Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santiago (Agenzia Fides) - “We will not be able to overcome extreme poverty if we do not build a country with equal opportunities, where all Chileans may be involved in the development of the country,” said the Minister for Planning and Cooperation in Chile, Felipe Kast, in an interview published in the journal, “Encuentro digital”, of the Archbishopric of Santiago in Chile, which is optimistic about the possibility that in 2014 Chile will be able to rise above its current situation of poverty.
In the interview entitled, “Poverty is a violation of human dignity”, the head of Mideplan (Ministry for Planning and Cooperation), which puts together nearly all the social policies to overcome poverty, recalls: “It is true that in investigations in 2009 cases of poverty have increased since 2006, but I am optimistic that in 2014 these 600,000 Chileans living in extreme poverty will be able to say that it is a thing of the past.”
Answering the question, “what is poverty” Kast said: “Poverty is primarily a violation of human dignity. It is something that does not allow us to live like human beings, but anxiously because we can not give our children and our families an interior and exterior peace, in which we can live with a minimum of dignity. This is why poverty is a violation of peoples' rights. This is why we have to deal with it urgently.”
Poverty is a very complex problem. It is not just a lack of resources, but concerns the lack of social integration. When someone is excluded from society, then we must all take action. These are areas where we can all see clearly that there is injustice. Even more sad then is the exclusion of children. By whose fault must a million children live in extreme poverty?
At the end of the interview, providing solutions to this reality, Minister Kast said: “Many consider that we urgently need to resolve the situation, but this is not the way to the solution, because we must all, as a country, consider this situation as a matter of conscience. This is a problem of rights and dignity. It is our issue to be aware of the poverty. It is a challenge for the government, but also for all.” (CE) (Agenzia Fides 04/12/2010)
