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Who is Facing Hardship?The people consulted, particularly those from the outer islands, said “We are all experiencing hardship here and no one is experiencing more hardship than the rest.” This sense of shared disadvantage, seen as different from being poor, was common in most of the communities surveyed. However, during the discussions there were indications of emerging differences in Tuvaluan society based on income, where people occupying highlevel government positions, people who own businesses, and families with relatives working overseas were perceived as doing well. Those not belonging to these categories were considered to be facing considerable hardship. Those surveyed identified disadvantaged Tuvaluans based on their access to income, land, and basic services and not on access to food. Thus, hardship in Tuvalu is more closely linked to poverty of opportunity rather than hunger or destitution. The following groups were said to be suffering more hardship than the rest of the community:
Families living on squatter lands were perceived to be in extreme hardship due to their poor living conditions —lack of or poor toilet facilities and absence of household water tanks. Community water tanks are available, but collecting the water and the irregular supply were cited as hardships. The majority of those surveyed said that disadvantaged people were present in both urban and rural/outer island areas. Interestingly, people in the urban areas believed that those on the outer islands experience more hardship, while those on the outer islands believe hardship is worse in urban areas.
Elderly Man, 65 Years Old
“I have four grown-up children and am currently staying with my son, his wife, and their daughter who is studying at Motufoua Secondary School. In 1972, I went to work for the Phosphate Scheme in the Ocean Islands. It ended in 1979 so I came back to Nukulaelae. I didn’t find any job when I returned. I then resumed with our traditional chores like going to the pulaka pits and so forth. “Both my son and his wife are not working. However, our family manages to earn A$80-$100 weekly from selling fish. During bad weather my son cannot go out fishing, so our family needs to manage our funds properly in order for us to survive and for my granddaughter to attend school. Our expenses include payments for my granddaughter’s school fees and other necessities, food items at the store, and contributions to the community and church. The money we get from my son’s fishing is not enough to support us financially. But we manage to harvest bananas, breadfruits, pulaka, and pawpaws from our lands for food. “In the future, I want my son to have an adequate concrete house and my granddaughter to have a good education so they may live happily and peacefully. I also want to have a concrete foundation for my pigsty and a proper fence so I can sell pork to the Tuvalu Cooperative Society and earn some money. “For our community, improvement of our harbor is a priority to assist our young men, who are the backbone of our community, in handling and delivering cargo. Improvement of our education system is another significant issue for our grandchildren to help improve the well-being of their families, the community, and Tuvalu as a whole.”
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