Saturday, February 12, 2011

In the City

Panama has the second highest income inequality in Latin America (Brazil taking the lead), and its not hard to fathom why when faced with the stark contrast of campo and city life. Driving through middle and upper class neighborhoods on my way to the Peace Corps office yesterday made me reflect on the concept of development. The haves and the have nots. The two faces of Panama (stealing a phrase from Carlos Fuentes` description of Mexico). Even going to visit my original host family in Rio Congo near Chorrera I was amazed by how much my perspective of wealth has changed. I remember when I first got to Rio Congo and considered the homes humble and honestly quite dirty. I thought the food was largely boring and complained of being overfed rice. Visiting this time however I felt like I was entering mansions and eating like a king, so excited to be eating rice instead of name. It is no wonder that volunteers often have a difficult time readjusting to the United States after living among such impoverished communities. However, I think to some degree Peace Corps Panama volunteers (or any volunteer where inequality within country is so prevalent) might be able to weather the adjustment back to the states better, having already dealt with some of the contrasts of wealth and privilege in country. I saw a porche yesterday, I´m currently surrounded by skyscrapers, and everybody is walking around with Bluetooth headsets and blackberries.

My community always asks me if everybody is rich in the United States (or simply states it) because that is the main image they take away from movies and the tourists on Bocas Island. Similarly, as I discussed with Helen last night (who by the way is arriving today at 3 and I can´t contain my excitement, nor sleep) it seems that many Americans have a much skewed view of the wealth within Panama. I myself used to visualize only the canal and the cityscape when envisioning this country. But now I have seen the other face, the extreme poverty of rural communities battling easily treatable illnesses and living off of the $100 every two months they are given by the government. I have become so enmeshed in the microcosm of my community and small scale grassroots development that being in the city allows my to reflect on the larger picture. Many times I am frustrated by my community´s inability to plan for the future, to make that $100 last longer than a week, to take their development into their own hands rather than wait for a government handout, and while of course I still feel strongly about those statements, one can´t help but feel that communities like mine should be provided with much more assistance when contrasted against the wealth of the city. But to be truthful I think the majority of that development really is best fitting in the form of education and capacity building (even if I simply sound like I´m preaching peace corps development mantra). But really I´m drawing on so many minds, Amartya Sen, Easterly, Wolf, Sachs, all development economists understand the importance of "human capital." The government`s role is not to provide everything, but rather to nurture an environment that allows individuals to succeed. But that undoubtedly requires a strong educational system.

Peace Corps Panama warns us that many of our communities will have little to know critical thinking experience, and while I thought that came off as quite patronizing, I ran into just that problem as I tried to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the community at a community meeting the other day. It was like pulling teeth to get the community to discuss the things they like about their community and the things that could use improvement. In the end they were really just ready for my boss and I to say, well we´re going to build a bunch of latrines and a new water system for you. And although I thought the "a gringo but a poor gringo" message had gone over so well and my community understood Peace Corps` approach better than before, they still expected that they would get gifted a project and not have to do anything to get it. My boss Tim and I discussed Peace Corps` approach from every angle possible, and while again I ultimately came away feeling like they better understand Peace Corps` philosophy now, it’s obvious now that repetition and patience will be required throughout the next two years and most likely for the next volunteer in my site. But I have high hopes that my community can come together and work to make their community embody their realized or not yet quite realized dreams.

I would love any questions or critiques you might have about the post.