Poverty at Close Range
By Anonymous
My childhood experience in a refugee camp and the contrast of that life with life in the city and in America opened my eyes to the massive wealth inequality that exist in our society and in the world. It made me appreciate and recognize the privileges that I am surrounded by on a day-to-day basis, to raise awareness about those who do not share these privileges, and to do whatever is in my means to help.
I grew up in a refugee camp in Pakistan because my Afghan origin parents had to migrate from Afghanistan due to the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. Although life was not ideal from a material perspective in the refugee camp, such as lack of facilities and the infrastructure that I have access to in the United States, I had a happy childhood. There was a sense of community, looking after one another and being there for each other’s joys and sorrows. I was friends with most of the kids my age in my neighborhood and many went to the same and only elementary school that had English as one of the subjects being taught. This school was a private school, but the tuition was a lot more subsidized and significantly lower compared to any other school in surrounding towns due to donations received by the school. There were some other schools in this refugee camp had free tuition but did not have the same quality of curriculum.
My life before being enrolled in school was limited to our home, and to the small street that we lived in. It was at school where I started to get a glimpse of reality outside of my sheltered life. I realized that not all children who were in my class had access to the same privileges that I had. Some of them would only have a small piece of bread for breakfast and could only afford to have a meal once a day. I saw many students that had old, wrinkly clothes that did not fit with holes in them, but I never dared to ask why. I remember one student being asked about his old clothes and although he tried his best to hide his emotions by turning away, I could see his eyes getting wet. This is one of the experiences that I carry with me to this day and affects how I think about life and wealth inequality.
The second experience I remember is when a boy my age (7) introduced himself when I was walking around a market. He knew my name and informed me that he remembered me from elementary school. After talking for a few minutes I asked him which school he goes to, and he said he dropped out. When I asked “why”, he went silent and indicated that he lost his father and could not afford it. It made me see the effect of poverty from close range. I felt very sad for him and how heartbreaking it must have been to lose his father and now losing hope to get an education. It also made me appreciate why parents always insisted that I always share my food with other kids near me even if they did not ask for it. This also informs my world view when it comes to wealth distribution in our society as an adult.
Today when I see all the luxuries, the extravagance and the surplus wealth and food I remember those kids in the refugee camp. There are millions around the world who go to bed hungry and yearn to get an education. I could easily have been one of those kids who lived all their life in a refugee camp and with no access to education if I was born in a different family. The main reason why I am in college is because my parents put a huge emphasis on education and made all kinds of sacrifices to enroll in me in the best schools that was possible. This greatly helped me when we immigrated to America as I could quickly integrate and enroll in college.
This brings me to a deep structural flaw that I see in our society. I notice that many times there is a rhetoric surrounding funding projects, institutions and programs that target food security and education opportunities for the under-privileged. People think that by supporting these programs these kids will grow up being lazy without realizing that food security can be the make or break for countless students attending school or dropping out. Education is integral not only towards climbing the socio-economic ladder, but it is critical to establishing a prosperous, developing, peaceful and enlightened society that can have lasting impact on generations.
We as a society, should not only encourage these programs but also participate in them in order to create a more equal and just society.