other supported him. From Fazlu’s point of view, Siraj was the key actor behind the drama. He gave Fazlu a proposal offering to but his land, but Fazlu ignored it. Siraj was unhappy with this. Fazlu did not support his practice of illegally occupying or buying others’ lands, and that was the main reason for his disagreement with him. Siraj wanted to construct a building on the land after buying it cheaply. Frustrated in his efforts, he at last instigated Fazlu’s brothers to file a case in court. Fazlu states that as he had no power, he could not win the case. He complains, “Very illegally they occupied the land after giving me only 17 katha” (1 katha = 80 sq. yards). A few days later, Siraj Mallik cheaply and easily bought the two bigha of land from his brothers. His brothers are now living in the east neighbourhood of the village. They have very little land left there, and have been selling what remains day-by-day. 69 Fazlu now shares his 17 kathas of land with his father’s cousins, who are already living on it. At present, Fazlu owns only three katha of land on which he has built a house. He lives there with his wife, son, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and a daughter who is being divorced by her husband. Three years ago, Fazlu ran a tong—a small shop for selling cigarettes, betel leafs, and so on— located along the main road to Talbunia. His wife, who is a member of the Village Defence Party (VDP), provided start-up money for this business, and Fazlu had invested a further 1000 taka (£1 = 93 taka, as of November 2002) for his shop. However, since the national elections held in October 2001, he has had to close the shop due to political instability, and the resulting non-payment of goods. He claims that some influential people in the village consumed many of his goods, but they still have not paid for them. He once could earn 300 taka in a day from his shop, which contributed a great deal to his poor family, but now it has ended, and that income is gone. He appealed for help from the local Union Parishad (UP) government officials and other village leaders, but nobody responded positively; rather, his former customers threatened that if he seeks money, his shop might burn. Therefore, he feels tremendous anxiety about the shop. He does not dare to open his shop due to lack of will as well as capital. Though Fazlu did not clarify his own political identity, he expressed that his sufferings with the shop began when the new government took power. He faced another injustice two years ago. At that time, some landless people from the nearby Zonzonia Mouza got shelter on communal khas land in a government-run Asrayan Prokalpo, on the west bank of the Daudkhali River. Fazlu is not an inhabitant of the Zonzonia Mouza, but some people who identified themselves as sarkarer looke, or representatives from the government office, approached him and said that he would own a house on the khas land. Therefore, he would have to do some official formalities like registration, and so on. For this, he had to pay 200 taka to them. Fazlu said he was heartened by the news, and gladly gave them the money he had worked so hard to save. Fazlu trusted them because Dr. Tarapad from the nearby village had also been involved in this scheme. However, he later realised that it was a fraud, and no land would be forthcoming. Fazlu’s anxieties might have subsided were it not for the misfortunes that struck his daughters. He had managed to find husbands for both of his daughters. One day, he received the tragic news that his eldest daughter had suddenly died due to sickness, but he had never been told of her sickness before. Therefore, he and his wife were completely shocked by it. They never did get any clear and complete explanation as to how their daughter died from her husband. His youngest daughter was later forced to divorce her husband, due to her delivery of four stillborn babies. Her husband blamed her for it, and advised other villagers that his wife is unfit to deliver a healthy baby. One day, she came to her father's house to visit for several days, and during that time, her husband sent a divorce letter to her. Fazlu was surprised and dismayed by this development. He immediately discussed the matter with UP officials and other village leaders to find a remedy to the problem. They all advised him to file a case in the police station under the Anti-Oppression of Women law, but he did not proceed due to lack of funds. He was also advised not to take any drastic steps that might hurt his prestige. They argued that as his daughter had failed to deliver a live baby, she must have some physical abnormality. Fazlu then decided he could take the matter no further. His daughter got divorced after 10 years of marriage, and this upset him greatly, but he eventually took the view that Allah'r iccha—God wants it. Now he is searching for another appropriate young man that he can confer on her. He will give a 70 dowry if needed, but he is mainly concerned with the social ramifications of successfully remarrying her. As an older person, Fazlu is no longer has the capability for doing manual labour. Labourers like Fazlu have little or no demand in the labour market, but he is in dire need of work. Therefore, he always tries to secure work so that he can earn some money by it. When he is fortunate, he gets work like cutting trees or doing lighter domestic work. Fazlu’s eldest son, Zillur, 32, lives in his father-in-law's house in Perikhali, a place near to Talbunia. Zillur does not keep in contact with his father or other members of his natal family, and his own financial need prevents him from giving any support. For support, his family mainly depends on his youngest son, 27-year-old Tafur. He is a day labourer who operates a non-motorised vehicle for carrying passengers and goods on the streets throughout the year. Fazlu does not know how much money his son earns in a day, and does not ask him. He says that he is lucky because his son is supporting the family. Tafur got married at least 10 years ago. He did not get any chance to go to school due to his family’s severe level of poverty, as well as his own lack of interest. He had to start working to support the family from a young age. He has been driving a rickshaw for three years. Before doing this, he worked processing dried fish. He left that job because it required him to move various places and be absent from his home often, which his mother did not like. Her eldest son had already separated from her, and she was worried about him as well. At last, Tafur took the profession of rickshaw driving locally, so that he can keep in touch with his mother regularly. The income Tafur makes from rickshaw driving is not steady or reliable. The months of Baisak to Jaistha by the Bangla calendar (mid-April to mid-June) mark the production season of prawn when demands for his services increase. In that season, income is higher, and it is at best 150 taka for a day. Fazlu’s family has no problems living on that amount of money. However, in the winter and rainy seasons, his income decreases substantially. It is extremely hard on one’s health to drive a rickshaw in heavy fog and cold weather during the winter, or stormy weather in the rainy season. Demand for transportation services also decreases due to less income for most of the population in the months of Aswin and Kartik (mid-September to mid-November). At those times, Tafur has to get by on only 20 taka for a day’s work. In those situations, the family has not found a good way to manage meals for a day. They need at least 3.5-4 kilograms of rice every day, which costs about 50 taka to buy from the market. If his income is greater than 50 taka, then they can purchase vegetables and other items as well. If it is much greater than 50, then they may also eat fish. If he gets less than 50 taka, then they have to manage with only jau, or boiled rice without any vegetables. In their family, they do not cook or prepare meals in the kitchen at night, but eat the foods that were cooked during the day. They have passed many nights without eating any food. Rokeya, Tafur’s mother, has cried to Allah for relief from this painful situation. Sometimes, they can borrow one or two pots—each pot contains 250 grams—of rice from their neighbours to cope with periods of extreme scarcity; but much of the time, the neighbours also face the same problem. There are some prosperous families in the village that could easily help Fazlu's family cope with their economic hardships, but they have shown no interest in doing so. Fazlu also does not seek help from anyone. He says, “Nobody helps me because I am poor. I am not aggressive. I am soft ... [and] can not speak to the rich men.” Siraj Mallik, a rich and influential man in the village, is a relative of Fazlu’s, but he has no good relations with him due to their past conflicts 71 over land. Fazlu heard that the poorest people get wheat as relief from the UP, but when he appealed to officials for aid, they seemed indifferent to him. He does not know why they ignore him. In the village, some traditional mahajan moneylenders provide loans at 10% interest, but they do not believe that Fazlu would be able to repay any loans, so they will not give him any money. Tafur, the only earning member in the family, feels that it is not possible to run the family well on his income alone. Therefore, he wants to move to Fakirhat, a place far distant from his village. Many people in the Rampal area migrate to Fakirhat in the month of Agrahayan (midNovember to mid-December) to work in agricultural land. They go there for three or four months at a time, with breaks for three or four times per month. In Fakirhat, a labourer can earn 80-100 taka for a day of doing agricultural work. Tafur thinks it will be helpful if he migrates there seasonally, but his mother does not want him to. She has missed her eldest son, and does not want to lose him as well. Last year, she faced a very distressing situation when her grandson, 11year-old Abu Bakkar, had a severe case of diarrhoea, and was seriously ill. They had to wait for hours for Tafur to return from work, and take him to the Zonzonia Hospital. He stayed there for two days, and his treatment cost roughly 2000 taka. Tafur’s aunt loaned them the money, and his mother later repaid it with a loan from her samity savings and credit group. The family faces economic hardship throughout the year, and they become more vulnerable when cyclones or stormy weather strikes their dilapidated house. Then they invariably need money to pay for repairs. Fazlu’s wife, Rokeya, said that last year their house collapsed due to heavy rains and wind. Tafur was not home at the time, and when he returned, the sight of it immobilised him with depression. They needed at least 1000 taka to partially reconstruct the house so that they could live in it. Fazlu wants a more durable house that does not need to be repaired every year, but such a home would cost some 30,000 taka. It seems that they have no means by which to amass such a large amount of money. However, it may be possible if all goes well with the shrimp farming land they have leased this year. The total cost of leasing the land was 21,000 taka for three bigha of land. Tafur’s aunt provided 15,000 taka, and the remainder he managed to pay on his own. If no viruses harm the shrimp, they can count on making a substantial profit, but many in the business were anxious recently about the possibility of virus outbreaks. 72 Case no-4 A Case Study of Jamal in Nisanpur Jamal is a 45-year-old day labourer in the village of Nisanpur in Puthia Thana. He never went to school as a child, and is now illiterate. His wife is a homemaker. He and his wife have a 10-yearold son, and two daughters, ages 11 and seven. The oldest two children study in the nearby village school. Their children sleep on mats on bare ground. The family’s clothing is in various states of disrepair; his wife has only two saris, traditional women’s clothing, and one is tattered. He has only two decimals (1 decimal = 50 sq. yards) of land for his home, and no agricultural land. He and his family live in a one-room thatched house made of mud. Jamal's wife has been rearing a cow that they bought with a loan from a samity- cooperative association. They also have one chowki (a bed). Jamal’s late father was an illiterate day labourer, and his mother is a homemaker. Jamal has three brothers and one sister. None of them went to school, as their father was unable to pay for their educational expenses. As Jamal says, “Din e chole ni abar lekha pora korbo ki.” means it is hard to meet daily expenses, the question of education does not arise.) His father had to provide for a large family on his meagre earnings as a day labourer, so Jamal often survived on very little during his childhood; some days, they went without food. His father’s employment was irregular, and he occasionally only worked part-time. His mother plucked spinach from the fields so they would have something to eat, but he and his siblings sometimes fell asleep crying from hunger. In this desperate situation, Jamal started working as a caretaker of cattle and domestic worker for a wealthy landowner, at the age of eight or nine. He was given three meals daily, and wages of three taka (£1 = 93 taka, as of November 2002) per month. Jamal’s father received the money from his employers, and sought new employers frequently in an attempt to increase his son’s salary. Jamal got married in 1986, without demanding any dowry payment from his in-laws. However, when he arranged his sister’s marriage, the groom's family demanded 5,000 taka. He raised the money by selling their trees. Two years ago, he and his brother sold 2.5 katha (1 katha = 80 sq. yards) of land to their maternal uncle. However, they did not go together to register the sale with the Land Registration office; his uncle went alone, and recorded his purchase as 4 katha rather than 2.5 katha of land. Jamal and his brother did not discover this deceit until some two months latter. They complained about it to the Union Parishad (UP) government officials, who advised them to settle it in court, and took no action in the matter. Last year, Jamal worked on a Nisanpur road construction project, which was initiated by a UP official. However, he received only 900 taka in wages, out of the 1000 taka originally agreed to for completion of the work. The UP representative meanwhile has refused to provide the rest of the funds Jamal is owed. 73 Jamal 's mother got one bigha (about 1/3rd acre) and 13 katha of land from her grandfather. She had to sell 15 katha of the property in order to pay for her husband’s medical care. Jamal’s father became afflicted with severe stomach pain after the 1971 Liberation War. He suffered for eight long years before finally succumbing. After his father died, Jamal became head of the household, and took responsibility for looking after his siblings. When he was unable to get work in times of scarcity, he borrowed money at high interest rates from his neighbours and acquaintances. To repay these loans, and cover basic living expenses for the family, he later sold some of their land. Last year, a cyclone did 800-taka worth of damage to his cattle shed. Some of his employers and wealthier neighbours helped with the funds to repair it; one person gave him bamboo as aid. A few months ago, his mother became ill with an unknown disease. Jamal sought his uncle’s assistance in paying for her treatment, but got no help from him. To raise money, he sold one of their tetuil trees for 2600 taka. Then, a few weeks ago, he contracted typhoid, and could not work for several days. This forced him to sell his last goat to cover their expenses. Now his mother is still sick, but he has been unable to afford further medical care for her. Jamal recently received a card from Union Parishad that entitles him to collect benefits for taking care of one mother and child. He got this card with the help of Hafiz, who is related to one of the UP officials. Hafiz failed in his initial attempt to obtain the card for Jamal, until after seeking help from a wealthy relative named Rupchan. Hafiz took then took the card to the UP office, and had the cardholder’s name changed, so that now Jamal can receive 24 kilograms of wheat every month. By selling the wheat, Jamal buys clothes and repays the samity loan he borrowed. He can use the card to receive assistance for one-and-a-half years. Jamal had been a supporter of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, but in return for the benefits card, Rupchan made him promise to support the Awami League, the main political opposition party. In addition, Jamal is now also bound to assist Rupchan whenever he calls on him. As Jamal says, “Amar upo kar korche, ami o tar upo kar kori. Se zake vote dite bole taakei dei. Maze maze kaz kame shahazoo kori.” means he did me a favour so I try to return the complements. I oblige him by casting my vote for his candidate. Jamal thinks that he and his family are living more comfortably now in comparison to when they lived under his father’s household. His father sometimes struggled for days just searching for work. Now work is generally more available, and he can usually buy daily necessities with his wages. His risks may have increased, but so have his earnings as a day labourer. Therefore, Jamal says, “Ekhon baper amoler chaiea valo achi.” means we are better-off now than we were when father was alive. 74 Reports Published under the Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor (LEP) Study: 2002-2003 A. Working Paper 1. 'Conceptualising Livelihoods of the Extreme Poor' by Nasrin Sultana (Also available at www.livilihoods.org) B. Thematic Paper 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 'Living on the Boundary: Institutional influences on the livelihoods of the EP' by S.M. Zubair Ali Khan 'Making Use of Mediating Resources: Social network of the Extreme poor' by Salim Ahmed Purvez 'Moving Forward Looking Behind: Creation of Livelihoods Options through Migration' by Munshi Israil Hossain 'Fighting with Calamities: Coping Strategies of the Extreme Poor' by Sinora Chakma 'The Extreme Poor in (the) Labor Market: Participation and Vulnerability' by Md. Kamruzzaman 'Looking Towards for Better Future: Reflection of the Extreme Poor's Perception' by Ahmed Borhan 'Breaking and Making the Chain: Livelihoods of the Female Headed Extreme Poor Household' by Mayee 'Living with Food Insecurity: coping strategies of the livelihoods of the extreme poor 'by Mohammad Shazzad Hossain 10. 'Inclusion of the extreme poor in PROSHIKA activities' by Gautam Shuvra Biswas & S.M.Zubair Ali Khan C. Livelihoods Profiles 11. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages:A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Patgram Upazila' by Ahmed Borhan & Atiqur Rahman 12. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Durgapur Upazila' by Munshi Israil Hossain & Atiqur Rahman 13. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Kotalipara Upazila' by Salim Ahmed Purvez & Atiqur Rahman 14. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Puthia Upazila' by Md. Kamruzzaman & Anila Parven 15. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Chakaria Upazila' by Nasrin Sultana & Anila Parven 16. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Rangamati Upazila' by Sinora Chakma & ShamsunNahar 17. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Niamatpur Upazila ' by Mayee & ShamsunNahar 18. 'Livelihoods profile of two villages: A comparison between Central and Remote villages life of Rampal Upazila' by S.M.Zubair Ali Khan & Mohammad Shazzad Hossain D. Case studies 19. 'Case Studies of Poor Household' by LEP team (Also available at www.livilihoods.org) 75

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