In capitalist Europe, Germany is seen
as the shining example of capitalist success. It is meant to be what
the rest of Europe should try to aspire to, prosperity for all. Of
course like all the tales of capitalist success, as far as the
ordinary people are concerned it is all an illusion. The German Joint
Welfare Association report on poverty for 2013 shows a very definite
pattern of increasing poverty for Germany as a whole. It also states
that from 2006 to 2012 the growth of poverty was steady going from
14% to 15.2%. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), approximately 10% of German children live in
families whose income is below the poverty line. A UNICEF study finds
that 8.6% of children in Germany have long term experiences of
poverty that seriously affect their entire future. It also finds that
more than 1 million adolescents have spent more than one third of
their childhood and youth living in poverty.
Officially, homelessness doesn't
exist in Germany, there are no official figures held by the state. So
we have to rely on estimates made by independent groups that offer
social assistance to such people. One institution that offers
assistance to homeless, Bundesarbeitgemeinschhaft Wohnungslosenhilfe
(BAG) states that their figures suggest that there are approximately
591,000 homeless in Germany, however if you add the homeless
immigrants, the total looks more like 860,000, roughly the same size
as the population of one of Germany's largest cities, Cologne. This
figure breaks down as, approximately one third are women, almost the same number are
young people and children, men making up 39%. BAG also estimates that
approximately another million are under threat of homelessness, or
living in sub-standard housing. It also estimates that some homeless
with families can get some temporary accommodation with friends and
relatives, but approximately 35,000 single people face living on the
streets. A further figure from BAG states that in the winter of
1996/97, a staggering 27 people froze to death on the streets of
Germany, one of the worst figures among the world's most prosperous
nations.
That is the irony, one of the most
prosperous nations on the planet and poverty, homelessness and
freezing to death on the streets is accepted. It is the economist
apologists for the capitalist system that can only see one side of
the equation and spout German as a success story. Germany is growing
rapidly in wealth, according to Manager Magazin, October issue, the
assets of the richest 100 have increased during the last twelve
months by 5.2% to a staggering €336.6 billion and there are 135
billionaires living in Germany and according to a recent study by
Credit Suisse, there are approximately 1.7 million, “dollar
millionaires” living in Germany.
In this insane capitalist world,
success means rich getting richer, and the rest can go to hell in
handcart.
Associated with this poverty, diseases that were eradicated return again. A friend of mine -health service nurse- tells me that is beginning to be alarming outbreaks of scabies and lice in homes and schools. As social services are cut and public health is privatized, health deteriorates and disease increase. A wall of injustice separates rich from poor, and is growing every day, thicker and taller than the old Berlin Wall.
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