A Social Assessment of Poverty in Latvia

LISTENING TO THE POOR: A SOCIAL ASSESSMENT OF POVERTY IN LATVIA

Report on research findings (March – June 1998)

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology Riga, 1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TALKING TO THE POOR:...... I A SOCIAL ASSESSMENT OF POVERTY IN LATVIA ...... I TABLE OF CONTENTS...... II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... VII OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...... VII METHODOLOGY ...... VII FINDINGS ...... VIII CHAPTER 1: OBJECTIVES AND METHODS...... 1 AN ECONOMY IN TRANSITION...... 1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...... 2 METHODOLOGY ...... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. CHAPTER 2: THE DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY ...... 4 CONCEPTUALIZING POVERTY ...... 4 Poverty as relative...... 4 Describing poverty...... 5 What is a “poor person?”...... 6 EXPLAINING POVERTY...... 6 Inadequate, low and late salaries...... 6 Unemployment and the fear of unemployment...... 7 Inflation, currency reform, and the collapse of the "Baltija" Bank...... 7 Low agricultural prices, high costs of technology and difficulties of marketing ...... 8 Assigning responsibility...... 8 THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON SOCIAL RELATIONS ...... 9 Poverty and family relations ...... 9 The impact of poverty on socializing...... 9 Neighbors and friends ...... 10 Stratification of society...... 10 CONCLUSIONS ...... 11 CHAPTER 3: MATERIAL LIVING CONDITIONS...... 12 HOUSING CONDITIONS...... 12 Rising housing costs, shrinking incomes...... 12 Deteriorating exteriors and interiors ...... 12 PAYING FOR RENT AND COMMUNAL SERVICES ...... 13 Housing types...... 13 Central heating...... 13 Heating with wood...... 14 Problems of plumbing and water supply...... 14 Telephone costs...... 15 HOW HOUSEHOLDS STRATEGIZE TO PAY FOR HOUSING SERVICES ...... 15 The impact of housing costs on different households...... 15

ii Cutting back, substituting cheaper fuel, and doing without...... 16 Making reduced payments ...... 17 Moving to cheaper housing...... 17 Installing meters...... 18 Selling assets...... 18 Illegal techniques ...... 18 CONSEQUENCES OF NON-PAYMENT: EVICTION...... 18 CHANGING PATTERNS OF OWNERSHIP...... 19 CHANGING CONDITIONS IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES...... 21 Transportation...... 21 Perceptions of danger and insecurity ...... 21 Spatialization of poverty...... 23 CONCLUSION...... 24 CHAPTER 4: FORMAL AND INFORMAL SURVIVAL STRATEGIES ...... 25 INTRODUCTION...... 25 SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN URBAN AREAS...... 25 Working in the service sector ...... 25 Petty commerce...... 26 Making use of formal training ...... 26 Arts and crafts...... 26 Construction work...... 27 Paid domestic labor...... 27 Migrating for work...... 27 Selling recyclables ...... 28 RURAL SURVIVAL STRATEGIES ...... 29 Farming for cash and subsistence ...... 29 Gathering...... 30 Agricultural wage labor ...... 30 Forestry ...... 31 SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES...... 32 Selling and pawning assets ...... 32 Exchanging goods, services and money...... 32 Economizing and cutting back...... 33 Juggling debts ...... 34 Pilfering and theft ...... 34 Exchanging sexual favors ...... 34 Exchanging housing for assistance ...... 34 SEARCHING FOR EMPLOYMENT ...... 34 The role of personal connections ...... 34 Splitting up for survival ...... 35 Age and gender discrimination ...... 35 Disability...... 36 Ethnic and linguistic factors...... 36 Social status and appearance...... 38 Mobility and transportation...... 38

iii The vulnerability of workers in the gray economy ...... 38 CONCLUSION...... 39 CHAPTER 5: SOCIAL PROTECTION...... 40 THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE (NES) ...... 40 The role of the NES ...... 40 Finding employment through the NES ...... 41 Re-qualification courses...... 41 Public perceptions of the NES ...... 42 NATIONALLY FUNDED SOCIAL TRANSFERS ...... 42 Old-age and disability pensions and child benefits...... 42 MUNICIPAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES (SAS)...... 42 Variation among municipalities...... 42 Public perceptions of municipal social assistance services ...... 43 Obstacles to receiving social assistance...... 44 Municipally funded employment ...... 45 Forms of child support...... 46 Free lunches for schoolchildren ...... 46 Assistance to schools ...... 47 ASSISTANCE FROM NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS...... 47 CONCLUSION ...... 48 CHAPTER 6: HEALTH CARE AND NUTRITION ...... 50 INTRODUCTION...... 50 ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ...... 50 Health insurance...... 51 “Under the table” payments ...... 52 Paying for medicine ...... 52 The quality of health care...... 53 HEALTH PROBLEMS OF THE POOR ...... 54 Dental problems...... 54 Prenatal and maternal care ...... 54 Child health...... 55 Problems maintaining good nutrition...... 55 Poverty and mental health...... 56 ALCOHOLISM ...... 56 CONCLUSION ...... 59 CHAPTER 7: EDUCATION...... 60 INTRODUCTION...... 60 ATTITUDES TOWARD THE VALUE OF EDUCATION...... 60 SCHOOL RELATED COSTS...... 61 School supplies ...... 61 School clothing ...... 61 Voluntary donations...... 62 Textbooks...... 62 CONCERNS OVER ACCESS AND QUALITY...... 63 TRUANCY...... 64

iv CONCLUSION...... 65 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS ...... 66 WHO ARE THE POOR? ...... 66 REGIONAL, ETHNIC AND GENDER VARIATIONS IN POVERTY...... 67 Poverty and previous degree of development ...... 67 Rural-urban differences...... 69 Poverty and gender...... 70 Poverty and ethnicity...... 70 POVERTY AND MATERIAL LIVING CONDITIONS ...... 71 POVERTY AND SOCIAL WELFARE ...... 71 HOW DO POOR PEOPLE MAKE ENDS MEET? ...... 72 Income-generating activities ...... 72 How helpful is social assistance?...... 72 POVERTY AND SOCIAL RELATIONS...... 72 Social networks...... 72 Social exclusion ...... 72 IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL POLICY ...... 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 75 ANNEX I: SAMPLING STRATEGY...... 77 ANNEX II: HOW LATVIANS DESCRIBE POVERTY...... 83 ANNEX III: A CASE STUDY ...... 84

v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the regional, district and pagasti (municipality) officials for providing the information on poverty and sampling; the interview respondents; the World Bank for their financial support; Nora Dudwick, the World Bank staff member who managed the study; the UNDP and Dace Dzenovska, UNDP Programme Manager, for UNDP financial support and assistance; and finally, the Ministry of Welfare, for its contribution. We are grateful to the World Bank experts for their valuable comments on the draft version of this report.

vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this Social Assessment (SA) is to provide information not available through standard quantitative surveys. As the title suggests, it is based on extensive discussion with poor people themselves. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to the formulation of hypotheses which can be tested through quantitative data gathering methods, and will contribute to the formulation of policies designed to alleviate poverty.

The study was co-financed by the World Bank and the UNDP, and designed to complement other Bank and UNDP studies and projects currently underway or planned, including the Latvia Welfare Reform Project as well as the World Bank Poverty Assessment, to take place in FY99. It should be stressed that this SA was predicated on a participatory approach intended to involve stakeholders at every stage and to maximize Latvian ownership and engagement.

The SA was therefore implemented under the guidance of a Steering Committee composed of representatives of the Ministry of Welfare, the Bank Resident Mission, the Latvian Academy of Sciences and the UNDP. The Steering Committee, which also consulted more broadly with government and NGO representatives, had final oversight over the SA. The SA was managed locally by Latvian researchers from the Latvian Academy of Sciences, who were responsible for producing the final report, with training and extensive substantive and editorial input from the Bank Task Manager, Nora Dudwick. It should be stressed, however, that this is a Latvian document.

The study provides information on: · coping mechanisms of the poor · obstacles to greater labor market participation · the role of social networks and reciprocity relations · poor peoples’ access to health, education and welfare services · how poor people themselves interpret their situation · the causes and dynamics of household poverty, particularly in relation to gender, age, and ethnicity

METHODOLOGY

The SA has employed a qualitative methodology consisted of semi-structured interviews which were built around particular topics and issues, but which encouraged respondents to recount their experiences, and raise additional issues they felt important. As a qualitative study, it should complement large national household surveys, which are better able to demonstrate the prevalence or depth of poverty, but provide less

vii information about reasons and dynamics of poverty, as well as the motivations and perceptions of poor people. For this reason, many case examples have been included in the text to provide the reader with an insight into how different poverty-related factors combine in practice.

Interviews were conducted with 400 households, 20 local experts, including staff of government offices, teachers, and medical personnel, and international experts (including representatives from international NGOs). A draft interview guide was tested in a pilot study in Riga and Daugavpils, and a revised guide was prepared on the basis of findings. Since random sampling is not a practical strategy for qualitative studies of this size (a much larger sample would have been necessary to ensure that the sample included 400 poor households, as well as adequate numbers of different household types which fit the poverty profile), purposive sampling was used, to address the problems of validity and researcher bias, and to ensure inclusion of different geographic, economic and cultural regions, urban and rural areas, and household types likely to contain poor members. For a detailed description of the sampling strategy, please refer to Annex I.

Although findings from the study suggest significant trends and patterns, the aim of this study was not to provide conclusions which can be generalized to the entire population of Latvia. For this reason, the study does not present numbers (of households reporting alcohol problems, mental illness, receipt of social assistance, and so forth), but rather indicates very approximately what proportion of respondents were affected by these issues. Furthermore, because the sample was purposive, it reflects the biases of interviewers and referring agencies (particularly the Social Assistance Centers) toward the “deserving poor,” rather than households with severe problems of alcoholism, mental illness, criminality, and child neglect.

FINDINGS

How Latvians perceive and interpret poverty

Public attitudes toward poverty

Poverty -- as a widespread phenomenon, and as a topic of research and public debate -- was not such an issue during Soviet times. Despite the fact that much of today’s poverty is the result of a society-wide economic transition, many respondents retain a sense of Soviet-era shame, when to be “poor” was the equivalent of being a virtual social outcast, and was regarded as the result of uniquely personal failures. Many respondents retain this ambivalence, preferring to describe themselves as “needy” or “on the verge of poverty,” rather than as “poor,” which many equate with being socially dependent on others. Respondents simultaneously blame national and local government officials for incompetence and indifference, as well as expressing their own sense of guilt, shame, and humiliation.

viii In describing their own situation, most respondents take a relativist position: they tended to compare their own position with those around them, focusing more on those at a similar material level, and often comforting themselves that they were no worse off than others. Able-bodied respondents, of prime working age, preferred to identify themselves as “maloobespechenniye” at a given moment, but not “poor” or “indigent.” Among exceptions were families whose standard of living had abruptly declined – either because of business failure, or because of large, unforeseen medical expenses – which had put them into enormous debt. Pensioners, on the other hand, viewed their situation much more grimly and pessimistically, observing their severe decline in living standards, and their lack of prospects for improving their situation. “Previously, pensioners cold help their children and still keep something for themselves, but now you can just lie down and die.”

Likewise, people also compared their living standards with those they enjoyed in the past, and when they did so, spoke nostalgically of the time when they could raise even large families without worrying about necessities. Responses also indicated stereotypes regarding conditions in urban versus rural areas. Some respondents living in urban areas view the situation in rural areas, with widespread alcoholism and unemployment, as even more catastrophic than the situation in cities, particularly for children, whom they feel will be trapped in rural poverty. Rural respondents viewed city life as more difficult, since at least they had access to land, were able to grow some of their food, and had lower utility costs, even if, as they acknowledged, everything was more accessible to people who lived in towns.

Overall, people highlighted the following dimensions of poverty as most salient: · insufficient resources to satisfy basic physiological needs · having to devote all one’s energy just to survive · feeling completely dependent on other people or on government offices for assistance

Describing the causes of poverty

In analyzing the causes or reasons for poverty, respondents identified the following factors: · unemployment · low salaries often paid late, partially, or in-kind · high cost of public utilities, way out of proportion to many salaries · the money reform, hyperinflation, and collapse of the Baltija bank, which deprived people of their lifelong savings · inadequate child benefits (for large families) · low market prices for agricultural production, together with the high cost of technology and inputs · government incompetence and indifference to peoples’ standard of living · alcoholism, often linked as cause, effect, or both, to unemployment and other stresses of the transition · an attitude of dependence on the state, inculcated during the Soviet period

Additional factors include some of the reforms introduced by the Latvian government. These include privatization and the distribution of vouchers. Among the poor households interviewed, many respondents did not have the money to take advantage of the process by privatizing land or houses. Others sold their vouchers just to cover the cost of daily essentials. Respondents also complained that because of reforms in the state administration, they felt confused and intimidated by continuously changing regulations and demands, and felt that the demands and attitudes of civil servants toward the public was arbitrary.

The impact of poverty on individuals, families, and communities

Poverty and family relations

The interviews suggest that poverty has affected households in one of two ways: either it brings family members together (in some case, even couples on the verge of divorce) as they realize that solidarity is the only way to cope with their economic problems, or the daily stress of financial problems splits families, particularly those who had experienced discord in the past. Respondents reported many examples of unemployment-related alcoholism that had caused the disintegration of marriages and severe neglect of children. Similarly, while many respondents reported considerable help from family members and relatives living apart, and help (though on a smaller scale) from neighbors and friends, they also complained that poverty forced them to curtail socializing, and celebrate holidays only in the immediate family circle, if at all.

The growth of social stratification

Respondents observed that the economic changes have resulted in new forms of spatial stratification, as people move out of large, well-appointed apartments in prestigious areas (usually in town and city centers) smaller apartments or small private houses, in order to conserve on the high price of utilities. In some cases, municipalities have contributed to this process by rehousing destitute and problem families in special buildings in special sections of the town or city. Parents were distressed at the impact of visible stratification on their children, who are publicly market out as “poor” at school, where they receive free lunches (often served separately), dress poorly, or have to use photocopied class materials. Poor parents feared the process would continue, since the introduction of informal school fees, as well as unaffordable school materials and the possibility of tuition for higher education threatens to put a high quality education out of reach for their children.

The psychological consequences of poverty

Unemployed respondents felt that their inability to find work was slowly destroying their own sense of self-confidence, and their belief that they could find a way out of their situation. People with higher education, who once occupied respectable and adequately paid positions, felt extremely humiliated by their present neediness. Some felt

x that certain forms of earning money were beneath them (such as gathering and getting refunds on bottles from public garbage bins). Others preferred to go hungry rather than become indebted for their utilities, a position they found humiliating. Interviews with health officials in several districts suggests a noticeable increase in the level of alcoholism (especially among men) and mental illness (including depression) among women. While some female respondents expressed suicidal thoughts, the factual accounts of neighbors, family members, and acquaintances who had committed suicide all referred to men.

Vulnerable groups

Findings from the interviews correspond to those from household surveys conducted in Latvia. Thus, individuals and households who appear particularly at risk of poverty and its consequences include; · households with three or more children · single-parent (usually but not always female) families · households with unemployed adults · unemployed people nearing retirement age · disabled people

Large families had several problems. Particularly if they live in apartments served by central heating, gas, electricity, and hot and cold water, they have high utility bills. If they have not paid to install meters, their bills are assessed according to the number of members registered in the household. Families with small children are less able to conserve on heat and cooking fuel. Families with children also have considerable expenses connected with school (including kindergartens), including clothing, textbooks, school supplies, lunches, bus or trolley transportation to school, as well as unofficial fees that schools increasingly demand to cover operating expenses. As a result, many large poor families depend to a greater or lesser extent on Social Assistance.

Single parent families in the sample consisted of unmarried mothers, in some case where the father did not provide support; divorced or widowed parents, and increasingly, intact families where the spouses lived separately for economic reasons (such as working elsewhere, or assisting relatives on a farm in exchange for food). The situation was particularly difficult for divorced women whose husbands refused to pay child support, either because of disinterest or because they were unemployed.

Unemployed people, particularly those nearing retirement age are vulnerable for three reasons: few employers are willing to take on people of their age, particularly in a work environment when even people over 35 or 40 find it difficult to find jobs. Older respondents reported that even the State Employment Office sometimes refused to refer them to jobs or retraining courses on the basis of their age; many of them are socially isolated if they have lost a spouse and their adult children have moved elsewhere; some retired early and their pensions are therefore small.

xi Disabled people have few or no chances of employment, given widespread unemployment. Although most of them receive some kind of social assistance, for those who were the family breadwinner, their small pension must sometimes support the entire family. The disabled -- even those work capable, such as epileptics -- have been fired, and feel they have no legal protection or rights. In some cases, individuals found themselves without rights to a disability pension when it turned out that their employers had not paid the social tax for years.

Ethnicity and nationality

The two principle poverty-related issues concern citizenship, and linguistic proficiency in Latvian. A number of respondents had lost their jobs allegedly because they could not speak Latvian (among this groups were also Latvian citizens with a Russian-speaking parent), and had been unable to find new employment for the same reason. Views on whether being non-Latvian (usually Russian or Ukrainian) differed, however, with some Russians feeling disadvantaged in looking for work, and some Latvians in industrial towns feeling that Russians, who had retained their Soviet-era connections with the factories, had a better chance of employment.

While Russian speakers are increasingly sending their children to Latvian language schools, and themselves have tried to find Latvian language courses, some were discouraged at the price of the quality of the language instruction in schools, and the price of the adult language courses, and/or the difficulty of learning Latvian as an older person. Those who had emigrated from Russian and Ukraine sometimes expressed their sense of isolation, since high costs prevent close contact with relatives abroad, and they had not established strong local support networks.

Gender differences

Respondents perceived very pronounced differences in the impact of poverty on men and women. Men expressed a sense of “social impotence,” the inability to fulfill socially important roles as breadwinners for their family. As a result, many used alcohol and some used suicide as forms of escape. Many female respondents felt that men had collapsed under the current stresses, while they, because of their sense of responsibility to their children and their greater psychological adaptability, had taken on greater burdens and become more proactive in their search for solutions. At the same time, women expressed grievances that they were frequently refused jobs on the basis of their age and/or appearance, and the fact that they had children. Others were forced to balance income with child care expenditures, sometimes quitting their jobs to stay at home.

Material living conditions

During the Soviet period, most citizens paid nominal amounts for rent and utilities. Today, households find these items have become one of the biggest drains on their budget. People living in urban apartment buildings are most often hooked up to central heating, hot and cold water, gas, and electricity, but find that they are rapidly

xii going into debt for these utilities. Many of our respondents had accrued hundreds of lats in debt, some had traded their apartments for less well-served apartments in poorer neighborhoods, or private houses, in order to save on such expenses. Quite a few respondents had had their electricity service cut off; some had illegally reconnected it. Some substituted other kinds of fuel, such as wood, others had paid to install meters and found their bills became smaller. Paying for utilities is a smaller issue in rural areas, where most dwellings, particularly small private houses, use wood heating. Some respondents managed to purchase wood, others cut illegally from the forest.

Few respondents in our sample had been able to afford capital repairs, and many dwellings were in abysmal shape, with plumbing no longer functioning, broken sewage and water pipes, and extensive rot and mildew.

Although some spatialization of poverty has appeared, as people sell or trade larger flats for smaller ones which are not served by public utilities, this stage is only in the initial phase. Poor areas were not necessarily connected in respondents’ mind with greater criminality; rather, areas with bars or nightclubs tended to be considered more dangerous.

The informal labor market

Unemployment

Dissolution of industrial enterprises and collective farms and widespread unemployment. In towns where industrial enterprises were concentrated, their closure has put a large proportion of the population out of work. Likewise, dissolution of the collective farms has particularly hit unskilled collective farm workers, and their children, who have only a minimal education. As a result, most of the respondents were surviving from a variety of informal strategies. Income generating strategies include: · subsistence gardening and farming, and raising farm animals, mainly for subsistence, with occasional sale of surplus in local markets. · wage labor on local private farms, in exchange for modest amounts of cash, sometimes room and board, meals, preserved food, and/or alcohol · gathering berries, mushrooms and medicinal plants in the forest for sale in town or city markets · forestry work (for men), cutting lumber for local sawmills · working in shops · buying and selling (of cosmetics, cheap clothing from Lithuania, used books, and so forth, either door-to-door, in public places, or in local markets · performing services, usually on the basis of past training and occupation (cutting hair, giving injections; giving tutoring, catering, repairing plumbing, etc.) · home enterprises (knitting and sewing, making flower bouquets, greeting cards, etc.) heavy labor and construction (working on building renovations and repairs)

Other ways of making ends meet include:

xiii · cutting back -- not using heat or other utilities, not buying clothes, restricting food purchases, canceling paper subscriptions, consulting pharmacists rather than doctors · searching in garbage cans for food or empty bottles which can be turned in for money · selling blood to hospitals · bringing home food from current or previous places of employment, such as canteens or cafes · juggling debts (alternating small payments for rent and utilities to avoid being cut off or evicted · exchanging assistance and labor on gardens for assurance of inheriting property

Unemployment benefits, pensions, and social assistance

Unemployment and unemployment assistance

By registering with the State Employment Service (SES), people become eligible to receive unemployment benefits, job referrals, and sometimes the opportunity to do short-term public works, take retraining courses at state expense, and for those of pre- pension age, assurance they will receive at least a small pension. Unfortunately, some of the respondents lost their job and registered only to learn their employers had not paid the unemployment tax, and that they therefore did not qualify for unemployment benefits. Others exhausted their six months of benefits, and thereafter were only able to find “unofficial” jobs, which pay no benefits.

Most respondents had lost hope the SES would find them jobs, since when it did refer them, the jobs were either completely out of line with their qualifications, or so far from their homes that transportation fees severely reduced the value of the wages. Most people felt that only personal connections helped in finding work. The unemployed also felt limited in terms of moving to areas with more work, since they didn’t have money to move, they lacked confidence in finding anything, and some helped elderly parents living nearby.

Many respondents were interested in taking retraining courses, and some had done so and improved their situation. Others complained that they were rejected because of their age, or that demand was so great that one had to wait forever.

Some people had received temporary employment in public works through their local municipalities. In many cases, they were paid in the form of apartment and heating subsidies or other forms of social assistance. Others disdained such work, which mainly involved maintenance of public areas and streets, for fear of being humiliated in front of acquaintances from an earlier and more prosperous period in their lives.

xiv Pensions and child benefits

Respondents received these payments, which come from the national budgets, on time. Again, problems arose when people entitled to old age or disability pensions retired and found out their employers had not been paying into the social tax. Generally, people criticized these payments for being too small. Pensioners, in particular, bitterly resented the fact that they had worked hard their whole life and could no longer think of enjoying a dignified old age.

Social assistance provided by municipalities

The kinds and extent of assistance varies with municipalities, depending on local budgets. In addition, perceptions of local Social Assistance offices varied according to municipality. Indeed, some municipalities lacked social assistance offices, and applicants dealt directly with a staff member of the municipality office. The attitude of staff appears more important than the size of the assistance alone, since respondents were aware that most localities were working with very limited budgets.

Most often, recipients expressed annoyance that their treatment appeared to depend mainly on the individual official handling their application, that rules and policies were unclear, and that office staff were frequently rude to them. Women with many children said they had been criticized for their “thoughtlessness” in having so many children; disabled and ill respondents had been forced to return repeatedly to the office; others had only obtained help after applying directly to the mayor. In some cases, respondents had been refused because -- in the case of pensioners -- an adult child was registered in their apartment and allegedly providing financial support, even when in fact their child not only failed to provide support, but did not actually live in their apartment.

Assistance from NGOs

Relatively fewer respondents among our sample had received assistance from NGOs (including churches), and those who did tended to live in cities or towns, rather than in villages. Some had received assistance from membership organizations of particular groups, such as the Union of the Disabled, The Latvian Children’s Fund, Union of Families with Many Children, or Union of the Blind. Others had received humanitarian assistance from international NGOs such as Save the Children or the Salvation Army. Knowledge about NGOs is not widespread in the population, however. To the extent that some had received humanitarian aid through the municipalities, there was considerable skepticism as to whether this had been fairly distributed.

Health and nutrition

A majority of respondents felt that their health and the health of those around them had deteriorated as a result of poor living conditions and stress. Diseases such as tuberculosis have appeared again, particularly among children in poor families. Despite

xv this fact, most respondents reported that they tend to consult pharmacists and buy what they think are appropriate medications rather than paying to see a doctor, except in the direst emergency. Many people said they had serious conditions, some of which required surgery, but that they couldn’t afford the treatment.

Some respondents felt that the quality of medical care and the availability of new tests and drugs had improved, although these were now very expensive in relation to incomes. Rural residents, however, distrusted local practitioners, and felt that these doctors often failed to refer them to Riga for fear of having misdiagnoses and incorrect treatment discovered. In other cases, people were referred but couldn’t’ afford transportation costs.

Most of the respondents in the sample lacked medical insurance, either because they felt they couldn’t afford it, or because they found the system confusing and did not understand it. Some families had purchased it for the adults but not for the children. Others had decided to wait until they needed hospital treatment, and then to buy insurance and wait the necessary week or so before it took effect to seek treatment. Some pensioners reported that when the price of insurance rose to 18 Ls, they turned in their policies to ask for their money back. Others preferred to pay doctors directly and “under the table,” arguing that in this way they could “jump the queue” and be assured of more attentive service. When in the hospital, even for treatment of illnesses which under the law are to be treated for free, respondents reported paying hundreds of Lats in presents for the doctors, payments to nurses and orderlies, to make sure they or their family members received adequate attention.

Few of our respondents invested in preventive health care, but rather waited until great illness to see a doctor, or until unbearable pain to see a dentists. Particularly among older respondents, their health was badly affected by a lifetime of alcohol abuse, and heavy smoking. The only preventive measure most families reported was an effort to provide sufficient vitamins to their children, in the form of fruit and vegetables, honey and herb teas. Alternatively, people increasingly consulted diviners or folk healers, who demanded very modest fees, even overlooking these on occasion.

Urban women felt that there was much more information available about contraception, and that family planning products were now relatively easy to find in shops. rural women, however, complained that it was difficult to get information, and that they did not trust the competence of their local doctors in this area. Hospital delivery conditions were very poor in some towns, such that if several women were delivering at once, there was not enough painkiller for all of them.

Parents as well as medical personnel noted that children have suffered from the poverty, and that many appear malnourished and stunted in their growth. Many suffer from frequent respiratory ailments. Fetal alcohol syndrome was also noted in families of alcoholics.

xvi Many respondents admitted to chronic anxiety and serious depression, and local health officials also noted a rise in these problems. Female respondents sometimes treated this medically; men in our sample typically resorted to alcohol.

The education system in transition

Attitudes toward education

Attitudes toward education differed considerably among respondents, in part as a function of their own education and social status. Educated parents were prepared to make considerable sacrifices, including selling important household assets, to assure a good secondary and higher education for their children, both as a value sui generis, and as the key to obtaining well-paid employment.

Poorly educated respondents, including former collective farm workers, rural inhabitants, and dysfunctional and alcoholic families, were more inclined to think that education was not particularly important or useful for their children, and would not help them find good employment. It was particularly among the dysfunctional and/or alcoholic families that serious truancy, however, was a problem. Some families had never even registered the birth of their children, who had thus fallen entirely out of any system which could have monitored school attendance. In other cases, the family had moved to a new municipality and the children have not been registered there.

Paying for education

Parents also complained that education related costs were one of the largest items in their budget. Expenses included textbooks, which teachers could arbitrarily pick and change, exercise books, which could not be passed down from child to child, unofficial school fees which increasingly cover school operating costs, school clothing and equipment, bus transportation, and sometimes, bribes for entrance examinations. Many parents received some subsidies from local SA offices, including one-time payments for school related costs, or free lunches, although some children found the latter stigmatizing because they were served separately, and teased by their better-off classmates.

Problems of quality and access

Parents were concerned that a two-tier educational system is developing, where children of well-off families, living in cities and towns, have access to the elite, well- equipped schools, while poorer children, particularly in rural areas, are limited to poor quality nearby schools. Parents were concerned about the fall in the quality of instruction, as many of the best teachers sought better paid work, leaving behind those unable to find other work.

In some cases, parents in Russian-speaking communities such as Daugavpils complained about the poor quality of Latvian language instruction. Whatever their nationality, parents were upset that rather than learning good Latvian, their children ended

xvii up speaking Russian with each other. Russian parents were disturbed because they were trying to mainstream their children, and Latvian parents were disturbed because they felt that Latvian children shouldn’t have such problems at schools purporting to use Latvian as the language of instruction.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL POLICY

Poverty, as the interviews for this study suggest, usually results from a combination of factors than a single event, such as job loss or illness. The study suggests that the following issues should be addressed as part of any comprehensive policy directed at poverty:

High housing costs: Housing costs have become a severe burden for poor families; high costs lead to serious indebtedness, cause families to go without services that are important for maintaining family health (heating, electricity, working plumbing), and destabilize families forced to move from their homes. This destabilization, in turn, ruptures long- standing neighborhood support networks which are important for helping families cope with day-to-day difficulties

Medical costs: Poor families are more prone to health problems (the result of poor nutrition, economic-related stress, failure to invest in preventive health care, industrial accidents, etc.) and less able to pay both official fees AND under-the-table costs. Poor health contributes to poor public health (through the spread of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases); sick people are less employable and a potentially greater burden on the social budget and social insurance.

Public health and alcoholism: Alcoholism is a serious problem in Latvia, and very markedly among poor respondents, particularly in depressed rural areas where young school leavers find neither work nor entertainment. It is related to industrial and road accidents, birth defects, premature deaths of working age people, particularly men, dysfunctional families, and neglected children. While the causes of alcoholism are complex, the phenomenon itself clearly affects poverty as cause, consequence, and a maintaining and exacerbating factor.

Access to education: Poor families are less able to pay for their children’s school supplies, for “extra” courses in foreign languages, for extracurricular activities, and for cultural excursions; they are excluded because of low income from the better quality new “elite” public and private schools, and less able to pursue higher education because of tuition expenses, transportation, room and boarding expenses. Children from poor families, particularly those in poorly served rural areas, are therefore more likely to remain unskilled and less competitive as the economy improves.

Access to information: A prevalent complaint among poor respondents is the difficulty in obtaining clear information about opportunities, entitlements, and rights. Limitations in access are compounded by poor peoples’ access to the media (when their TVs break down, when they give up newspaper subscriptions; when they reduce socializing; when

xviii they lose connections with colleagues and workplaces). Lack of information in turn reduces peoples’ abilities to muster resources to cope with their own difficulties, and increases their vulnerability to exclusion (through age, gender, ethno/linguistic, or disability related discrimination) and exploitation.

The vicious cycle of poverty: As the foregoing paragraphs suggest, income poverty – lack of financial resources -- interacts with many other factors which have a feedback by perpetuating or exacerbating the factors that lead to income poverty. For this reason, a multi-pronged approach which acknowledges the many dimensions of poverty will be the most successful in confronting the challenge of alleviating poverty in Latvia.

xix xx

CHAPTER 1: OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

AN ECONOMY IN TRANSITION

Latvia is a small country of 64,589 square km. Of its population of 2.5 million, 69% live in urban (town and city) areas, 31% in rural areas. Bordering Estonia, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania, Latvia experienced centuries of German, Swedish, Polish and Russian rule. In 1918, however, Latvia became independent. The eastern portion of the country, Latgale, which still retains a distinctive regional identity, joined Latvia in 1919. By 1940, however, Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union. In the following decades, construction of huge industrial plants attracted thousands of skilled and unskilled workers to Latvia, reducing the share of ethnic Latvians in the country from 75% before World War II, to 52% by 1989. As a result of its skilled work force and developed infrastructure, Latvia achieved one of the highest standards of living in the Soviet Union, where along with Estonia and Lithuania, it was frequently referred to as “our Europe” or the “Soviet abroad.”

After independence, Latvian industries lost their sources of raw materials together with their Soviet market, but were unable to purchase raw materials at world prices or compete with western products. Likewise, although collective farms were privatized, farmers were unprepared to compete with Western agriculture. By 1993, the GNP had slipped to 49% (35% for industry and 60% for agriculture) of the 1990 figures. Price liberalization in 1991 and 1992 and price increases throughout the ruble zone led to hyperinflation, which reached 958% in 1992. Inflation was brought under control after 1992, and the Latvian currency, the lat, introduced in 1993. The subsequent devaluation of money held by the national savings bank (Sberkasse, where the majority of older Latvians saved money), however, and the 1995 banking crisis following the collapse of the largest bank in the Baltic states, Banka Baltija, further depleted peoples’ savings.1

Since 1997, the macroeconomic situation has slowly improved, although growth is still modest compared to the countries of Central and East Europe. And although growth occurred in the construction (5.3%) and service sectors (4.7%), as of 1997, the agricultural sector continued to decline.2 The restructuring of the economy has also been accompanied by closure and/or failure of many large enterprises, along with mass redundancies.

During this period, poverty has become widespread. As in other former Soviet countries, poverty on a mass level is a relatively new phenomenon in Latvia. Although

1 This chapter draws on Aadne Aasland (ed.), Latvia: The impact of the transformtion. The NORBALT Living conditons Project. FAFO Report 188. 2 See Latvia: Human Development Report. UNDP. Riga. 1997. poverty existed Latvia, as elsewhere in the Soviet Union, it was not a topic for public discussion, since according to Marxist-Leninist ideology, such problems had been successfully solved by socialism. It was only at the end of the Eighties and beginning of the Nineties that people started to speak publicly about poverty and the problems of survival.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this Social Assessment (SA) is to provide information not available through standard quantitative surveys. As the title suggests, it is based on extensive discussion with poor people themselves. It is hoped that the findings will generate hypotheses which can be tested through quantitative data gathering methods, and will contribute to the formulation of policies designed to alleviate poverty.

METHODOLOGY

2 As a qualitative study, it should complement large national household surveys, which are better able to demonstrate the prevalence or depth of poverty, but provide less information about reasons and dynamics of poverty, as well as the motivations and perceptions of poor people. For this reason, many case examples have been included in the text to provide the reader with an insight into how different poverty-related factors combine in practice.

3 CHAPTER 2: THE DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY

How Latvians think about poverty today reflects the recent experiences of widespread poverty, as well as ideological changes in how people view the relationship between the individual and society. To what extent should individuals take responsibility for their own economic situation, and to what extent does society bear some responsibility for enabling individuals to lead a better life? What role should the state play in economic life? How Latvians answer these questions has considerable significance for social policy and the distribution of resources in Latvian society .

CONCEPTUALIZING POVERTY

Poverty as relative Most Latvians define poverty in relative terms, by comparing their situation with that of those around them, or by comparing their situation today with that in the past (or the hoped for future). When comparing themselves with others, most respondents prefer to look at those living in roughly similar conditions, taking comfort in the perception that life has become more difficult for everyone, and that their difficulties are not primarily the result of personal inadequacies or failure. Likewise, many respondents brought up their observations of the many people in the street who not only beg, but search through garbage containers for food. On the one hand, respondents expressed the fear that such a fate might await them; on the other, such sights also reassured them that their own situation could be far worse.

The relativity of poverty Although the family of Galina (age 49) has undergone a rapid decline in well-being during recent years, Galina claims that her situation is not so bad. She does not consider her family “poor.” In Liepâja, where they live, she points out, there are many people who are poorer, such as the old women who beg for money and food in the market. Galina feels sorry that she cannot help them by giving them food or money. She explains to them that she is unemployed, and they understand her.

People also base evaluations of their own positions on their stereotypes regarding differences between urban and rural life. Rural people consider that except for the very elderly, urban residents have more difficulties because they cannot provide for their own food; urban residents, however, view villages as desolate, isolated, and devastated by unemployment and widespread alcohol abuse. In terms of social groups, pensioners are inclined to consider that large families and unemployed people have the most difficulties, while parents with many children believe that retired people living alone are in the most difficult situation.

Relatively few respondents compared themselves with the wealthy. When they did so, they spoke in hostile terms, emphasizing the social injustice and the unfair distribution

4 of resources that took place after independence. Explanations varied. For one respondent, it was the law of the jungle, and natural selection operating, such that only the fittest could survive. Alternatively, others consider that wealth results from successful risk- taking, or as a respondent Vecsaule municipality expressed it: “The new rich are much more clever. They took a risk and they gained a lot.”

Comparing oneself with the wealthy A 36 year old widowed nurse, mother of 4, living in Livani, comments: “When I see and compare myself with others, I feel poor, because I cannot give to my child what he needs. When working people have to worry about whether they have enough money to feed their children and they can hardly make ends meet, it isn't normal. It isn’t fair that top government officials can add large sums to their salaries, whereas we… the comparison is dramatic.”

At the same time, many respondents compared their life today with their conditions in the past, with their former possibilities and living standards. Many of them live much more poorly today, with more limited possibilities, and no longer feel as much a part of society as they did in the past.

Comparing past and present "The contrast between the present situation and the life before the restoration of independence is enormous. The most unpleasant aspects of poverty are: cold, rheumatism, lack of hot water; inability to eat what one wants, or even to afford music” (female respondent with higher education, age 34, living in Atasiene). "A few years ago one would not have believed he could not be able to afford buying butter, cheese or sausage." Mother of 5, 34 years old, living in Rauna, in Vidzeme. "In the past we even wanted to buy a car and were saving money for it. We could raise a calf, sell it and buy a sofa for the money; now it is no use to raise livestock for the market. Forage alone costs more than what you finally get for selling the calf." (cleaning woman, age 50, living in Rezekne district).

Describing poverty To describe their situation, the people avoided the word "poverty"; more often they spoke of subsistence, making ends meet, poor conditions, a hard financial situation. The following comment from a 45 year old female agronomist living in Livani was typical: "If I openly admit myself to be poor, life will become psychologically harder."

In describing themselves, most respondents were careful to distinguish between a shortage of basic resources, and being incapable of providing for themselves, and drew a line between the extreme poverty of not being able to afford food, and inability to afford afford important items such as school supplies for their children. Or they would point out that they manage to pay housing and food expenses, but had no money left over for anything else. Annex II notes the linguistic distinctions Latvian speakers make in describing poverty.

During the interviews, respondents identified three principle aspects, or degrees, of poverty:

5 · Insufficient resources to meet basic subsistence needs · Inability to pay for anything outside basic subsistence needs · Inability to adequately provide for oneself or one's family without depending on others

Poverty as a form of dependence "The worst thing in this situation is the feeling that you are a pauper, that you have to go somewhere and beg” (man, age 35, father of 4 small children, living in Vidzeme). "The unbearable thing about this situation is the constant feeling of being dependent on somebody or something - on rude young people, on the willingness or unwillingness of bureaucrats, on people from whom you have to borrow money” (female pensioner, 81, living in Lielvarde).

What is a “poor person?” According to respondents, a poor person is one who · cannot satisfy basic physiological needs · cannot afford nutritious food · cannot pay for rent and municipal services · cannot afford to call the doctor in case of illness · cannot pay for necessary medicines · wears clothes until they fall to pieces, · cannot afford adequate footwear · has difficulty paying for children’s school expenses or planning for their further education · cannot afford to meet his/her cultural or intellectual needs · feels insecure about the future · sees no sense in life and no prospects for improvement

EXPLAINING POVERTY

Respondents analyze the reasons for poverty differently, depending in part on whether they are old or young, retired or young, with or without families to support. Whatever their views, there was consensus that the main reasons were social -- the collapse of the old economic system and the fact that a well-functioning new system has not yet developed. Overall, the causes they suggested involved either larger social forces over which individuals have little control, and those which involved people’s individual capacity to adapt to new conditions. In many cases, they viewed the causes as complex and interrelated. For example, an individual might lose his or her job because of enterprise closure, but then become depressed over the situation, start drinking, and become even less capable of finding work and improving his/her situation.

Inadequate, low and late salaries Many of Latvia’s poor are the working poor. They find they are working just as hard as before, but their salaries have dropped precipitously, particularly in proportion to higher prices. Even when their salaries appear good “on paper,” those who work for old

6 enterprises near bankruptcy, reported that their wages are often months late. An industrial worker in Daugavpils recalled: “At the end you literally had to beg for 5 lats a week. Those who wanted more had to buy chocolates and cognac for the cashiers.” Members of a school staff reported they had not received wages in months, because, as the municipal chairman explained, the municipality itself didn’t have the money.

Working harder for less money A 42 year old nurse, earning 70 lats a month, recalls, “In comparison with the past, the amount of work has significantly increased, while salaries remain the same or are even smaller. Besides, we are in constant fear of losing our jobs, therefore intrigues flourish, medical personnel try to slander each other in order to maintain their own good relations with the authorities. Often I have to smile when I am angry or feel injustice. My work in the emergency room is really difficult, and I am exhausted at the end of a work day. Nearly all my salary goes for rent, and nothing is left for me or my children

Unemployment and the fear of unemployment Respondents emphasized that unemployment was not only responsible for poverty, but also had devastating psychological consequences, particularly for the long- term unemployed. Those who were finding it difficult to find new jobs, and often became apathetic, depressed, and prone to abuse alcohol. Several respondents had or family members who had committed suicide after prolonged periods of unemployment. One respondent described as following the anomaly of being capable and ready to work, but unable to manage: "Your hands and feet are whole and all right, but you are unable to earn living." Some respondents said they lived in constant fear of being fired. The working atmosphere had deteriorated, with people trying to slander each other while maintaining their good relationship with the employers.

The impact of unemployment "Young people about 30 and 40 walk around the village in groups of four or five. They do no work. Could one see anything like that before? Women sit at home in nearly every apartment, you can go and see it wherever you like. They keep visiting one another and chatting. Where has it been like that before? You hurried home from work and had hardly any time for doing household chores"(Tatiana, Malta village).

Inflation, currency reform, and the collapse of the "Baltija" Bank Many people, particularly elderly persons, had saved money during the Soviet period and put it into the savings bank with the hope of making their old age easier The currency reform and hyperinflation (which reached a maximum of 958 % in 1992) sharply reduced the value of these savings, and people lost great amounts. Pensioners in particular suffer from the knowledge that they worked their whole life and saved money, and they have nothing to show for these efforts. Many people blame these events for their poverty. Likewise, the collapse of the Baltija Bank also deprived many people of considerable savings.

7 Loss of lifetime savings A rural pensioner, Elza, 60, from Kandava, had saved 1000 rubles, quite a large sum during the Soviet period. She recalls, "I put all the money which I got for selling goods from our private plot, such as milk, eggs, meat) into the savings bank. When all the reforms started, I understood nothing. So my money stayed there until there was hardly enough for a few shopping trips.”

Low agricultural prices, high costs of technology and difficulties of marketing Rural families find it difficult to make money because of low prices for produce, and the high prices of inputs and hiring technical services. Respondents who had worked hard in the past to develop cash crops for the Soviet market find the market has collapsed. They may continue to sell small amounts, but now find themselves in competition with imported produce that comes in without any form of control. As a result, they tend to grow mainly for subsistence.

How rural producers see their problems · There are few established places at which to sell produce (formerly, the collective farms purchased local produce, now they only buy “from their friends”) · Cafe, restaurant and shop owners buy produce at large wholesale houses where prices are lower, and have little interest in buying locally · local buyers have little money, and therefore prefer buy cheap imported produce · small producers cannot successfully compete against larger, specialized producers whose products are perceived as being of higher quality

Assigning responsibility Respondents expressed considerable distrust in government and government officials, whom some respondents blame for their poverty. Others expressed disgust with what they perceived as the hedonistic habits of government officials and their lack of sympathy with the rest of the population. Some respondents felt that the former members of the Communist Party had been the main ones to benefit from the transition: “They have been plundering everything and eating so much that they cannot carry their own stomachs" (a retired woman, age 72).

Respondents felt that the competence level of civil servants was very low, and that relations with bureaucrats depended too much on individual personalities and too little on clear, straightforward procedures and regulations. Moreover, respondents expressed a sense of powerlessness toward government officials, nostalgically recalling that “during the Soviet period, at people had a place where they could complain. Now the state does not wish to take any responsibility, and people are exhausted from their economic and social problems.”

Criticism of the state was balanced by respondents’ acknowledgment that socialism had cultivated dependence, the inability for people to take responsibility for their own situation, and a lack of initiative. Many respondents also made sharp distinctions between poor people and families who did what they could to extricate themselves from their own situation, and those who abused alcohol, failed to seek

8 employment, or take care of their children. Likewise, some employers complained that local people were not interested in the jobs they offered, but preferred to live, albeit poorly, on pensions and other social transfers. Families with a member who had recently upped his (or, more rarely in our interviews, her) alcohol intake, however, were prone to blame this change on external and social circumstances, such as job loss.

THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON SOCIAL RELATIONS

Another central dimension of poverty is its impact on social relationships. In Latvia as elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, people are accustomed to relying on social networks to cope with short-term and long-term difficulties. As this study reveals, however, poverty has reduced peoples’ abilities to maintain these networks at the same time as it increases their need for such forms of social support.

Poverty and family relations In particular, two trends have emerged. Either families have become more solidary, or they have disintegrated under stress. Either the continuous anxiety to make ends meet, as well as perception of one spouse that the other spouse wasn’t doing as much as he or she could, have worsened relationships, sometimes to the point of separation or divorce. In other cases, the difficult economic situation has forced people to stay together, as in the case of women with children staying with a husband because they understand they will have difficulty on their own, trying to take care of small children and working at the same time. Often, as lack of financial resources have forced people have reduce their socializing outside the family circle, the family has become their only shelter, and sometimes the only group that can be trusted.

Pressures toward solidarity Last year Aivars (34) and Vivita (34) separated for several months, “because of difficulties,” as Vivita says. Later they decided to return to each other, as it is simply easier for two people to survive than one. Aivars is able to bring home food from the hospital where he works, and is able to all kinds of work in the house.

In many interviews, wives have cited their husband’s unemployment as being the catalyst of a serious drinking problem, which has made family relations much worse, leading in some cases to physical abuse of wife and children. Parents note that relations with their children have come under strain, as their children lose respect for parents who are unable to meet their material and status needs, (for items such stylish school clothing, etc.).

The impact of poverty on socializing Because people cannot afford to host guests, or to buy gifts to take on visits, they have curtailed their socializing, both as guests and hosts. If possible, respondents said, they try to celebrate their children’s birthdays, and Christmas, albeit with small and symbolic gifts. This trend was noted in both rural and urban areas. For most respondents, the decrease in socializing further depressed and isolated them. Interviewers noted that

9 people without family support networks -- particularly childless couples or individuals -- have many more day to day difficulties.

Decreased socializing “During the past two years we have not celebrated any holidays with others. We cannot afford to invite anyone to our house, and we feel uncomfortable visiting others without bringing a present. Before, we used to celebrate all our birthdays by inviting guests, usually 10 friends and relatives). We also visited people often, as we could afford to buy flowers as well as small gifts. The lack of contact leaves one depressed, creates a constant feeling of unhappiness, and a sense of low self-esteem.”

Such help from relatives is only possible if they live within the territory of Latvia. For people who immigrated to Latvia from other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly Russia or Ukraine, opportunities to stay in touch are much more limited in such cases.

Neighbors and friends Although poverty has had a negative impact on friendship relationships, in many respondents’ view, close friends nevertheless continue to play a significant supportive role. Support received from friends is not necessarily in the form of material assistance, but may consist of information and or help in locating employment, for example.

Relations between neighbors also play a critical role in peoples’ lives. Many respondents borrow and lend small amounts of money back and forth for daily necessities, to repay their debts. Some respondents said they and their children would eat at a neighbors at the end of the month, when they ran out of money. Neighbors perform numerous services for each other, such as looking after each others’ children, or helping each other in the field during harvest season. In Ventspils, several respondents said that they had literally only a few santimes in their wallets, and were getting by with the assistance of small loans from neighbors. In one case, neighbors in a rural apartment building reported combining their households in order to survive.

Stratification of society From the perspective of respondents, society has become more stratified, divided into those who are conspicuously wealthy, and those who are just getting by, or even very poor. Most respondents felt that rich and poor live in separate worlds from each other, in that “the rich do not understand the poor,” “we have our problems -- how to survive; they have their problems -- how to guard their fortunes.” Most respondents stressed the fact that they did not have close acquaintances among the new rich, and that they knew little about their lives. Parents felt that this polarization had affected their children, who sometimes became hostile to those children who appeared to have everything they lacked.

Respondents who had previously enjoyed better living standards and a higher social status particularly suffer from the alteration in their relative social position. They experience their poverty as decreasing social status, which in turn has diminished their

10 self-confidence and feelings of well-being. As a retired accountant (71) put it, she “feels as if there is a sign written on her forehead, which says: ‘Does not have money.’”

Class differentiation A mother of five children in Liepaja notes increasing differentiation among rich and poor children. “People who make decisions and have high salaries do not understand those who do not have work and money. They send their children to good schools. They take their child to school by car and they meet their child by car. In some schools, there are children who have seen the world only through the window of a car.”

CONCLUSIONS

For poor people in Latvia, poverty refers to more than income level, or the inability to provide for subsistence. Rather, each person assess poverty relative to the live they used to enjoy, or, depending on the context, relative to the lives of those around them. For the most part, respondents ascribed the responsibility for their poverty to the government and its officials for poor policies and indifference, and to both officials and the new wealthy for irresponsibility and stealing the peoples’ wealth. Moreover, people tended to define poverty broadly, as including the inability to enjoy cultural, social and intellectual life as they did during Soviet times, and to engage in the kinds of activities (festivities, socializing, and so forth) that they could once afford. They define it as humiliation, the sense of being dependent on others, and forced to accept rudeness, insults, and indifference when they seek help. Many poor respondents also look outside their own immediate situation, and deplore what they see as a general trend in their society, the development of “two separate worlds” of rich and poor, people with possibilities, and those who find themselves excluded from such possibilities.

11 CHAPTER 3: MATERIAL LIVING CONDITIONS

HOUSING CONDITIONS

Rising housing costs, shrinking incomes Today, the disparity between income and the cost of communal services, particularly heating and electricity, constitutes a severe hardship for many respondents, given unemployment, low salaries, and the rise in costs. For many people we interviewed, the cost of monthly communal services equals or surpasses their salaries, and many have accrued significant debts. There seems little doubt that the high price of utilities is an important contributor to poverty, especially in large families when one or more adult is unemployed, or for pensioners who live alone on small pensions in a large apartment with all amenities. In order to keep up with payments, families increasingly cut back on other necessary expenses, such as food, medicine and school fees, to keep up with rent; unsuccessful households have been evicted and resettled in substandard housing, others have voluntarily left the apartments where they have lived for many years.

The high cost of services As one respondent complained, "The main problem for subsistence is the high cost of rent and other services. It amounts to 45-50 lats per month, but the official salary is only 42.50 lats. One salary is not enough to pay for the apartment. Of course, in the Soviet period it was better, because people received about 130 rubles per month and paid 9-10 rubles for the apartment, keeping the rest for living (RS-3).

Deteriorating exteriors and interiors Another important aspect of living conditions for our sample concerns the ongoing deterioration of their homes. Neither municipalities, nor most private landlords (who have regained homes owned before the Soviet period) are willing to put money into capital repairs. Occupants of apartment buildings now suffer as a result of poor quality Soviet-era construction techniques. The apartments are cold and largely uninsulated. Poor quality pipes and joints result in frequent plumbing problems and frequently interrupted water supply.

Renovations and capital repairs have become a frequent and often unsolved problem. During Soviet times, such repairs were the responsibility of the municipality. Today, municipalities do not have sufficient budget for reparations. In buildings for which no previous owner has applied, the housing authority is not willing to do anything. Respondents living in such apartments complained they constantly battled leaking roofs, toilets that no longer flush, blocked drains, difficulties in switching water from sink tap to shower, and gas heaters which smoke. Despite the health and safety risks, most people live with the problems until and if they can afford to hire someone privately to repair the breakdown. In a typical apartment building in Riga, for example, the residents noted that their apartment is perpetually damp because water pipes keep bursting and flooding the

12 apartments. A respondent in a town not far from Riga complained that bursting pipes frequently flood the basement of the building, and rats proliferate

Many of the interviewed households live in apartments lack all but essential items of furniture. In some cases, respondents had sold much of their furniture. Poor households which had items such as refrigerators, washing machines, and televisions usually have old Soviet models, which are on the verge of breaking down. This is of considerable concern, since television is now the only link to information and to cultural life remaining for many poor households. (Those lucky enough to have a television still in working order have, since February 1, 1998, been watching everything in black and white, since TVs manufactured in the former soviet Union cannot convert the new PAL standard into color.) Sometimes respondents were able to buy used televisions from large urban markets, for as little as 20 lats; appliances at these markets often consist of used stolen good. Quite a few respondents lacked refrigerators, for example, or the one they owned no longer worked and they could not afford to repair it.

PAYING FOR RENT AND COMMUNAL SERVICES

Housing types The kind of housing people occupy has important implications for their expenditures. The households in our sample occupy: · privatized or non-privatized apartments in municipally owned buildings with all the amenities (e.g. indoor plumbing, electricity, hot and cold water, central heating) · privatized or non-privatized apartments in municipally owned buildings which either never had central heating and/or gas, or in which these services no longer function · smaller buildings owned by private landlords · small privately owned houses, usually heated with wood, often lacking indoor plumbing

Central heating Residents of apartments still served by central heating and hot water are faced by the most serious financial problems, since monthly bills may amount to 40-60 lats, often exceeding their monthly incomes. In some of the newer apartment buildings in Jelgava, respondents complained that they were unable to regulate their central heating. The buildings were heated as much in autumn and spring as in winter (even to the point were occupants had to keep their windows open), and they had to pay commensurately.

In some cases, owners or municipalities have disconnected central heating and the hot water system disconnected because so many occupants are failing to pay their bills. Those who have paid their bills, however, complain that they have not been remunerated, but are being punished along with those who never paid. In a Livani apartment building, where the local government disconnected hot water and central heating. Since the hot water was disconnected, the basement pipes have deteriorated, and residents expect that the water will not be reconnected. The disconnection has lowered the rent, but is also a sign of how drastically the occupants’ resources have decreased.

Heating with wood In both rural and urban apartments which can no longer rely on centralized heating, occupants have installed wood-burning stoves. In some cases, rural homes were previously services by communal boiler houses belonging to the collective farm. When the farms were liquidated and “when the good Russian times eneded and this monstrous capitaism started,” in one respondent’s words, maintenance of the boiler houses was discontinued, and the apartments were left without heat. Some people have installed a so- called “Godmanis Furnace,” ironically named after the first post-independence prime minister, or else coke furnaces, and virtually everyone in formerly boiler-heated houses now has a wood-burning stove.

Some respondents expressed concern about the safety of such home installations: “First, the building is built for centralized heating. Second, this building does not have a chimney. Smoke gets into the ventilation system. We did as others did… [but] it is wrong, the stoves are dangerous.”

Heating with wood, however, is considerably cheaper than using electricity. In Ventspils, for example, a load of unchopped wood costs 30-40 lats, and a typical household spends 90 –150 lats a year on a firewood. In Latgale, respondents cited 30, lats per season as an average expense for firewood. Some respondents obtain wood from relatives who have forests on their land. Another respondent “tries to scratch together some wood or a piece of coal from anywhere” and has boards, twigs, boxes, old furniture and other fuel lying in her courtyard. Yet others cut wood illegally from the forests, risking fines, or simply not paying the fine if they are caught.

Problems of plumbing and water supply Many houses lack any sort of indoor plumbing. They have outdoor toilets or latrines, and residents must get their water from a well. In many cases, people are able to mechanically pump water in their houses, but some respondents had to carry water to the house. In some cases, when the level of water in the well is low, even cold water becomes a problem, especially if the well dries out in summer. Water quality can be a problem as well.

In the villages of Pale district, for example, only families in apartments have indoor running water; those in houses rely on wells, in some cases several hundred meters from their houses. In some cases, they may siphon it through hoses into their homes; in winter, carry it in cans. The respondents coped with the lack of hot water by washing at The problems of well water In Ventspils, 80 year old Zinaida has problems with cold water because her well dries out in summer and the water in it has a high iron content. The well should be deepened but the respondent has no money and has not even asked how much this service would cost. Getting water is also a problem Zinaida, because she no longer has the strength to carry it from the well. She is helped out by neighbors, relatives and her husband’s son.

14 the public sauna, “like our fathers’ fathers did,” for which they pay 0.60 lats, going to relatives who lived in apartments with showers, or heating up water at home, first letting it stand until it reaches room temperature, then adding some heated water.

Telephone costs Not all the interviewed families (particularly in rural areas) have telephones. Those who do, however, were upset that the subscription cost was to rise to 2.50 lats a month. They were also angry at the fact of rising costs and poor service – in bad weather, making a call in the village can be almost impossible. For poor families, the cost of local calls can be prohibitive. In municipalities of Pale, however, villagers reported that local phone calls were free. In Pale people pay 2.36 a month. Calls to Riga or other cities can up a monthly phone bill to 10 lats, however. Lattelekom tends to cut off service after one month of non-payment, and several Riga respondents reported their service had, indeed, been terminated.

HOW HOUSEHOLDS STRATEGIZE TO PAY FOR HOUSING SERVICES

The impact of housing costs on different households The high price of utilities affects two population groups in particular: large families, and pensioners. Large families and/or people in large apartments -- very often pensioners, whose adult children have moved out but remain registered there -- face additional disadvantages, since the cost of hot water is reckoned according to the number of occupants, and the price of heating depends on the apartment’s square footage. For example, in Ventspils, in an apartment building well-served by all amenities, a family of ten occupying a four room apartment has to pay 200 lats a month. Pensioners not only pay according to apartment size, but are forced to pay according to the number of people registered as living in the apartment, even when they actually live alone.

Large families and indebtedness Ivars, (44) and Malda (42), live with their five children live in a 4 room apartment in Kraslava. Ivars is a stone cutter who makes gravestones; Malda is unemployed. They have a debt for heating and hot water of 480 lats. Payment gas, cold and hot running water, and garbage collection is reckoned according to household size. This upsets Malda: “I don’t put seven pots on the stove, and I don’t have seven garbage pails! Why do they assume that large families consume so much gas and water? It’s not true! I save on everything, and what food remains, I give to my friends for their livestock.” When Malda installed a water meter, she started paying 5-6 Lats less; with a gas meter, her monthly bills decreased by 2-3 Lats.

Households use different kinds of coping strategies. Families prioritize food and school-related expenses, and are often forced to run up large debts. The pensioners in our sample were more likely to choose not to heat their apartments, or to cut back on food, because they were unwilling to go into debt.

15 Groceries versus rent Tekla, a pensioner of 71 living in Daugavpils, always tries to pay her apartment rent in time, for she hates to be in debt. She was brought up with this attitude and has tried to adhere to this throughout her whole life. A mother of five children, 40, living in Bauska district, however, feels forced to expend her resources differently: "I am unemployed and have five children; do you think we can live without food? I cannot pay anything for the apartment.”

Cutting back, substituting cheaper fuel, and doing without Alternatively, people economize in various ways. A Riga interviewer noted that in most of the apartments he visited, in light fixtures intended for 5-6 light bulbs, most poor households only left 1-2 light bulbs. Alternatively, households which don’t have gas meters pay according to the number of residents registered in a dwelling rather than according to amount used. Therefore, when possible, they heat their entire apartments by keeping open the door of a lighted gas oven. Likewise, a female respondent reported saving on electricity by heating her unplugged electric iron on a gas burner. Such practices may end, however, if and when Latvijas Gaz installs meters, as it plans to do in the near future.

Some families learn to live without electricity, at least for periods. When there are school children in the home, this makes studying difficult, especially during the winter. An interviewed family reported that their children coped by staying later at school as an alternative to studying at home by candle-light.

Losing track of debts A family with six children living in Skrunda own their house, but no longer get electricity. Both parents are unemployed, and have amassed large debts. When the respondent was asked how large the debt is, she merely shrugged and responded, “Who knows? It has to be big, if they cut us off.”

Respondents who owned an apartment in a private house, or else an entire house, are able to live the most cheaply. Rent is cheaper, sometimes 5-7 Ls. Also, the homes are heated by wood, which is the cheapest way to heat. But to further conserive, most households close down several rooms during the winter, or simply keep the house relatively cold, in order to limit the amount of wood they use. Some of these houses are poorly insulated, and the winter temperature indoors sometimes comes to only 10 degrees C. In such houses, meals are prepared either on the wood stove, or on a gas stove, using purchased canisters of propane gas, at about 7-8 lats for a canister, which usually lasts about two to three months.

Poor families limit phone calls to urgent matters or try to make necessary phone calls from work (if they are employed). Others, particularly pensioners, reported cutting off phone service as a way of economizing. Yet other respondents in effect share a single telephone line. A pensioner in Vescaule municipality lets neighbors use her phone, in

16 return for which each household takes turns paying the basic rates for a month, and everyone covers their own intercity calls.

Making reduced payments While some poor households cope by simply allowing debts to accrue, sometimes up to hundreds of lats, others do their best to pay a portion of their rent or bill for gas and electricity each month as evidence of good faith, to stave off eventual eviction. Some respondents had tried this tactic, but were eventually told by the municipality that they would be evicted, unless they agreed to move on their own, into cheaper accommodations. Although people cannot be evicted from apartments they have privatized, they fear that if they accrue large debts, the municipality may attach their property.

In some cases, respondents are able to work off debts. In Pale, several residents of Aloja municipality had made deals with the local council to reduce their housing debts by making payments in firewood, which the council used for its own needs, or passed on in the form of social assistance to needy families. Elsewhere, local assistance offices subsidize housing costs, sometimes paying housing authorities directly, This practice will be discussed below, in the chapter on Social Protection.

Moving to cheaper housing In some cases, respondents dealt on their own with mounting debt by leaving central, well-served apartments for smaller apartments or small wood-frame houses, lacking central heating and hot water, with a toilet in the stairwell and no bath, often located in the city outskirts. In most cases, such moves entail considerable inconvenience. A disabled Riga respondent who lived in a three room flat with amenities and an elevator moved to a flat with few amenities, and no elevator. Other respondents were forced to leave apartments they had occupied for many years.

Trading apartments to cope with costs Until December 1997, Vera, a teacher of 36, and her son, 16, and daughter, 10, lived in a two room apartment with all amenities, in Riga. Since Vera is the only wage earner in the family, her salary of 70 to 80 lats cannot cover the 50 lats monthly bill for the apartment together with other living expenses. As a result, she began paying only 20 lats a month, and within a few years her debt reached 500 lats. Vera had repeatedly requested the housing authority to grant an extension of the date by which she was expected to pay off the debt to 1998, when her husband returns from prison (where he is serving a sentence for hitting and killing a pedestrian while driving). However, the housing manager refused her request and insisted that she vacate the apartment or be evicted. At the end of 1997, the family moved to an apartment consisting of one and a half rooms in a small wood frame house without a bathroom. The apartment is heated with wood, and lacks hot water. The rooms are small, which forced the family to give up some of their furniture. The apartment is cold and damp, since it had been unoccupied and unheated for a year.

17 Installing meters Some respondents had paid to install gas and water meters in their apartments, and found they were paying significantly less in monthly charges. Since water charges, as for other utilities, is reckoned according to the number of residents in an apartment, a four member family will pay about 23.60 lats per month. With a meter, however, the same family, by conserving water usage, can reduce payment to 9.60 lats per month, based on rates of 1.30 lats for a cubic meter of hot water and 0.30 lats for a cubic meter of cold water. The problem is paying 25-35 lats for a water meter, plus 3 lats for installation. Some respondents had decided against installing water meters, since they had to be purchased outright, and several were necessary for their apartments. Another respondent, living in Daugavpils, observed that although one should theoretically pay less, if one reckons in the monthly subscription charge for the meter, 1.21 Ls in her case, the monthly charge would end up being higher than before.

Selling assets Some residents manage to repay debts by selling household assets. A respondent from Ventspils, for example, had her electricity disconnected for one month because she owed 125 Ls. She covered most of it by selling a cow for 100 lats.

Illegal techniques Alternatively, people cope with high electricity costs by allowing the electricity to be disconnected, then reconnecting it illegally. Such acts carry the danger of fine (in Lielevarde, three times the amount of the cost of the actual electricity used), but respondents are willing to risk this. People also install meters, then “adjust them” so they don’t reflect actual usage. One respondent, for example, reported she slows down the meter and saves an additional 2-3 lats per month by means of a powerful magnet placed nearby. “If people had money,” she observed, “they wouldn’t think up such ways of deceiving the government.”

Living with debt Dace (40), Janis (42), and their 5 children live in a three room apartment with all amenities in Liepaja. They moved to this apartment 14 years ago after many years on a waiting list. Four boys share the largest room, the oldest daughter has her own small room, and the parents occupy the living room. Their debt for apartment expenses comes to 795 lats. They only use the telephone for emergencies, and pay only 80 santimes per month. Rent, heat, electricity and gas come to 83 lats a month. They use their monthly child benefits and try to pay every month, spending all their remaining money on food.

CONSEQUENCES OF NON-PAYMENT: EVICTION

Under new Latvian law, people can be evicted from rented premises when debts for rent and utilities exceed 300 lats. In principle, people are not left on the streets, but offered cheaper housing, some times in so-called the “social houses,” which lack amenities, but force residents to share kitchens and bathrooms. In some cases, the social houses have become dumping grounds for dysfunctional families and individuals.

Social houses “Social houses” are a type of social assistance provided by municipality. The Director of Social Assistance Center in Daugavpils described one such social house. A former hostel, it now has 280 places for single people, and the same number for families. The Social Assistance Center houses people who have been unable to keep up with housing payments or to maintain their families, as well as ex-prisoners who lived in Daugavpils before imprisonment. The house lacks both hot water and gas. People have access to electric cooking facilities in shared kitchens, and to showers located on the first floor. Because of the volatile mix of people, the house is guarded round the clock by a regular member of the police, and doors are locked between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Today, many poor families live in fear of being evicted.3 About 9,000 Riga families face possible eviction this winter for nonpayment of housing expenses, according to a Riga City Council member. The courts have already ordered eviction of about 1,500 families, many with children, this year, and each month, the Riga city courts review 40-60 cases involving housing arrears.4 Some respondents had built up such debts that they were, in fact, evicted, and then found themselves homeless, either forced to camp out with friends, or in buildings never intended for human habitation.

Homelessness Eduards, now 49, living in Daugavpils, became unemployed when the municipal transport depot where he worked, was closed in 1993. In 1996, he was evicted for non-payment by a Court Order, from the apartment he had occupied for 16 years. After his eviction, he sold some of his furniture, but the money lasted only a short time. At present, he lives in the attic of a building where heating pipes are located. He has made a makeshift “room” for himself from cardboard boxes and pieces of boards. Neighbors are aware that he lives there and sometimes give him some food.

CHANGING PATTERNS OF OWNERSHIP

People who live in municipal housing have the choice to privatize their apartments (also by privatization certificates). Although privatizing their apartments may give people a feeling of security and the assurance they will always have a roof over their heads, in fact, only a few of our respondents had privatized their flats. They gave the following reasons for not privatizing: they had already sold their privatization certificates because they needed the money for food and/or medicine; they had debts for rent and utilities, and apartments cannot be privatized until debts are paid off; the apartment was

3 An additional threat troubles poor families, according to the Latvian National Office of Human Rights, which deals with dozens of housing complaints. People living in premises which have been restituted to the “original owners” were guaranteed they could remain there for seven years, but now only two years remain before they can be evicted. Landlords can also evict renters who owe more than three months in back rent. 4 ETA Baltic Economic News, August 25, 1998.

19 in an old building and in bad condition; they could not afford the 50 lat fees required for the privatization procedure. An interviewer from Aluksne observed that few respondents there thought of their privatized apartments as their own private property, because in practice, it is virtually impossible to sell them, even at very low prices.

Not everyone received a sufficient number of privatization certificates to actually privatize their apartments -- the certificates were distributed on the basis of years of occupancy and on the assessed value of the apartment. Hence, people occupying expensive apartments in better parts of the town or city, for a longer time, had more privatization certificates with which to dispose. Citizens also received 15 certificates more than non-citizens.

Obstacles to privatizing Monika (age 78), living in Kurzeme, reports that after independence, all private owners of houses and land had to re-survey and re-register these assets, all at considerable expense. “I have feeling that we gave someone a gift. Nothing changed after all this surveying and re- registration. I haven’t received one additional meter of land, nor the house has grown bigger or better, but I had to spend a lot of money. The land survey cost 80 lats, the the inventory of buildings cost 15 lats, the evaluation of the land - 13 lats; the buyout agreements on the land, 8 lats, bank fees, 18 lats, transportation expenses, 23 lats. Altogether it came to 155 lats. In order to pay all that I had to sell my privatization vouchers.”

In many cases, people do not register their property -- land or buildings -- because the expenses required for registration are high in comparison with the actual profit they can make from it. In some cases, however, people have been forced to privatize by municipalities, so people were obliged to do so in order not to find themselves homeless because the municipality chose to sell the entire building.

Forced privatization Victor (age 43) and his family live in a Kurzeme apartment building consisting of eight apartments that was built in an “empty field.” In spring and autumn, the building is surrounded by mud, and water seeps in. Victor’s neighbors left for the Ukraine, where they had originally moved from, because they couldn’t stand these living conditions. But what can the local inhabitants do -- they have nowhere to move. The local municipality, however, forced everyone to privatize their apartments because someone had appeared and made an offer to buy the building. In order to protect their rights to remain there, the occupants were pressured to use their vouchers to privatize.

Residents of denationalized or privatized buildings hope that their new landlords will do major repairs that have not been done during fifty years. Many of these properties, however, have been reclaimed by pensioners who do not have the resources to do major repairs, while their children have often moved away and are not able or interested in doing such work. Hence, living conditions in such buildings remain poor, with the only occasional advantage being that rents can be as low as a few lats a month.

20 A reluctant landlord Asja, a widowed and retired teacher, 66, regained half of the house that once belonged to her mother in Ape. She now lives in one room, without any amenities, since she was not able to pay the 45 lats a month for heat in her previous apartment. She is unhappy that she had to leave that apartment, where she had lived for 35 years. Now she survives on what she grows in her garden, and partly from help from her children’s family, and feels bitterness that she has to endure such an undignified old age. Her new property is run down and needs major repairs, but she has no money for this, because all her life she has worked as a teacher, for a low salary. Some tenants pay a single lat in rent, others “pay in kind,” with a liter of cream, for example. Overall, Asja feels the return of property has only brought her worries.

CHANGING CONDITIONS IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES

Transportation The transportation situation differs a great deal regionally. Transportation has become less accessible in some areas to poor people: either service has deteriorated, and is less regular, or tickets have increased in price, in some cases beyond the budget of poor households. In the Livani region, the number of routes and price of tickets have greatly decreased accessibility to transport. In Pale, villagers complained that only one bus a day, each way, linked Pale municipality to the district town of Limbazi. Children taking weekly music lessons in Limbazi were often forced to miss class since the buses went so rarely.

There are rural areas where according to respondents, there is absolutely no public transportation, and the residents live in isolation, with greatly reduced accessibility of schools, medical care, and community events. In Pale, residents living on village outskirts, in the forest, said that the unasphalted roads were impassable after rains, “In a big blizzard I am cut off from the world and can only leave the house driving a tank.”

In a village near the Estonian border, respondents noted that there was no local transportation at all, although the services provided by long distance buses had improved, and the fares were reasonable. By contrast, in another village also near the Estonian border, respondents noted that although during the first years of independence, public transportation practically came to a standstill, now it is even better than under the Soviets, with regular service and new Swedish buses.

In the wealthy city of Ventspils, most complaints concerned the irregular service of the public transportation system and the cost of tickets (0.15 Ls a ride.) Many respondents therefore try to go everywhere on foot. Nikola is a first group disabled, married, with three children. He has difficulties in walking, and therefore, if the whole family has to go somewhere, they end up taking a cab, for which they pay about 0.60 lats a ride.

Perceptions of danger and insecurity In some urban districts, respondents emphasized their feeling of complete insecurity. If, during Soviet times, they had felt comfortable walking around at night, now

21 they are fearful even during the day. A dog-owner reported that he will only take his dog out when he sees neighbors walking their dogs. Occupants of apartment buildings in Riga, both near the center, and in the Latgale district, live in apartments where vandals have broken windows, forced open mail boxes, covered walls with graffiti, stole light bulbs from the halls, and destroyed the greenery surrounding the apartment. In addition, residents complained that neighbors were involved in gambling, and engaged in robbery to support this; that fights frequently took place near the apartments, that teenage gangs were engaged in mutual reprisals which also threatened bystanders. Respondents reported rapes, car and apartment thefts, beatings, and personal attacks that they or their neighbors had experienced. At the same time, no one mentioned the police -- in the only case where a victim had phoned the police (after an attempted rape), she did not follow up in person because she was afraid to go into the street.

Perception of crime and safety differs between rural and urban areas, and within cities. For example, in the city of Rezekne, only two of the eighteen respondents felt safe, and they were the ones living in the center, where streets are well lit and police cars cruise in the evening. The other respondents seldom go out after dark because of the poor street lighting and the crime situation. Some respondents related criminality to alcohol, and noted that crime areas were not necessarily poor parts of the town or city, but rather were the areas around bars and nightclubs.

Dangerous neighborhoods One respondent who lives in an area of apartment buildings built during the seventies, told us that she is afraid to walk in her area even in the early evening, when it is not yet dark. There is a cafe near by which must be avoided, because both the respondent’s husband and her friends’ husbands had been beaten there. One of them had to be hospitalized because his face and arms were cut with glass. The streets are in bad condition, too. In this area the streets are not even paved.

In a village and a small town in the Aluksne region, near the Estonian border, respondents felt that crime situation was mainly related to young people who got drunk and carried on “antisocial” activities. In a village near the Russian border, a respondent characterized the crime situation as serious. In Livani region, respondents noted that theft of farm animals has increased, as well as that of bicycles and mopeds, despite the evident attempts of the police to do their jobs. One respondent said that no one uses their basement anymore for storage because nothing is secure. In Pale district, most respondents felt personally secure, although people spoke of frequent break-ins to homes occupied by pensioners. People also reported frequent thefts from cellars, noting that police did not pursue or punish for such trivial offenses.

A “criminal” village Ozoli village, in Renda municipality, developed as a village to serve workers in the peat industry. According to estimates, there were sufficient peat resources for at least 50 years of work. Additional apartment buildings and a school were to be constructed. But since the closing of the factory, many apartments in Ozoli stand empty, and this village is now considered one of the worst places to live. People in the municipality think of Ozoli as a “criminal place.” Valdis, 28, one of the residents, observed that “Those who do not fit normal society are sent to Ozoli.” He has a large family (5 daughters, one of whom is disabled) and had tried to buy a farm house for his family. This proved impossible, and instead, the local municipality offered him a flat in Ozoli. Valdis and his family do not communicate with their neighbors, nor do his children play in the yard, although it is impossible to completely isolate them from their social surroundings. There is no shop nearby, but there are many places where vodka can be purchased at any time. Spatialization of poverty In towns where most people live in apartments, it is still difficult to judge the income of the residents. Building exteriors and stairwells are badly run down, poorly maintained, and vandalized. Pets have defecated in stairwells, and no-one cleans up after them. In rural areas, such as Varnava, now part of Viesite region, buildings which used to house the local library, post office, collective farm office, and an auditorium, have been vandalized and are now in a state of collapse, contributing to the deterioration of the village as a whole. Likewise, the apartment buildings which used to house the collective farm workers exhibit increasing disrepair.

For the most part, poor and affluent areas have not yet become separated in towns and cities. Yet a certain trend toward differentiation can be observed, as districts, streets and buildings of poor people gradually emerge, with some respondents noting that everyone on their street has become poor. High monthly payments, plus the large penalty fees which accompany debts, are the principle mechanisms which have stimulated this differentiation, as poor people leave well-appointed, spacious apartments in the center for cheaper accommodations in the outskirts, and wealthier people move into urban centers. In addition, there are buildings, sometimes condemned or in very bad condition – the so- called “social houses” -- where municipalities tend to house those who became homeless due to alcoholism, poverty, and other social factors.

Buildings for the poor Raisa (age 50) is Russian, non-citizen, alcoholic who searches food in garbage containers, resides in a one room apartment in Liepaja, nearby the military harbor. There are only about five families still living in the building. It lacks central heating, gas, and even water. Most of the apartments have been demolished, and many lack windows and doors. Residents have to go to the neighboring building where there is a mechanical water pump. Raisa’s apartment is furnished very sparkly. In the kitchen, she has only a small table, single chair, and a few dishes. Her electricity was disconnected, but Raisa has a friend who illegally reconnected her. She prepares meals on a small electric stove, but does not switch on her light in the evening because then everybody could see it.

23 CONCLUSION

The end of Soviet-era subsidies for housing and utilities, and the gradual government divestiture of housing stock, has confronted people with market prices at a time when many of them are living on sharply decreased salaries or just social assistance. The disparity between housing costs, and peoples’ ability to meet them, constitutes a huge shock for households, pushing many over the edge into debt. Inability to meet housing costs frequently results in termination of services, and at worst, eviction and resettlement; this in turn, ruptures continuity for school children as well as adults, now located far from neighborhood support networks. Families with small children and pensioners living on their own are particularly affected when vital services such as heat and electricity are cut, or when they are forced to uproot themselves and move their households. The pressures on them to do so, however, are contributing to the gradual differentiation of rich and poor areas in towns and cities, one that matches the social stratification emerging in Latvian society.

24 CHAPTER 4: FORMAL AND INFORMAL SURVIVAL STRATEGIES

INTRODUCTION

During the Soviet period, Latvians acquired the conviction that they were entitled to work, and if they worked, they would enjoy a moderate standard of living that was at no worse than average. They learned to consider unemployment “antisocial” and socially unacceptable. The structure of employment diminished people’s initiative, but gave them a feeling of security and stability. The collapse of enterprises left people competing for the few remaining jobs, but without the resources or confidence to move elsewhere in search of employment.

This problem stands out with particular starkness in rural areas, where large apartment buildings were constructed to house a rural labor force, working on salary in large agricultural enterprises. Dissolution of collective farm enterprises left behind dense settlements with little access to alternative employment. Those who acquired land during land reform have managed to obtain a source of income, although lack of education and skills which travel has severely limited the reemployment possibilities of former collective farm workers.

The urban and rural respondents to this study, by definition, are not among those who have managed to find good opportunities in the new economic landscape. Most of them try to piece together incomes from a variety of poorly paid salaried jobs in small private companies, shops, restaurants, farms, and rural enterprises, through temporary and/or seasonal jobs; and through small-scale entrepreneurial activities. Such employees usually remain unregistered, and their employers do not pay social taxes, which means they will not be entitled to unemployment benefits or pensions.

SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN URBAN AREAS

Working in the service sector Although women report a number of disadvantages finding work, service sector employment appears more open to them than to men. In Rezekne, for example, the most widely found job is selling, because there are shops on every street corner. Salespeople may earn 40 – 50 lats a month, shop managers up to 80. The work can be stressful, because employees are often pressured to work evenings and weekends, and know if they protest, they can easily be replaced. One such respondent, a 33 year old shop manager in Atasiene, Vidzeme, a divorced single mother of two, observed that “the worst sign of the times that there is no time to look after the children, one’s health and rest; the shop works seven days a week.”

Petty commerce A number of respondents earn money by buying and selling on their own. In some cases, they chose this strategy after failing to find other kinds of employment. For example, a mother of eight reported that no employer would take her on after hearing she had so many children. She began selling cosmetics, then switched to used clothing, which is in high demand in the countryside, where people have little cash for such items. She sells door to door, but hopes someday to open her own shop. Another respondent uses his free train pass as a registered disabled person to travel to Riga from Ventspils to purchase books in a wholesale shop. His wife sells the books daily in a market stall. Selling cosmetics Only women work in this field. The Swedish firm Oriflame has become very popular in Latvia. This firm favors direct sales of its production through distributors. Anda, 42, a biologist by training works as an accountant. Her husband Raitis (43) is a construction worker. They have three children (18, 14, 8). Anda started distributing Oriflame cosmetics to supplement her income. She offers the goods to friends, acquaintances, her daughter’s teachers, in hairdressing salons and wherever customers can be found. Unfortunately there are very few of them. People do not have any money. Sometimes she manages to earn 5-6 lats a month and also buy cosmetics for herself at lower prices. Sometimes she manages to earn 5-6 lats a month and also buy cosmetics for herself at lower prices. Vita (22) who is disabled, sells cosmetics in trains, as train fare is free of charge for her as a disabled person. She admits that the income is low, and thinks that when people do buy, they do so only out of pity.

Making use of formal training Respondents often try to use their previous training or occupation to find casual work. Doctors make injections and take care of people who suffer from serious diseases; people with university education and students give private lessons. Nurses, for example, earn money by giving injections and massages to neighbors, after working hours.

Capitalizing on training Janis, 43, a Riga resident, has lived in Riga has been a geologist all his life. Since the geological society was liquidated, Janis has not been able to find another job. In summer he puts his training to use at occasional jobs, such as searching for natural water springs, or constructing wells.

Arts and crafts An artist reports making holiday greetings cards, which he sells cheaply but in large quantities. In such cases, however, individuals who do not have business licenses must actively avoid the police. In summertime, a female respondent makes flower bouquets which she is able to sell for extra income. In Riga, two respondents earn unreported income by doing wicker work. Yet another respondent weaves parts of folk costumes for the participants of an ethnographic music ensemble. Kaspars, a musician, earns 10 lats playing his instrument at parties. Another musically trained respondent earns extra money by conducting choirs and giving private music lessons.

In many regions, female respondents knit clothes, which they sell at the local market or through souvenir shops. Others knit on order for cash, or trade with close acquaintances and relatives for services. A pensioner reported charging 10-15 lats for sweaters and 3 lats for mittens, although she often accepts payment in the form of food products. A respondent in Bauska parish knits outside her working hours, to order. Demands are irregular -- sometimes she goes months without orders, and then come several months when she has so many orders she has to turn down customers. Some female respondents bake cakes on order; a Ventspils respondent earns 5-8 lats per order.

Construction work Able-bodied men look for skilled construction work, or work which utilizes former training as plumbers, welders, or electricians. They find such work through word- of-mouth and acquaintances. Renovations can be a reasonable source of income, for which some respondents earned 25 lats per renovated room.

Aleksis, 50, is a plumber and welder by profession, but has been unemployed for 4 years. An obstacle to finding new employment is a disability acquired at his previous job. He can no longer carry large loads. Now he tries to find as many casual jobs as possible. He is ready to help his acquaintances should they need something to be repaired. His wife says that his ability to repair anything constitutes a significant help to the family.

Skilled workers often encounter “rackets,” however. Since many small enterprises are unregistered, and do no pay taxes, they are often prey to local criminals who try to extort money from them. A Daugavpils respondent who does apartment renovations was lucky, however. When a local criminal gang demanded he pay protection money, he was able to respond that he had his own “krysha” (literally, “roof” in Russian, slang for “protector”), a school friend respected in local criminal circles.

Paid domestic labor A number of female respondents work as cleaner for commercial or private premises, sometimes assisted by their oldest children. Women often find work in the informal sector, taking care of children for 0.50 lats per day, or looking after pensioners. One respondents in Liepaja earned 45 lats a month taking care of single pensioners.

Migrating for work People migrate in several ways. One pattern involves a movement from city to country, with one or both parents moving to the countryside (either to land they now own, or to relatives) to farm, while they leave their children in town with relatives to finish school.

27 Returning to the village A family of intellectuals living in a small country town maintain close contact with the husband’s family, who farm, and relatives living in Riga. The husband has two sisters and a brother living in Riga, and his wife’s sister lives there. Although the wife has regular income as a school teacher, the family survives largely due to the help provided by her in-laws who farm, and provide her family with milk, meat and vegetables. During the agricultural season, her husband, as well as his brother and sister from Riga help their parents raise the crops – in turn they are provided with groceries.

In other cases, people seek work in abroad, particularly in Europe. A respondent of 30, from Zemgale, considered himself lucky to find good work abroad as a driver in Germany, where he had earned 500 lats in just over two months. He also acquired used appliance which Germans had discarded, to bring back for his family’s use. Although working abroad can be lucrative, it also carries risks, since workers have little protection against unscrupulous employers or against unpredictable bankruptcies.

The risks of working abroad Valdis, 38, a driver by profession, and several companions, were hired by a Czech construction firm. His employer left the Czech republic around Christmas, 1997, promising to take three months’ worth of Valdis’s salary to his family. However, he disappeared with Valdis’s money, and the firm went bankrupt. Valdis then found work at a different enterprise, but oper the next three months, was only able to cover daily expenses and save enough money to travel back to Latvia, where he arrived with only 26 lats.

Selling recyclables Finding bottles to return for their deposit is practiced by children of poor families, by adults, pensioners, and particularly, by alcoholics and the homeless. They find the bottles in garbage bins and take them to special places that purchase glass for recycling.

Selling bottles Jelena (72) is a childless single pensioner without close relatives. She lives alone in Riga with her dog. After paying 48 lats for communal services and rent, only 10-12 lats remain for the entire month. She reports that her application to the municipality for social assistance was rejected, because she is not a Latvian citizen, only a permanent resident. Soup consisting of broth from boiling bones, with some cabbage and potatoes added, is a daily staple, but Jelena often experiences real hunger. To supplement her pension, when she walks her dog in the morning, she also looks in garbage containers to find bottles. She makes 1-2 Ls a month from this. She can look for bottles only very early in the mornings, however, as later in the day, alcoholics and homeless people start looking for them. They consider the garbage containers to be their personal property, and they do not tolerate competitors. Once someone attacked Jelena with a wooden stick because she was about to take a bottle from his “personal” garbage container.

28 RURAL SURVIVAL STRATEGIES

Farming for cash and subsistence Few of our respondents had the resources to develop their land, since they were just as poor as those who rent land. In some regions, farmers are luckier than other. In the Viesite region, for example, farmers now have the opportunity to sell milk on a regular basis to the Selpils dairy. The selling price remains low, however, and they complain that the middleman benefits more than they. It should be noted that for the poorest respondents in our study, there is not a significant difference between cash and subsistence farming.

From cash farming to subsistence farming Biruta and her husband, pensioners living in Lielvarde, have toiled very hard in the past, in order to build their own house - they used to grow tulips and take them to Leningrad to sell; they have also grown strawberries for the market, but now find there are not enough buyers to make the endeavor worthwhile Laura (26 years), Uldis (29 years) and their four children live in the countryside and occupy a two-room apartment in Kurzeme. Uldis works as an electrician. They have three hectares of land not far from the house. They grow vegetables and fodder for their animals. It is all for their own subsistence, because they cannot find buyers. They also raise some animals: pigs, rabbits, geese, and hens. Cultivating the land, they complain, demands large investments. You must provide for fuel and also pay someone to plough and till the land, you have to buy seeds. Laura estimates that their three hectares require at least 150 lats per year. They have already started saving for the expenses next spring.

In Kuldiga region, although the collective farms all had electricity, individuals living far from the farms had to pay to have it installed. For the most part, the labor force was concentrated in the villages, and the outlying farms were mainly occupied by the elderly, who were often unable to pay for this service. For people now living in these more distant farms, the lack of electricity is one more obstacle to successful farming.

Many respondents in both small towns and villages farm for a combination of cash and subsistence. Respondents calculate the relative advantage of selling produce or retaining it for their own use. A respondent in Ventspils region, for example found it more profitable to sell her apples and berries, as well as what she collected in the forest, rather than preserving it for her own use.

Some rural respondents raise rabbits for sale, such as a teacher in Bauska, who in addition to growing vegetables, picking berries and mushrooms, also raises rabbits to sell at the market. Respondents in Pale were able to seil meat from the pigs and chickens they raise, or in some cases, from animals killed while hunting, to the Valmiera meat processing plant, or other purchasers. They prefer the latter, since the plan pays so poorly. Generally, they sell bacon for 1.30 lats per kilo, and pork for 1.20 lats per kilo. Milk is sold for about 0.15 lats per liter.

29 Many people combine numerous small jobs with subsistence farming to pay for family expenses. Valdis and Indra, a young couple, keep animals and cultivate 2 ha of land with equipment that Valdis, in some cases, has managed to put together from different parts. He borrowed money from a former employer to buy a used car for 450 lats, which he uses to drive his disabled child to a special kindergarten. He also drives his neighbor to work, in return his neighbor pays him the equivalent of bus fare.

In terms of subsistence, people grow vegetables and fruit that they eat fresh or be in forests. They buy only the most essential things – usually this is done at a market, where groceries are the cheapest. Even people who live in apartment buildings often raise animals. Residents of Riga sometimes have access to land through parents or relatives, and may also travel there on weekends to cultivate it, although the profit may be offset by the price of gas involved in driving there so frequently.

Subsistence gardening Laura (26) and Uldis (29) and their four children live in a two room flat in Liepaja district, where Uldis works as electrician. They have three hectares not far from their flat where they grow potatoes, vegetables, and fodder for their pigs, rabbits, geese, hens and cows, using most of what they grow for subsistence, since buyers are relatively few. Laura feeds the cattle, and works on the land. They hire a tractor-driver to till their land, since they don’t own any equipment, and pay for fuel and seeds. These expenses come to about 150 lats. Land keeps them where they are, otherwise would move into town where the children attend school and Uldis works. Inga (40), Valdis (38) and their four children live in a three room suburban Riga flat without any conveniences. Inga works part-time as a teacher, but Valdis, after unsuccessfully trying to earn money abroad, is unemployed. They have a 100 square meters plot where they grow vegetables and flowers, and this year a friend offered them a plot of land 1.5 ha, 28 km from their home, where they can raise food for their own subsistence: potatoes, carrots, beets, cabbage, etc. In exchange, they help their friend on her garden in autumn. The only problem is renting tractor services to till the land; it might come to 20-25 lats. They will get seeds from their friend. They also have 8 hens, which provide the family with eggs, and have bought an additional 14 chicken for eggs and 4 chickens which they will feed for three months and then have the meat. They have a small shed for the chickens, which the children take care of. Inga does most of the work on the land.

Gathering Many respondents, whether they lived in urban, small town, or rural areas, reported earning extra income by picking berries, mushrooms, and various medicinal plants in the summer not only for themselves, but also for sale, sometimes in Riga. This can come to a very significant income. One family reported earning 300 lats in a single summer. The situation sometimes becomes difficult, since many forests are privately owned, but as yet, proprietor’s rights are not clearly stated

Agricultural wage labor Many of the people who became unemployed when collective farms dissolved and do not have their own land work for local farmers. They perform a variety of tasks: cutting wood, helping with farm animals, or repairing buildings; some work as livestock

30 slaughterers; others pick crops during harvest time. Payment ranges between 1.50 to 3 lats per day, plus a midday meal, and sometimes produce as well. Alternatively, farm workers may also be paid in food or alcohol, rather than in cash, depending on the location. In Pale, for example, a respondent reported rates 0.50 lats per hour, or a measure of potatoes each day, plus the midday meal.

Most jobs, however, are in summer, when farmers regularly take on farm hands. During the summer, schoolchildren also work. In Pale, children work in a factory stacking peat brickettes. Four children from one large family earned 70 lats total; they found the job easily because it was considered so difficult and poorly paid the factory always has vacancies.

Supplementing a student income During the summer Liene (24), a student in Liepaja, manages to earn about 70 lats as well as potatoes for the winter. She receives free room and board from the employers who hired her for their farm. She does whatever is necessary -- milks the cow, collects the hay, weeds, and other sorts of tasks. She uses her earnings to pay her rent, and has potatoes for the whole year.

Farmers complain that they are not always able to find diligent workers for their farms when they need them. In their view, rural people have become lazy, and sometimes they prefer to hire workers from town rather than local people.

A private farmer’s view A Rucava farmer considers that “It is not advantageous to hire workers because I have to pay social tax for them. and people have become lazy in the countryside. In summer it is not easy to find workers. The collective farms spoiled people -- they want to get paid and do nothing. They complain but are reluctant to start something themselves. They would rather accept humanitarian aid than work.”

Forestry Many respondents earn money through seasonal or temporary employment in tree nurseries or the forest. Near Varnava, for example, people find seasonal employment in the local tree nursery, where they can earn up to 50 lats a month. In forested regions, men earn money cutting lumber for local sawmills. This is a short term and episodic work, for which they receive 1 – 2 lats a day.

Forestry work for cash From the interview with a chairman of a municipality in Cesu district: “There are 6 sawmills in this municipality, and men work either in the sawmills, in two shifts, or in the forests. The average age of workers is 17 - 22. These young people are not financially protected against industrial accidents because they are paid in cash, and their employers do not pay the social tax. These are young people who have no or incomplete elementary school education. They consider it unnecessary to continue learning because they can make 100 lats a month.

31 In some municipalities, however, forestry work is carried out much more intensely. Yet although forestry provides potential employment for men, in some cases it takes resources to find work in this field. For example, Victor, in Kuldiga district, has found odd jobs cleaning up forest areas where trees have been felled. He could find forestry work, but is unable to afford the 90 lats demanded for being trained in the use of a chain-saw.

Getting by on odd jobs A respondent from Daugavpils, without work for 5 years, earns money doing casual jobs. He lives near a development of private homes where people keep a pig or hens and have greenhouses. In spring, they provide a lot of work, and the respondent helps by splitting wood, transporting manure, repairing greenhouses and other odd jobs. He is paid with a meal and a bottle of schnapps. Only occasionally do his customers pay him 1 - 3 lats. Others pay in food, canned goods or vegetables. Sometimes there is an extra job with a chance to make a little extra cash, by glazing a new roof for a greenhouse, or digging up a garden, for which he may get 3-5 lats.

SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES

Selling and pawning assets Many households have sold the possessions they acquired during their years of employment in the Soviet period. These assets include furniture, appliances, the family silverware, family jewelry, even clothing. A Riga respondent recently sold the clothing of his late mother to a second-hand clothing shop. Another had sold jewelry, and recently a chair for 25 lats. He has tried to sell his camera and dishware, but the price offered was so low he plans to hang onto them for awhile. Likewise, another respondent attempting to sell jewelry has delayed because of the very low purchase prices, and the desire to wait until his situation gets even worse. Other households have made money by selling the privatization certificates they have recently received. Some respondents supplement their incomes by selling blood to local hospitals. Some urban respondents reported pawning gold jewelry for cash.

Exchanging goods, services and money For most respondents, family relationships are the most important resource for coping with economic stress. A great deal of assistance, in the form of money, agricultural products, other kinds of goods, different services, and favors, flow between relatives, and especially nuclear family members. Between husband and wife, grandparents, parents, and children, or between adult siblings, the assistance is in the form of gifts or exchanges, without specific expectation of precise repayment. A large part of this flow consists of farm produce that rural inhabitants supply to their town or city relatives, very often in informal exchange for the latters' assistance on their land. In many neighborhoods, where people have lived in one place for many years, neighbors know each other well, and tend to perform services, such as babysitting, for each other. In the countryside, households which lack access to farm machinery sometimes cooperate with neighbors to help each other weeding and gathering hay.

Help from grandparents Janis (30) and Valentina (38) and their two children live in a village. Their most regular guests are Valentina’s parents, who live in Riga and work at the market. Each month they give Janis and Valentina a sum of money that exceeds Janis’s monthly income. Thus the family’s budget reaches the total of 130 Lats per month.

Pensioners play an important role in the lives of their adult children. In some cases, adult children supply their pensioner parents with groceries, even when they are simultaneously trying to feed their own children. Very frequently, according to our interviewers, pensioners are a mainstay of their children. In families with unemployed adults, an elderly parent's pension sometimes provides a major portion of the household income. In some cases, find themselves supporting adult children who are alcoholics. In some cases they provide child care, especially if parents have to move elsewhere for employment, and leave children with grandparents to continue their education. Among our sample, pensioners reported trying to economize mainly to save money for grandchildren's school expenses, ranging from lunches, subscriptions to children's magazines, to fees for higher education.

Economizing and cutting back Many respondents buy their clothing at second hand or humanitarian aid shops, where they may pay 0.50 Ls for a shirt, and 0.20 for a girl’s dress. Families living near the Lithuanian border sometimes buy their clothing in Lithuania, where they report that everything is half price. Families make do with worn out clothing. One respondent reports that are socks are ten years old, so she wraps rags around her feet before putting on her shoes. Alternatively, others repair old clothes with thread purchased from shops selling humanitarian aid. Pensioners practice particular kinds of survival strategies, such as prioritizing their rent payments. The remaining money is used for buying medicine and groceries. Pensioners usually do not buy any clothing.

How pensioners economize Elizabete (age 74) and Viktors (age 70) don’t have close family members to help them, and therefore try to economize as possible to get by. Velta (age 81) reports that she spend 5 lats a month on food, and the rest on housing costs (30 Lats during heating season). They save in the following ways: · they buy only the cheapest groceries, and those at the market, not in shops, · they buy only cracked eggs · they have disconnected their refrigerators · they no longer watch television, both to save on electricity, as well as to avoid the monthly payment for TV (Velta watches only 30 minutes of news each evening, but goes to neighbors if she wants to see films) · they plan to disconnect their telephones if the monthly fee is raised, · they do not buy clothing or shoes, but still use what they bought during the Soviet period

Juggling debts People differ in the way they balance among these needs and strategize to meet their payments. Some people prioritize certain payments and cut back on other expenses, while other respondents juggle debts, trying to make small payments on several bills at the same time. Pensioners tend to prioritize apartment fees, paying rent while sharply cutting back on their food intake. Families with many children devote most of their resources to purchasing food, while they incur debts for rent. When possible, they may try to pay a small amount of apartment expenses (including utility bills) each month, for even some part of the rent has been paid, the chances are less that electricity, gas, and heat will be turned off, or that they will be forced to leave their apartments.

Pilfering and theft When possible, people try to take things from their work that they can use, barter, or sell. Very often this is in the form of food or food products. If someone works at a bakery, for example, they will try to bring home flour, milk and eggs, some of which they may be able to barter neighbors for other products or for necessary services. Some families supplement meager incomes through theft. In Vescaule parish, a single mother of five acknowledged that her children had been committing petty thefts from cellars and gardens, to get food.

Exchanging sexual favors Some female respondents either cohabit with a man who provides them with goods in exchange, or perform jobs which entail sexual services. For example, the single mother of an 8 year old child cohabits with a butcher, “for her own survival and to feed the child.” In turn, he provides her with meat and sausages. She also works as an erotic masseuse in Riga, for which she receives a regular salary. Attitudes toward prostitution have changed to the extent that the Latvian National Human Rights Office, in a recent report (1997, 2nd quarter),comments that people have come to think of prostitution as “semi-legal.” At the same time, knowing it is forbidden by law, people engaged in prostitution are reluctant to report violence or other forms of abuse to police.

Exchanging housing for assistance In some cases, old people who own their own apartment or house, register younger people there, so that while they remain alive there will be someone to help them with household chores and with gardening. In return, this person is entitled to inherit the home after the owner’s death.

SEARCHING FOR EMPLOYMENT

The role of personal connections A number of respondents had searched for jobs in a variety of ways, responding to newspaper advertisements, registering with the National Employment Service and following up on job referrals, even paying private employment agencies. In many cases, they observed that when they actually showed up at the place of work, they were turned

34 down because of age or appearance. Many respondents felt that they only reliable way to find employment was through personal connections, and that even to find a cleaning job required personal contacts.

When enterprises open, people find themselves competing with large numbers of the unemployed. A 40 year old respondent in Livani found herself on a waiting list with 1,000 other people for employment at a plant which will only open at the end of the year. Respondents observe that work has become a “privilege” rather than a right, as it was considered during Soviet times, and therefore employers naturally prefer to provide jobs to relatives, friends, and acquaintances. In rural areas, where social relationships are more public, the role of jobs as a “benefit” to be distributed is even more apparent.

Splitting up for survival In some cases, families have temporarily split up in response to labor market demands. In some cases, this involved the father moving from a rural area or town into Riga, where the economy is more lively and work more accessible. In other cases, couples have moved to rural areas to find work in farming or forestry, leaving children with grandparents in the city, to continue their education.

Age and gender discrimination Respondents highlighted gender, age, and disability as particular obstacles to finding work. Women reported being refused jobs because they were too old (over 35, in some cases, over 30) or had young children. For example, a staff member of the Daugavpils Social Assistance Center cited a job advertisement placed by Lattelekom, for a “young, pretty worker, well-built, with long legs.” The complaints of a 42 year old Riga respondent who has tried to find employment for five years are typical of many interviews from this study. She had applied to a private employment agency which sent her out on numerous interviews. Each time she met the prospective employer, she was told the place had been already filled, and realized that the employers simply preferred to wait for a younger woman.

35 Gender discrimination Dace reports she was refused the opportunity to attend a bookkeeping course for the unemployed, because preference was given to younger women. A year ago, the factory “Metalurgs” advertised for women who could work as managers. It was well-paid work for which she was qualified. Dace applied and the factory was on the verge of hiring her, until they saw in her passport [marital status, number of children, and place of residence are routinely recorded in internal passports] that she has 5 children. Dace knows that mothers have a very hard time finding work.

It is especially difficult for both men and women just a few years from retirement age to find work. The father of a large family in Malta municipality, now a pensioner, became unemployed two years before pensionable age. “I had long years of service behind me, if I had been working for those two years I would have had a large pension, but I remained unemployed.” At the same time, older people are reluctant to retire early, because this will lower their pension.

Age discrimination Jekaterina (54) worked 35 years as a kindergarten teacher. Last year there was a staff reduction and she was let go. She was very upset at losing her job, because she had hoped to work there until retirement. She applied to work in a hospital as a hospital orderly. The Head of Personnel informed her, however, they have a waiting list of young, strong people for this job, and that she is simply too old.

Disability Given widespread unemployment, those with medical problems or disabilities have a much harder time getting employment, even when their disability is not relevant to the kind of work they are seeking. One of the respondents who lives in a rural area, is disabled. She would like to do computer work, but has lost confidence, for “if the employer had a choice to hire a healthy person or a disabled one, his choice would be the first.” A disabled female respondent, unable to find employment, declared during her interview that if only she were younger, she would practice prostitution.

Disability and unemployment Since 1992, Vjaceslavs, 38, has been classified as a “second group disabled” on the basis of having epilepsy. Since his wife and son left him, he lives alone. After colleagues became aware of his disability, his employer sent him to a doctor for an examination, and then fired him. Since then, he has not been able to find work, since no one wants to employ someone suffering from epilepsy. He now receives a disability pension of 42 lats. After taking care of rent (5 lats); telephone (1.12 lats), gas (1.6 lats), electricity (3 lats), and child support for his son (5 lats), only 20 lats remains. Normally, his money lasts about 18 days, and his mother also helps with food.

Ethnic and linguistic factors Opinions about the role of ethnicity in finding employment differed among respondents. Some respondents believe that unemployment in Latvia is so widespread that it affects equally both citizens and non-citizens. As one Russian put it, “I do not have

36 citizenship. What does it give me? Citizens, too, are unemployed. It is even better without citizenship - if I go to Russia I don’t need a visa.” Other respondents claimed they had been directly refused employment as Russians or non-Latvians. According to an OSCE representative in Latvia, there are few non-Latvians working in the public sector, and the law now prohibits them from working as pharmacists, lawyers, in security services, or in airlines. At the same time, Russians tend to dominate the business sector (by about 80%).

Some Russian respondents said they were planning to leave the country, since they could no longer work in their field. In industrial districts such as Livani, however, Latvian respondents felt at a disadvantage, claiming that Russians had an advantage in finding work even when their qualifications are lower than those of some non-Russian applicants, because they had maintained their contacts “from the factory times.”

Another aspect of this problem, however, is that of linguistic proficiency, which limits the chances of non-Latvian speakers to find work. It should be noted here, however, that many non-Latvians do speak Latvian, and some Latvians (in our sample, those with one non-Latvian parent) do not speak adequate Latvian. Older respondents report the most difficulty.5

According to the OSCE and the Latvian Office for National Human Rights Office, the actual examination is not as difficult as people fear; the basic grade requires knowledge of only 1,000 words. Many respondents admitted trying to circumvent the examination by purchasing the certificates, or having a Latvian-speaking friend take the examination, despite the risk entailed if the examiner observes that the test-taker does not resemble the person in the passport photograph.

Trying to learn Latvian Galina (age 49), is Russian non-citizen living in Liepaja. Her insufficient knowledge of Latvian kept her from getting a job in her profession as a nurse, which requires a second level proficiency. Until the beginning of the Nineties, however, Galina had had no need to know Latvian. She understood some Latvian, but never tried to speak it. Thus, she had to study from the beginning. She started to read Latvian newspapers and listen to Latvian news on television. She took two courses, once for 10 lats, and a second time for 15 lats. She failed her exam, and started taking private lessons at 30 santimes per hour, selling her coat to pay for the lessons. Eventually she passed the second level. The State Employment Service sent her to a job interview at a hospital, which needed someone to prepare medicines. During the interview, conducted in Latvian, Galina answered incorrectly, and then asked the interviewer to repeat the question, but was informed that her knowledge of the language was not sufficient for the job. The whole exchange happened so quickly Galina still doesn’t know what it was she said incorrectly.

5 On October 3, 1998, Latvians voted to amend the citizenship law to remove a number of obstacles to naturalization, grant citizenship to all children born after independence if their parents wish, and provide for simpler language tests for older residents.

37 Social status and appearance Many respondents say that it is more difficult to find work for people who have already experienced the effects of unemployment. These people lack the funds to keep themselves attractive for the labor market. In the rare event that someone decides to hire a stranger, even a farm hand, they felt, the employer would prefer the person to look neat, attractive and strong. A vicious circle is created, such that someone who is unemployed cannot maintain their appearance, and they cannot maintain their appearance because they have no money to invest in medical and dental care or clothing, or even decent food. A single mother of 3 children commented that although she often responds to newspaper ads, “As soon as they looked at me, old, hungry, toothless and 3 children in the passport!... I am not yet 40, but already have no teeth.”

Mobility and transportation Unemployed respondents were also pessimistic about opportunities to move elsewhere, where there were more jobs. They consider this impossible because of lack of funds and lack of faith. They also noted that responsibility for parents who live in poverty was also factor, since if they moved, their parents would be left quite alone without assistance. Sometimes transportation becomes a barrier to finding work, particularly in villages no longer connected by regular bus or train transport to nearby towns. Some respondents report that they have been forced to leave jobs which were so far from home, high transportation costs consumed much of the salary. For example, in Kuldiga district, Gundars, father of six, trained as a forester, obtained work in a sawmill 50 km from his home, for 50 lats a month. Although he considered the pay reasonable, he ended up quitting when he found that transportation, plus the cost of meals on the job, were eating up too much of the salary. Linda travels 50 km from her home in Lielvarde to work in a café. Getting there is no problem, but returning home is – trains run seldom in the evening, and few stop at her small station.

The vulnerability of workers in the gray economy It is not uncommon, respondents reported, for firms and shops to hire someone ostensibly for a week’s trial, without pay, and to fire them after a week and “hire” someone else under the same conditions. Sometimes employers used some pretext to fire employees after longer periods, without paying their back wages. According to the Latvian National Human Rights Office, most people are afraid to ask employers for contracts, but do not always realize that without a contract they have no protection whatsoever.

Working without a contract Felicija, a retired Belorussian, 56, living in Daugavpils, found a job through friends, washing dishes at a private cafe. “The owner of the cafe was looking for a trustworthy person and I was recommended.” She receives 30 lats a month, gets paid regularly “in an envelope,” but does not have a contract. She understands her employer could fire her the next day if she displeases him. She works 2 days from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and then has 2 days off.

38 A Riga employee reported employer attempts to cover losses by claiming that employees were responsible for the deficit and should pay the missing money back. Another respondent is stilled owed 300 lats by private employers. They had not paid him for some time because of financial difficulties, and eventually fled without paying at all. In none of the latter cases had employees tried to seek justice through any official channel.

CONCLUSION

Once accustomed to regarding work as a right, respondents increasingly view it as a privilege, and expressed a feeling of deep insecurity about finding work (if they were unemployed) or keeping work, if they had jobs. Moreover, those who had work often felt exploited by employers, but understood that if they protested, they could easily be fired and replaced. While rural residents were generally able to provide for their basic needs, because of low housing costs and the ability to grow their food, they also had the most limitations when it came to finding permanent, full-time salaried employment. Moreover, while respondents reported a wide variety of income-generating and/or economizing strategies, it is clear that possibilities differ widely, according to the particular characteristics of the cities, towns, and villages in which people live, and according to individual characteristics such as age, appearance, health, ethnic background, and linguistic proficiency. This pattern suggests the emergence of patterns of discrimination that may carry the danger of excluding certain portions of the population from the economic mainstream.

39 CHAPTER 5: SOCIAL PROTECTION

This chapter looks at different forms of government assistance and social transfers, including those provided by the National Employment Services, by the national government (state-funded pensions and benefits) and by the municipalities (subsidies, one-time only payments and other kinds of assistance). The chapter will focus primarily on respondents’ perception and evaluation of these services and what they perceive as obstacles to obtaining assistance.

THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE (NES)

The role of the NES Offices of the National Employment Service (NES) in all regions of Latvia. Respondents indicated a range of reasons for registering with the NES: to receive unemployment benefits; to receive employment offers or direct employment in public works; to qualify for re-qualification courses and grants paid for by the state; and for those of pre-pension age, to ensure they will receive their pensions. If people become unemployed near pension age, and have worked 30 years, by registering with the NES, they can have their pension for the past 3 years calculated on the average wage of 92 lats.

Former collective farm workers nearing pension age Lolita (age 54) and Ivans (age 57) live 9 km from a village in the middle of forest, in an old forestry house. Their daughter died at the age of 5, and their son was killed in Afghanistan. Formerly, Lolita and Ivans worked at a collective farm, respectively, as a milkmaid and tractor driver. They made a reasonable living. After the collective farm was liquidated in 1992, the cattle farm, where Lolita worked, burned down. They had to vacate their house and move to an old, uninhabited house, because the former owner reclaimed it. They now survive on what they grow in their own garden, on various temporary jobs Ivans finds, and what Lolita can gather from the forest and sell. They live mainly on potatoes, going through last winter without any bread at all. For the last two months, they have lived on “potato bread” -- potatoes are ground up, mixed with oil, and baked. Lolita cries when she sees a loaf of bread. Neither have applied to the National Employment Service, in part because they live 40 km from the municipal centre of the region, but also because Lolita has been told there are no jobs for people in her age. She hopes to start getting a partial pension of 20 Ls monthly. She would start getting full pension (35-38Ls) in two years, but as she notes, she might be dead by then.

To qualify for unemployment benefits and pensions, a person must have worked 9 of the previous 12 months and the employer must have paid the social tax. Many people have worked unofficially since losing their formal employment, but such unofficial work does not entitle them to benefits. Thus, according to the director of the Malta district NES, 60.5% of people now registered their as unemployed cannot receive

40 unemployment benefits or qualify for employment in public works, because their latest employers did not pay social tax for them.

When employers don’t pay the social tax Volodja (48) and his wife Larisa (47), who works as a nurse, their daughter (22), who attends university and their son (12), who goes to school, live in Riga. Larisa explains, we used to be well-off. But as the family’s main breadwinner, Volodja, can no longer work. In June, 1997, Volodja was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The operation cost 300 lats. Afterwards, Volodja was categorized as a II group disabled. When applying for disability pension, however, he learned that his employer had not paid the social tax for the last five years. Larisa had asked the employer to pay for those years retroactively, but was told, “we do not have any money.” As a result, Volodja receives only a social pension of 25 lats.

During the study, a number of respondents, particularly in Russian-speaking areas such as Daugavpils, complained that they had not been able to register with the NES because they didn’t know Latvian. Indeed, by law, lack of proficiency in Latvian prevented some respondents from registering with the NES. If they had not graduated a Latvian-language school, they were required to provide a certificate indicating proficiency in Latvian. After protests to the Latvian National Office of Human Rights, which supported their protests, the Council of Ministers ruled that this requirement should be dropped as of May 15, 1998.

Finding employment through the NES Respondents expressed skepticism about finding work through the NES. It has few jobs to offer, and those it does usually involve poorly paid work not in line with their education and qualifications. and education. People mostly look for work with the help of relatives, friends and acquaintances, because “to get work, you must know people.” Accordingly, many consider that “the National Employment Service is a fiction, because finding work with their help is practically impossible.”

Female respondents complained that the NES has very few job vacancies for women, and when jobs do exist, “the demand is for women up to 35 years of age.” Irena, a Riga woman of 44, confirmed this tendency when she went to investigate a job to which the NES had referred her, only to be openly told, “Women are hired up to the age of 35.”

Re-qualification courses Although a few unemployed respondents expressed reluctance to embark on learning a new profession in the present economic situation, those who are willing reported serious difficulties. For example, according to NES staff in Liepaja, one third of those registered as unemployed -- about 1,000 to 1,500 people – have requested such courses each year, but in 1997, only 347 were able to receive training. About half of those who received retraining found employment. Similar problems were reported in other regions as well. Respondents complained that “one has to wait in line for a long time.” In Viesite, for example, only 36 people have completed courses in the past 5 years.

41 Public perceptions of the NES Many respondents expressed a very negative attitude toward the NES; they distrust its staff and consider it one more state institutions which is unable to provide real assistance. Moreover, many respondents had very little information about their rights, and about recent changes in labor legislation that affected them, and of opportunities to receive help that did exist.

NATIONALLY FUNDED SOCIAL TRANSFERS

Old-age and disability pensions and child benefits Respondents receiving pensions and child benefits noted pensions and child benefits are paid regularly and on time. Some respondents, however, found out their pensions had not accumulated as they had expected because employers in recent years had failed to pay taxes for them. During the Soviet period, it had not been necessary to monitor employers’ tax payments, and many people now of pension age did not realize how much the situation had changed. While families complained about the low amount of child benefit, however, for many families, the monthly child payments were the only form of assistance that arrived without interruption, and was received by citizens and non- citizens alike. For families in which one or both parents were unemployed, child benefits often provided a substantial portion of the household income.

Pensioners, however, voiced considerable bitterness over the low amount of pensions. They also expressed anger at the violation of “social justice” – that is, that pensions are not practically the same for those who worked hard their whole lives, earned a decent salary, and for those “drunkards” who never worked at all. As they put it, having looked forward to a secure old age, they find themselves “standing at a broken trough.”

Waiting for a pension Vera , 55, lives alone in Vidzeme. At the beginning of 1997, the company for which she worked laid off many workers, including her. She drew unemployment benefits for 6 months, but last December, they ran out. Finding work in the countryside at her age is impossible, and “all things being equal, next year I shall be able to collect my pension. Even with only 20 lats a month, I will be happy.” She should receive her full pension in three years, however, but does not expect to get it, “because that is just a dream.” Vera understands that she will not find work again, and fears she will not have enough money to survive the 3 years until she qualifies for her full pension

MUNICIPAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES (SAS)

Variation among municipalities Since decentralization of Latvia’s social assistance programs, municipalities now a range of programs, including one-time payments to cover unforeseen expenses, free lunches, rent and heat subsidies, and so forth. During the last few years, however, the proportion of support from the state, which supplied part of the social budget, has shrunk. Municipalities now differ considerably in the amount of money they make available for

42 social assistance, the kinds of programs they fund, and the way in which they define eligibility. To qualify for Social Assistance Services, applicants must fill out a declaration of their monthly income, and qualify as disadvantaged, and eligible for assistance, if the per capital monthly income is less than 75% of the “so-called crisis minimum” for an individual. However, some municipalities consider families with an income under 45 lats to be “impoverished” and therefore eligible for assistance. Wealthier communities such as Venstpils, however, consider incomes below 60 lats as inadequate. In some municipalities, SAS staff called on the disabled to find out their needs for assistance. Elsewhere, applicants must come frequently to the SAS offices.

Kabile and Renda parishes, in Kuldiga district, exemplify some of the ways in which even neighboring municipalities differ. Renda parish pays 10 Lats to each pupil at the beginning of the school year; it also pays .25 lats per day (half the price) for school lunches to families on their rolls. Kabile parish pays 5-10 lats per pupil, but only sometimes for lunches. In some districts, a few families received subsidies for lunch in the form of cash. Respondents in each of the two municipalities had received one-time only payments for essential surgery. In municipalities as a whole, respondents reported one-time only assistance for medical expenses ranging from 20 lats, to 200 lats for surgery. Renda parish pays maternity allowances, and contributes toward the rent and heating for families with children under 3 years of age; in Kabile parish, however, a mother who should have received a maternity allowance of 25 lats never received it, since it was applied instead to her rent debt.

Pale residents described staff of the local SAS offices as helpful within their limits. The cited their assistance in helping one applicant obtain a wheel chair; helped another respondent pay for her hospital bills. In one case, a mother performed 30 days of community service to offset kindergarten fees. The local social assistance office also makes a point of giving food assistance to poor families in the form of vouchers which could be exchanged at local food shops (but not for alcohol or cigarettes), so that people would not “drink the money away.

Public perceptions of municipal social assistance services Respondents know what state-funded benefits to which they are entitled. But because of the autonomy enjoyed by municipal social services, however, respondents reported great uncertainty regarding their rights and possibilities for receiving assistance. A number of urban respondents did not even know where the social assistance office was located, much less what sort of assistance for which they could qualify. The main sources of information they reported consisted of friends and acquaintances; those who had access to radio and television mentioned these as sources of information, while newspapers were mentioned less frequently, since poor respondents no longer purchase them. Only in a few municipalities did respondents report receiving information on kinds of assistance available from SAS staff. Because procedures for allocating money are often unclear, and appear arbitrary, people react with suspicion and distrust, and rumors about misallocation of funds or inappropriate grants are rife.

43 Perceptions of Social Assistance offices Some potential applicants are held back by distrust and even fear of these institutions. Applicants who have experienced rudeness or what they perceive as contemptuous behavior from the staff do not come back for assistance until they are desperate. A Riga respondent reported hearing “that if you go there and ask for help in those social offices, they say, if you have children, let them take care of you. A neighbor who lives with her unemployed son was shouted at by the staff that her situation was her own fault, since she had not managed to bring up a good son.”

Just as budgets and programs differ regionally, so do attitudes toward the performance of Social Assistance offices. For example, in Livani, respondents felt that local officials were doing their best to distribute assistance fairly, and that local staff treated them with respect. Likewise, respondents in Ventspils found the staff there to be “understanding” and “polite.” This evaluation contrasts sharply with that of Riga respondents, who distrust local SAS staff.

Moreover, many respondents found asking help from government institutions to be “demeaning” and perceived it as a form of begging. As one respondent explained: “I am not that kind of a person, I am ashamed to beg, as long as we are not going hungry, I shall not ask for assistance.” Even respondents who appeared badly in need of assistance explained they had not applied because they felt others were “even worse off” than they. Usually these respondents were people with a higher education, or families where both parents worked, but received very low salaries.

Obstacles to receiving social assistance Because standards and procedures differ among municipalities, and often rely on the individual judgment of staff, applicants often feel that the difference between successful and unsuccessful applicants is a matter of individual persistence, or the ability to gain the attention of municipal authorities. Unsuccessful applicants were also bitter that people with alcohol problems were more likely to receive assistance, while those who were prouder did not persist after one refusal. While they considered personal contacts useful, however, none of the applicants admitted to receiving assistance based only on personal ties, as opposed to neediness had received official assistance thanks only to personal ties.

Persistence pays off: applying for social assistance Olga, 44, is an unemployed single mother of five children from Daugavpils. She has 4 children under 18, one of whom is disabled; her eldest son, 20, is a student living at home. and lives together with family. The family lives in a 3 room apartment. Olga successfully applied for assistance from the SAS, but considered the amount given her too small. She therefore applied for help to the mayor of Daugavpils, and even wrote to the Latvian parliament, explaining situation. She feels it was her persistence, and also her appeal to the authorities that helped her gain more social assistance. Now the SAS pays the entire amount of the family’s monthly communal services, and gives the family an additional 40 lats a month to cover other expenses.

44 Another set of complaints voiced by respondents concerned the moralistic judgments made by SAS staff. In particular, staff often disapproved of large families, blaming them for bringing their problems on themselves by having too many children.

Attitudes toward large families Leonija, 55, brought up 6 children, and now lives with her oldest daughter, 34, who has five children, ranging in age from 2 to 12. Once a hard worker, her son-in-law began drinking heavily, and committed suicide. Last year, when Leonija applied to the municipality for assistance, she was told, “It is necessary to plan for children. But some people just make children and then ask for help. What should we do about it?” Leonija said that she will no longer humiliate herself by begging for help, recalling that “Communist times were bad, but I did not have problems raising my children.” Ilze, 40, unemployed and divorced, is raising three sons, aged 11, 12, and 17. She receives 40 lats in child support, and her eldest son works the night shift at a saw-mill and earns 100 Ls per month. When she applied to the municipality, the person she saw responded to her application by asking her angrily “Why did you have so many children?”

Some pensioners living alone complained that social assistance workers refused to consider their cases if a family member were registered as living with them. The pensioners pointed out that SAS staff often failed to take into account whether this person actually lived there in fact, or gave their elderly relative assistance. Disabled applicants complained that application procedures are sometimes physically grueling, because offices do not even provide chairs for waiting applicants.

Obstacles to applying for Social Assistance Vita, 22, lives in Jurmala. She is disabled (group 2 disability). She described applying for her low income status as sheer agony. At the Social Assistance Service, she had to stand in line on the stairs because there was nowhere to sit. As a disabled person, she felt she was not up to this task. The daughter of Milda, a pensioner of 61, is registered as living in her mother’s apartment in Livani, but in fact now rents a room in a neighboring town, where she has found work. Because her daughter is registered in her apartment, however, Milda no longer qualifies as a pensioner living alone, and is ineligible for housing subsidies from the SAS. She is resentful, because she knows other pensioners whose children live next door and assist them, but who are still entitled to benefits because they live in their own apartments. In her opinion it is hard to imagine a more cynical injustice

Municipally funded employment Municipalities provide limited employment in public works. The work involves cleaning, maintaining and repairing public areas and facilities. People may be paid in cash, but more often the payments are applied directly to rent and utilities arrears. In Liepaja, for example, people can work off debts for housing and communal payments at the rate of 3 lats a day, and there is a waiting list. Between October until the end of March 1988, 875 people had performed public works. Some respondents expressed considerable embarrassment that acquaintances from earlier times who didn’t know “that they had fallen so low” might see them doing this work.

45 Public works employment Dace, 40, Janis, 42, and their five children, aged 5 to 18, have lived in their 3 room apartment in Kurzeme for 14 years. They have accrued a debt on the apartment, however, of 795 Ls. Dace is now working this sum off, although she is only allowed to work 58 days total, which will only reduce the debt by 175 lats. The work involves cleaning up around buildings, and is often dirty and unpleasant, but she would be glad if she could work for an even longer period.

Forms of child support Municipal SAS plays a very important role for families with children. Since the economic crisis, many families have collapsed, and most often, it is mothers who remain with their children, and fathers who sometimes evade responsibility for contributing to child support. Respondents and SAS staff complained about the fact that the government does not have laws which force deserting parents to pay child support. They claimed that the absent parent often claimed inability to pay based on unemployment, when in fact they were living quite well. Single parent families usually are families with low income, and social services have to take charge of maintenance on such children, to the extent their limited resources allow. The state has no rules which enforce men or women to pay alimony or child support.

Several respondents pointed out the irony that it was more advantageous for children if their father were dead then unemployed or delinquent with child support payments. This is because death of a parent entitles children to special benefits, while families with an unemployed parent receive only basic child benefits. A similar irony was noted in municipal support for foster parents, who receive allowances for taking care of children, when lack of financial assistance is what often forces parents to allow their children to be fostered by others. Some respondents had circumvented this situation arranging for their children to be fostered by neighbors.

Municipally assisted guardianship Mara, a mother of 6 living in Liepaja, pointed out that the government looks after children better if they are brought up in foster homes rather than in their own family. She reported that her municipality is assisting her to arrange for a neighbor to become the guardian to one of her children. This will entitle her neighbor to receive payments to which Mara herself is not entitled. She is hoping her neighbor will use the payments to buy all the necessary items for her child to start the school year. In effect, the SAS is assisting Mara through a “dummy guardianship,” since they lack a legal alternative to assisting her.

Free lunches for schoolchildren For many poor families, free lunches at school are very important. Whether free lunches are offered depends on the budget of municipality, as well as the attitude of individual social service employees toward a given family. Attitudes toward and experiences of free lunches varies. Some parents were very pleased with this service. In some municipalities, they noted that only soup was free, but that parents were required to pay for the main dish.

46 In rural areas, some families reported that they had to contribute produce to the school, and only then would their children receive free lunches. One such family had contributed 40 kg of potatoes, a sack of apples or 10 liters of apple juice, as well as carrots, beets, jam and other kinds of food. In some districts, parents pay for free lunches through putting in free days of work at the school. A mother in Aloja district complained that working the required rate of 12 days per child to receive free lunches would be impossible for her, as a working person.

For some respondents, free lunches entails humiliation for themselves and for their children. For example, some parents said they would like to have free lunches for their school age children, but they felt ashamed at “begging” for free lunches. As a rule, such respondents were people living in the larger cities, with higher education, but working at badly paid jobs as librarians, nurses, teachers, and scientists. Alternatively, some Riga parents complained that children who receive free lunches are served lunch at a separate table, receive poorer quality food, and feel humiliated when the other children claim they are eating “from other peoples’ money,” even though some parents do “community work” for the municipality to pay for the lunches.

Paying for free lunches Inga, an agricultural economist living in Riga, was unemployed for two years before she found her present job teach math in a school. She has four children. When she requested free lunches for her school age children, she was required to do “social work” which consisted of putting in 100 hours cleaning the street in front of the school where she now teaches.

Assistance to schools Many municipal councils render assistance directly to schools, or to parents, to purchase school supplies. For example, in a number of districts, they subsidize textbooks so that children do not have to pay. In Pale, the council allocates 7 lats to every child from a poor family, for notebooks. The money is sent to the school, which then buys the materials in bulk in Riga and distributes them to the children.

ASSISTANCE FROM NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

Relatively few respondents had received assistance from NGOs. Those that had tended to live in large towns or cities; in many cases, they were already receiving assistance from the municipality. In many cases, it was also the municipality which had taken on the task of distributing humanitarian aid, usually in the form of clothing. In some cases, however, respondents expressed suspicion that municipality staff had skimmed off the best part of the shipment for themselves and their friends. After such complaints, some municipalities had refused further shipments. None of the respondents made such claims regarding the NGOs themselves, however. Overall, people had very positive attitudes towards non-governmental organizations and foreign organizations, from which they did not expect regular or long term assistance.

People learned about these organizations from acquaintances, or from the radio or TV. While some respondents had actively sought the organizations out, others had been found by the NGOs. Most of the assistance respondents had received was in the form of gifts at Christmas and New Year. Respondents particularly mentioned the Salvation Army, which had distributed food in Liepaja, Riga and other areas to large families and people living alone. A few families with many children, or a disabled child, had received cash assistance from Save the Children, in most case learning about STC from friends, and in a few cases, from Daugava’s Vanagi, a diaspora association of Latvian veterans. Several families had established contact with organizations based in Denmark and Sweden, and through them had not only received food and clothing, but also trips to those countries.

Several respondents were members of NGOs such as the organization of the Blind, of Families with Many Children, Victims of Repression, and others, although in most cases, their membership appeared to be motivated by need for assistance than commitment to commitment to the organization. more a function of need than Union etc. Participation in such organizations can be explained by neediness more than by commitment.

Many respondents were very positive about the NGOs, whose staff they found more understanding and kind than those of the SAS. Other respondents did not consider NGOs as an important alternative to state organizations, and also found it humiliating to ask them for help. Fewer people had received assistance from religious organizations; in most cases, this was a case of assistance to members of the church, often in the form of second-hand clothing or food. A family in Pale had received help from a Latvian Lutheran congregation in England. People who did not belong to any congregation did not ask religious organizations for assistance, nor did regular members necessarily report asking their church for assistance. Respondents did receive help in one case, however, from a local Catholic parish, and in another case, from an Orthodox-run soup kitchen in Riga.

CONCLUSION

Unemployment benefits and social transfers, through pensions, child- benefits, and the range of assistance provided by municipalities, play a very large role in the budgets of poor families. In some cases, however, employer’s failure to pay into the social tax meant that people who had relied on receiving pensions were suddenly left without anything. Other respondents, particularly women over 40, complained that the NES was biased against them, and favored only young women. Many respondents, however, were able to depend on regular, if small, pensions and child-benefits, but complained that the regulations governing social assistance are unclear. Municipalities differed considerably in their policies, as well. As a result, while applicants in some municipalities were very grateful for the support they had received, through employment in public works, payments for medical care, free lunches, and so forth, others felt humiliated by what they perceived as a pressure to

48 “beg” for help, to put up with rude, contemptuous, and moralistic behavior on the part of social assistance office staff. The lack of transparent, clear guidelines makes poor people feel impotent and humiliated in one more area of their lives.

49 CHAPTER 6: HEALTH CARE AND NUTRITION

INTRODUCTION

Poverty and poor health often go together, as one factor intensifies and responds to the other, for example, ill health causing loss of employment, which in turn makes someone less able to afford quality medical care. Our findings suggest that in some cases, a serious accident or illness serves as a shock which can push a family over the edge into poverty, by turning a former earner into a dependent, and/or by forcing families to pay for large medical expenses, which they can only do by selling assets or borrowing money.

When discussing medical care and health, our respondents raised the following concerns: · the cost of health care · the poor quality of public medical services · the lack of preventive care · the inability to maintain good nutrition · the health implications of alcoholism and smoking · the impact of poverty on mental health

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

All respondents reported some health problems. Since medical care must now be paid for, except in cases of some serious illnesses, respondents tend to maximally delay visiting a doctor, preferring to treat themselves if possible with home remedies, over-the- counter medications, or to seek advice from personally known doctors and nurses. This was particularly the case with chronic illnesses which our respondents suffered, such as gastritis, ulcers, heart conditions, and asthma, which require periodic examinations and regular medications, but which respondents tended to neglect. The only case in which respondents had visited a doctor for preventive examinations was when it was required for employment. Even in this case, the employees were required to pay for the examinations.

According to poor respondents, doctors vary in their attitude toward indigent patients. Some doctors drop requests for payment when the patient is a small child, or when the family is visibly very needy. In other cases, they are sympathetic -- but still demand their 5 lats. Some pensioners expressed fear of doctors -- they felt that in Soviet times doctors sought to cure patients, now they do what they can to ensure the patient returns frequently.

Although people are entitled to a variety of discounts for medical treatment, many are unaware of their rights. According to an interview with a SIDA consultant seconded

50 to the Bank mission in Riga, poor people occupy a particularly difficult position – while people are entitled to a tax exemption for particularly high medical fees, poor people (the most likely to work illegally, if at all, and who therefore do not pay taxes) are not entitled to these exemptions, because they don’t pay taxes. The exemptions thus target the more well off.

Applying for medical rebates A respondent painfully remembers the humiliation she felt when asking for assistance after the birth of her last child. Because of complications, she spent some time in hospital. Her husband was out of work at the time. When she was discharged from hospital she owed more 20 lats, which was all the savings the family had. The hospital told them that by law, they were entitled to be refunded this money from the municipality, and they were given a receipt. A few days later, the respondent went to the municipality office to get her money, but the employee on duty threw her receipt at her, refusing to handle it on the grounds that “you have paid it yourself.” No explanation was given, and no refund was made.

Few respondents could afford to spend money on health care or prevention. As far as possible, health problems that require payment are postponed. Respondents tell that they seldom seek medical services, sometimes too late, at times of crisis, because of lack of funds.

A doctor’s perspective A physician, Èvo (36), lives with his mother, Vija (64), who also practiced medicine before she retired. Since he can obtain the necessary medicines, the family is able to forestall illness. Èvo admits that if they had to pay for it all, it would be very hard. Based on his working experience, Èvo says that since independence the quality of medicine has improved considerably; new methods of treatment have been adopted and the available medicines has increased. However, laboratory tests, diagnosing and treatment are very expensive compared to patients’ income. Due to the inability of people to pay, he asserts, illnesses are disease not caught in time or treated. (Interview MP-8, Riga).

Health insurance Few of the interviewed families had purchased insurance, and then usually for individual family members who were due to have an operation or needed long term treatment. The reasons they gave were either lack of money, or chaos in the health insurance system which makes them distrust it. If someone has health insurance, payment for medical services is covered in most, but not all, cases.

Respondents described how they coped with lack of insurance. Because the insurance takes effect within 10 days, when they get sick and think they may have to go to the hospital, only then do they pay for insurance and wait the requisite period of ten days. Alternatively, only a single family members took out insurance. Not everyone can afford insurance at all, since, depending on the coverage, it cost 18 – 30 lats a year for adults, or 25.20 – 7.20 lats a year for children, a prohibitive expense for large families. Some

51 parents resorted to another method: they send one child to a doctor using the identification of a younger sibling, who is still at school and entitled to free treatment.

Pensioners and health insurance Price increases in health insurance in 1998 led some pensioners to cancel their health insurance. In 1998, Maria and Jasep, Riga pensioners, bought insurance policies for 7.50 each (this amount included a discount of 1.50 Ls, given because they had purchased insurance for three years in a row). Their insurance covered office consultations and laboratory tests. At the beginning of 1998, they heard on the radio that medical insurance was now being sold by hospitals, charging 18 lats for the cheapest policy, and that the policies they had purchased through the Ministry of Health were now invalid. They were told they could return their old policies at the hospital for a refund. When they went to do so, they recounted, there was a crowd of pensioners, and practically all were there to get their money back.

“Under the table” payments Today, Latvians are expected to pay official fees for most forms of treatment (with exceptions for certain kinds of ailments or surgical procedures). Yet many of our respondents reported that they were unable to obtain free treatment in for ostensibly free procedures, and on the contrary, such treatment could amount to hundreds of lats, or several months salaries. In addition, whether or not treatment is free, most respondents make additional “under the table” payments to doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel even if they are not directly asked to do so. Like official fees, such unofficial fees range from gifts of chocolate and cognac to hundreds of lats in cash, a significant hardship for unemployed families. Particularly when someone is hospitalized, it is necessary to pay hospital personnel to ensure they receive attention. As respondents noted, one can refuse to pay, but then one risks being completely neglected.

The high cost of treatment In 1997 Volodja, 48, living in Riga, had sudden sharp stomach pains which were diagnosed as stomach cancer. The head of a hospital department, a well known surgeon, told him that he would operate for 300 lats, although officially, cancer treatment and surgery in Latvia are free. His wife, Larisa, paid the demanded amount from their savings. During the month that Volodja spent in intensive care, Larisa spent 200 lats on gifts for doctors and unofficial payments to nurses and orderlies. Larisa claimed that says everything had to be paid for, otherwise no-one would come near her husband. The treatment depleted the family savings, and they now find themselves in poverty because Volodja, the breadwinner, can no longer work.

Paying for medicine The disabled, and parents of disabled children were particularly concerned about the expense of medication. Although in some cases disabled people receive free medical help and medicines, or receive discounts, the privation of recent years has affected their health. Opportunities to receive physiotherapy or spend time at a sanatorium have diminished because of lack of funds. Many respondents rely on herbal teas because they cannot afford appropriate medication.

The quality of health care Most respondents concur that since independence, the quality of medical services, at least in urban areas, has improved. Doctors’ qualifications have improved considerably, foreign medical literature, experience, equipment, instruments, medication

Paying for free medicine In a village in Cesis district, about 100 km from Riga, Ausma and her husband Guntis live with their 4 children. Guntis does casual labor, while his wife takes care of the house and children. Their 5 year old son is seriously disabled, and requires medicine “Hicenals,” which is expensive. The family tries to economize on food. Although his medicine should be free, Ausma often has to pay for it. As a rule, doctors do not write a prescription but just tell her the name of the medicine, and without a prescription, she must pay for it. The doctors forget that their child is entitled to free medication, and it is embarrassing to keep reminding them. Sometimes the doctors prescribe medicine which is not available at the local pharmacy and she must go to Riga for it. According to legislation, she is entitled to free medicine only at the regional pharmacies. have become more available. At the same time, medical services have become more expensive, and even out of reach for low income families. When possible, people try to obtain treatment through relatives and acquaintances, “so you can feel like a human being and don’t have to wait in line for hours.”

In some rural areas, medical services have often deteriorated. Hospitals have closed in a number of small towns, such as Ape and Ligatne, where people had grown to trust the local doctors. Elsewhere, however, respondents sharply criticized the qualifications of small town medical personnel and their poor facilities. In case of serious illness, many respondents were unwilling to rely on the competence of local doctors. They have heard and/or experienced cases when an incorrect diagnosis or delayed treatment prevented doctors from sending their patients to Riga, so as not to damage their reputation. Nevertheless, attitudes varied according to respondent and region. In pale, people described the doctors as polite: “It’s not like in Russian times, when doctors looked down on one. Now everybody is scared of losing their job so they can’t afford to be slack.” Some people were less distrustful of the older doctors, for these soviet-era attitudes, but trust the young doctors, whom they regard as “less spoiled.”

On the other hand, some rural residents expressed trust the paramedics working at local clinics. They felt they understood the health conditions of local people and also their home conditions, and therefore often give medicine and advice for free, or at low cost. While villagers pay 0.20 lats for a child and 0.60 lats for an adult to visit the doctor, paramedics will make house calls for 0.50 lats for a child, and 1 lat for an adult. The paramedic, moreover, will bring with him medication that otherwise would have to be purchased through the veterinary pharmacy, because there is no accessible ordinary pharmacy. But their competence was not seen as sufficient for treating serious illness. Increasingly, rural people have resorted to folk healers, with mixed success. However, folk healers and fortune tellers do not demand much money, often accept payment in kind, and waive payment on occasion.

HEALTH PROBLEMS OF THE POOR

Dental problems Dental care caused problems for all respondents. Some respondents were entirely unable to visit the dentist, although in some cases, that had led to real suffering and loss of teeth. Many respondents had bad teeth because they could not pay for preventive treatment, or as a result of poor nutrition. Respondents were aware that by waiting until the dental problem became acute, they ended up paying even more for their visit. For a long time, for example, Aina, the 42 year old mother of 15 year old twins, have put off visiting the dentist. They understand that the dentist charges 5-10 lats for a visit, which will mean they would have to go without food for a week just to repair one tooth. Older respondents said they had ruled out dental visits, because they needed dentures, which they knew were very expensive, sometimes 100 lats.

Female respondents felt the most acutely about the condition of their teeth and about missing teeth, because they are aware that it affects their appearance. Young women who are missing teeth try to cover their mouths when laughing. In some case, pregnancies had worsened the condition of their teeth. Several women recounted that when looking for work, potential employers had pointed out this defect in their appearance as a reason not to hire them. This response created a vicious circle -- poor appearance prevents women, especially, from finding work, but when they don’t have work, they can’t afford to repair their teeth.

Prenatal and maternal care Most families now try to curtail the number of children, who are now “an expensive pleasure,” as respondent from Ligatne commented. Often, however, it is the poorest families who had the most children. Some respondents used contraceptives and felt it was important enough to save money for, because they understand that they must save money for these. There is little information on the most suitable kinds, however, especially among rural women, who complained that the doctors who could be trusted in this area were not sufficiently competent. When pregnant, however, women usually take advantage of both prenatal and postnatal leave and receive all the provided benefits.

Most of the interviewed women who had given birth during recent years had received prenatal examinations by a gynecologist. These examinations were free, and urban women were generally satisfied with them. They were also pleased to be able to choose their doctor, rather than being limited to the specialist in their area, as was the case during the soviet period. Rural women have more difficulties, however, since they have to travel considerably farther for their prenatal examinations. Village women might travel as much as an hour on the bus to the regional center, and then have to walk a distance to the hospital. In addition, they find the travel tiring and often expensive.

Urban women are generally satisfied with the maternity hospitals, although they say that if they could pay more, they would receive better service and individual attention.

54 In rural areas, women prefer to go to the closest regional town to give birth, because the small rural hospitals are either closed or badly equipped. The women believe that the doctors there, too, are less qualified. Although the personnel at regional hospitals may be better, however, women still must bring all the necessary supplies with them, including cheesecloth, cotton, even dishes for their meals while in the hospital .

Giving birth in a regional hospital Anda delivered her first son in Riga, and her second one in the Jekabpils regional hospital, which gave her the opportunity to compare the two. The material condition of the birthing clinic at the region’s central hospital was very poor, she concluded. If four women needed something for pain at the same time, there was not enough to go around. She had to bring 5 meters of cheesecloth to the hospital and 200g of cotton wool. Anda has no complaints regarding the top medical personnel, but she did complain of the nursing staff, who treated her with open rudeness.

Child health Both parents and medical professionals interviewed for this study thought the health of children from poor families was deteriorating as a result of poor nutrition. Medical professionals working in schools felt that even when parents considered that their children were well, in fact, that elementary school children were exhibiting increased medical problems, ranging from spinal deformation to bad teeth, mainly as a result of poor nutrition. They were convinced that the children were smaller than they should be for their ages. A pediatrician interviewed in the Cesis region noted that 70% of infants there had been born with some health problem, and 30% had developmental disorders, in some cases related to parental alcoholism or smoking. In such families, pregnant women registered late for prenatal care and did not consult a doctor in cases of complications. Infants in these families often suffered from infections because of poor care. Respondents also note that diseases which had disappeared have now reappeared. A teacher at a rural high school observed that a number of school children suffered from hidden tuberculosis, as well as from respiratory ailments, many of which developed into asthma.

Problems maintaining good nutrition In all the interviewed families, the typical diet has changed a great deal in recent years. Consumption of meat, once the traditional mainstay, has decreased, as have consumption of bread and bread products, which have also become more expensive. For many respondents, the main food item on their diet has become potatoes and other vegetables. Cheap fish also features in peoples’ diets. However, even for respondents who are supplied with fruit, vegetable, meat and dairy products by relatives, winter can be a difficult period, when supplies run short.

In urban areas, or among people without land, or relatives who can supply them, respondents try to buy the cheapest possible food, such as ground turkey, dried soup, and kefir. One respondent, for example, buys discounted bread for 0.15 Ls and fries it in pork fat, as “a cheap way to feel full.” Few can afford to buy fruit, even though they shop at the markets rather than the more expensive retail shops. Although few respondents

55 complained of outright hunger, many said that often, they had not eaten as much as they would have liked to.

Many of the interviewed families, however, tried to take preventive measures to maintain their family’s health by providing at least the children with nutritious food. When there is money, some parents buy vitamins for their children, especially those who are aware that their diet is poor. Otherwise, they rely on fresh and preserved fruit from their own gardens, eat a lot of garlic and onions, drink herb teas, and if possible eat honey.

Poverty and mental health Feelings of depression, ranging from mild apathy to an obsession with suicide, were frequently reported by respondents. People complained considerable about enforced idleness of unemployment: “I am a healthy person who stared out the window and doesn’t know what to do out of idleness.” Most of them attributed severe depression to the unremitting economic pressure, constant, insomnia and worry. Female respondents -- but not male -- said that concern for their children kept them from suicide. A few respondents reported suicides committed by men in their own families, or among close acquaintances.

Depression and suicide Rita (aged 34) and her son (aged 5) live in a good 4 room apartment. Rita is university educated, but unemployed since May 1997. For the last few years, Rita has suffered from depression. Everything “gets on her nerves,” nothing tastes good, she cannot sleep, she has become indifferent to social life and politics. She always feels tired and angry, because she cannot see a way out of her existing situation and her poverty. She has thought of suicide, but concern for her child keeps her alive. (LB-2) Antonina (age 52), Russian, secondary education, works as a cleaner for a soap company in Riga. Her husband, Grigorijs (age 56), also Russian, was an unemployed mechanic. They have a daughter, age 23, a son age 14, and a granddaughter of 4. Antonina is the only provider in the family. During the interview she described how Grigorijs had been unsuccessfully looking for work for a year, and was deeply upset at his failure. Lately, he had begun returning drunk from his attempts to find work, which triggered family arguments. Sometime after this interview took place, the interviewer called again upon Antonina, and learned that a week after the interview, Antonina had found Grigorijs in the kitchen, where he had hung himself.

ALCOHOLISM

Alcoholism is one of the most striking leit motifs of the household interviews. It comes up in a range of context: unemployment (as cause and consequence); road and work-related accidents; death of a breadwinner; indigence and homelessness; dysfunctional family relationships and neglected children. Alcoholism affects women as well as men, albeit to a lesser extent, and is said to characterize whole villages where the employment possibilities have vanished.

56 Latvians have long been heavy consumers of alcohol. During the 1960s, a rapid rise in the consumption of alcohol took place throughout the USSR, and notably in Latvia, where consumption of alcohol doubled over a decade. By the end of 1970s, per capita consumption of alcohol had reached 11 liters of pure alcohol, and by 1990, had doubled again, to 22 liters per capita per year.

Alcohol consumption in Latvia A 1997 WHO report, based on 1990 statistics gathered in 50 countries, documents excessive alcohol use in Latvia, where consumption was equivalent to 22 liters of pure alcohol per year. In 1990, Latvia had the highest number of deaths from alcohol-related toxicity and trauma, while only Russia had higher figures for alcohol related psychosis. In the past 6 years, however, 25,000 people have died from alcohol related causes, including poisoned bootlegged alcohol smuggled into Latvia, according to director of a Phare drug control program (Philip Birzulis, “Staggering under the influence of alcohol, The Baltic Times, Feb. 19-25, 1988).

As a result of Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign, alcohol production and legal consumption started decreasing in 1985. Today, there are noticeable class differences in alcohol consumption: the middle class tends toward wine, which is relatively more expensive, working class prefer hard alcohol (“krutka,” or “moonshine”); the youth drinking culture tends toward beer and hard alcohol.

Soviet era alcohol policy · Restricted hours for selling alcohol · strict age restrictions for buying alcohol, including beer; · special shops for the sale of alcohol sale; introduction under Gorbachev of ration cards for alcohol · alcohol use was forbidden during working hours; factory authorities could send heavy alcohol users to forced treatment · Home brew, or “moonshine,” was illegal and punished · Police often picked up alcoholics from the street and took them to “sobering up stations”.

Contemporary alcohol policy · Unrestricted sales hours · no age related sales restrictions (except in the new supermarkets) · Alcohol widely sold in grocery stores and kiosks · Home made alcohol is widely available for sale, round the clock · Low quality alcohol is being smuggled into Latvia · Illegal manufacture of home-made alcohol has become the only source of income for some · The old “sobering-up stations” no longer function · Alcohol prices have remained relatively low

Despite the difficulty in showing a clear cause-and-effect relationship between unemployment, stress, and alcohol abuse, many interviews suggest the following dynamic: people who may have used alcohol to a limited extent at work, and gotten drunk

57 on social occasions or during periods of stress, now find much less tolerance from employers. Whether they were fired for consuming alcohol at work, or, more likely, lost jobs during mass redundancies, difficulties in finding new employment and the whole nexus of financial and family stress have led to increased alcohol use. In turn, increased alcohol makes such people even less employable, reduces their ability to earn money even in the informal sector, leads to the build-up of debts for housing, results in eventual eviction, homelessness, and ever-deeper alcoholism. Because of alcoholism, it was said, people are sometimes unable to work even brief periods. For instance, in Rçzekne, the Social Assistance Services offers free meals to children of the unemployed if their parents spend ten days doing work arranged by local government. They have found that the parents are often unable to meet even such modest requirements because of heavy alcohol use.

A number of female respondents in our study had also lost spouses to alcohol- related car accidents; this loss of a breadwinner plunged the whole family into poverty. One respondent, a former policeman in Kabile parish, observed that in his district, alcohol had contributed to many road accidents, particularly those involving agricultural machinery. He linked this to the fact that especially for parish youth, there was nothing to do.

Another important alcohol-related theme running through many interviews was its gender specificity. While both men and women abuse alcohol, many respondents of both sexes felt that women had proved psychologically resilient during periods of economic stress, perhaps because their identity depends more on performance of domestic and child-related tasks. Men, whose identity is more dependent on their ability to earn money, had crumbled more easily, and responded to economic difficulties by retreating into alcoholism and suicidal depression. Respondents also had health problems which were the culmination of many years of alcohol abuse, but which pose a greater problem for households now, when they have less access to health coverage and fewer subsidies to fall back on when the breadwinner becomes ill.

Perhaps a third of the respondents in the study mention alcohol-related problems in their household, and felt that alcoholism as a major social problem had increased dramatically.6 It should be added that respondents never spoke about the relation of their own alcohol use to poverty, but generally focused on other (albeit related) reasons, such as job loss. The predominance of alcoholism in our sample is even more striking, given the slight bias among interviewers and among Social Assistance Service staff and other sources of referrals, to prefer the “deserving poor,” that is, families without alcohol problems, which appeared to be doing everything in their power to cope with objectively difficult circumstances.

6 The actual prevalence of alcohol problems is difficult to measure accurately in this kind of study. The number would depend on: (i) how one assesses alcohol abuse from occasional use, (ii) the extent to which one can rely on full and open reporting by respondents, and (iii) to what extent one can or should rely on the observations of interviewers when respondents do not raise the issue of alcoholism.

Further complicating the picture is the fact that illegal alcohol production has become a source of income to poor households struggling to make a living. One such couple sell “home brew” for 2 lats a liter, which gives them 25% profit per bottle. available, and that if it could only be purchased in shops, where it sells for higher prices, fewer people could afford to abuse it.

CONCLUSION

The picture of health and access to health care among Latvia’s poor presents a very disquieting picture. Heavy alcohol use, combined with poor nutrition, economic-related stress, and reduced access to once easily available if not high- quality medical care has severely impacted on the health of poor people. The current picture presents certain ironies –the quality of private care is far better than before, but the availability of even public care is far less. Statistics on the spread of tuberculosis and the prevalence of alcohol-related deaths confirm this picture. Finally, the cases described by respondents demonstrate the close relationship between poor health, reduced employability, and on-going poverty.

59 CHAPTER 7: EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

During the fifty years of socialism, the main features of the Latvian education system were: · most children attended kindergartens, · the full period of secondary schooling was 11 years with instruction in Latvian, and 10 years for Russian schools (as in Russia), · secondary education was compulsory, · the three types of secondary education -- general secondary, specialized secondary and vocational secondary -- differed considerably in educational quality, · There was a high degree in the ideologization of education at all levels, · teaching methods were centrally mandated, such that all teachers had to follow a prescribed syllabus and each subject had one officially approved textbook

In 1991, the length of schooling was changed to 12 years for all schools, regardless of the language of instruction. Now the Latvian educational system has several levels. Children under 7 should attend kindergarten, and education is compulsory for every child from 7 to 15 or until they finish ninth grade. Secondary education is divided into (i) general secondary (3 years), (ii) vocational, and (iii) and specialized secondary or college education (3-5 years).

For fifty years, two parallel school systems (Latvian and Russian) existed side by side. Every Latvian pupil and school graduate mastered spoken and written Russian, but unfortunately it was not the case with Russians that they mastered Latvian. Today, the renewed use of Latvian, the state language, in the educational system is a crucial issue.

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE VALUE OF EDUCATION

Many respondents were eager to speak about youth and education, and the theme of education was therefore usually discussed usually by all members of a household. Educated respondents appreciated the role of education in one’s life as a value in itself, and considered a good education as essential to getting a good job and earning money. Such parents stated they were prepared to sell family assets or jewelry in order to provide a higher education for their children.

Some families, however, expressed less interest in their children’s education, often because they did not perceive that education was necessary. This was particularly true of the most dysfunctional families, where the children were neglected, and often did not go to school at all. parents who seriously neglected their children, and such children do not go to school at all.

60 Indifference to education Svetlana is an unemployed Russian, 38, living in Daugavpils. Her son Misha is formally enrolled at school, but according to their neighbor, frequently skips classes and takes part in petty thefts. Svetlana reported that Misha’s teachers used to “give her lectures, but they gave up when they saw nothing was being achieved.” Svetlana herself doubts the value of education: “Why does he need school anyway? It is just money wasted on books. He can read and write well.” Noting that one of her friends, an unemployed alcoholic, has a higher education, she concludes, “if you’re too smart you won’t get a job.” A Roma respondent, 65, in Ventspils, expressed doubt about the value of education. “What does education do for you? My daughter has 10 years education, but can she get a job -- no. Why did she go to school, if she can no more get a job with her education than I without any.”

SCHOOL RELATED COSTS

School supplies For many poor families, school related costs are a major part of the family budget. In Pale, a respondent reported paying 80 lats to send her son off to school in September. Money is needed for shoes and clothing, school equipment such as book bags, and bus, tram or trolley transportation, and even the discounted monthly tickets are relatively expensive. For example, parents may pay anywhere from 0.50 to 2.40 Lats a month for bus tickets when the school is far from home. For parents with several school age children, such expenses mount up. Many parents cannot afford to give their children money for school lunches, which can cost 1.50 lats a week, but send them to school with sandwiches if they can.

Coping with school expenses Alla goes to Daugavpils Primary School No. 1, where she gets fed three times a day. She comes home around 3 or 4 p.m.; twice a week she attends a sewing club. The school has boarding facilities and her mother would be happy to have Alla spend her nights there, since the school is located on the city outskirts and she has to take two trams to get there. The parents buy monthly tickets which cost only 0.50 Lats, but even so, the family owes the school 1.50 Lats for them. They are afraid the school will stop providing them and then Alla will have to walk to school. Now she leaves home every morning at 7.30 a.m. for the tram. There are closer high schools, but they do not provide free meals or other expenses. The school does not demand any school fees, but at the end of the year they expect parents to donate 3 Lats to cover school repairs. Excursions cost 0.30 - 0.50 Lats. So far this school year, Alla has been to the children’s theater and the circus several times.

School clothing Some parents reported keeping their children home from school because they could not provide them with clothing. Sometimes shoes pose a particular problem. In such cases, siblings may have one pair of shoes between them, and have to take turns wearing them out.

61 Affording school clothing A large family of 7 children, six of them attending school in Liepaja district, reports difficulty affording clothing for the children. At present, the children pass down clothing from the older to the youngest until they have totally worn out. They either get clothes from their aunt’s children, or from second hand shops. The hardest problem is trousers for boys as they wear out the fastest.

Voluntary donations Although education remains officially free in state educational institutions, many schools now demand “voluntary donations” from parents for the “school fund.” Many interviews brought out the fact that parents are now paying from 2-7 Lats per month in such fees. The school director decides how to use this money -- whether to use it to supplement teachers’ salaries, to pay for school redecoration, to photocopy teaching materials, to buy a computer for the school, and so forth.

Textbooks Textbooks pose another problem. In several municipalities, schools are provided with textbooks. These are usually the smaller municipalities, however. In the better Riga, schools, parents must purchase all textbooks and exercise books. Parents complain that teachers want pupils to purchase the very latest textbooks, at a cost of 2-3 lats each, and that each teacher makes his/her own decision about additional teaching aids. This means that the textbooks used by older children are not necessarily those that can be passed on to younger siblings.

A staff member at Daugavpils Social Assistance Center commented bitterly on the high price of textbooks which her office sometimes purchased for poor families. They might be printed on nice paper, but she felt the high price was mainly the result of a government monopoly. In some cases, parents who cannot afford to buy their children textbooks xerox copies for them, but their children are teased by schoolmates when they show up with these xeroxes.

62 CONCERNS OVER ACCESS AND QUALITY

Many families expressed concern with the reduced opportunities to ensure a good education for their children. As they noted, elite private schools have emerged, but not every child can get an education there. Moreover, while secondary education used to be free, schools now request fees from parents to cover the operating costs of the school.” In many cases, pupils must pay to take “optional” classes in a foreign language or to participate in sports. School excursions to theater or New Year’s parties demands further contributions from parents. Parents also complain that their children can no longer participate in after-school activities because of the cost. The problem of cost is compounded by that of transportation for rural children, who have less opportunities to participate in after-school activities because public transportation has been cut, and there is only one after-school bus available.

Poor parents also fear that tuition for higher education may be introduced, because they feel this would entirely prevent their children from studying at the university or other institutions of higher education. As it is, private institutions now charge from $500 to $1,000 per year. Even vocational education has become an unreachable goal for some. For example, 23 year old Guntis, studying at a Riga trade school, was unable to combine work with classes, and his parents could not afford to help him buy the necessary tools and equipment. Iveta, who has several children, will only allow the best student to study at a vocational high school; the others must stay to work on the farm in Aloja municipality. . Paying for elite schools Arturs (age 34, higher education) is a father of two children (twins, 11 years) who makes the effort to send his children to the best schools in Riga. He was very proud that his children had passed the entrance exams for an elite lower secondary school. He admitted that these schools are expensive, but would not reveal the sums involved, noting that “You should not talk much about your poverty in these schools, or they will advise you to send children to less expensive cheaper schools.”

Parents who have children in the same school or in even the same class differed in their views about the quality of education their children were receiving. Many respondents were concerned about the good teachers who had left their teaching posts because of low salaries. As one Jelgava parent put it: “Now there are two types of teachers -- those who are ‘fanatics,’ and those who are not able to re-qualify for other jobs and teach only because they could not find another job.”

Parents complain that schools lack professional psychologist. In the secondary school in Pale, physical education takes place with worn-out equipment, in the assembly hall rather than in a gymnasium, and the soviet-era maps used in geography class have worn into “rags.” Some parents were concerned about teaching methods, in which “the old stagnation still rules,” with teachers simply trying to keep the children quiet.

63 The quality of language instruction is a particular worry for parents who do not speak Latvian. In the Daugavpils region, for example, many Russian speaking families are now sending their children to schools where Latvian is the language of instruction. Latvian-speaking families, however, now complain that the teaching and learning process has worsened because Russian children do not understand and while teacher is explaining something to them, Latvian children lose time. Parents complain that in kindergartens with many Russian children and few Latvians, the whole group starts speaking Russian.

TRUANCY

Another big problem is that of children who have dropped out of the educational system. Interviews with school directors, inspectors of children’s rights, and other school authorities in Riga, Daugavpils, Kandava, Valka, Bauska, Iecava and Aluksne suggest that in some cases, allegations children are kept out of because of financial problems may be a red herring. In the view of these professionals, although school expenses can present a formidable burden, school non-attendance more often characterizes families in which one or both parents are alcoholics, have no more than an elementary school education, and in some cases, finished schools for those with serious learning disabilities.

The problem of non-attendance if further complicated by the fact that for one reason or another, some families are not registered in the municipality where they live (possibly because the children have moved in with relatives, or the family has been evicted from their homes for non-payment of rent and have moved into premises not considered habitable). As a result, local authorities remain unaware of the problem. When they become aware of truancy, they sometimes try to have the children admitted into special boarding schools, or “internats,” where it is considered that children will receive not only an education, but clothing, decent food, and responsible attention.

According to their observations, children from poor families fall into several categories: · children of single-parent families who have financial difficulties but are concerned about their children’s education · children of poorly educated parents who themselves had learning difficulties · children kept at home because they are underdeveloped and chronically sick · children of alcoholics who are not concerned about their education · children and grandchildren who have moved to new municipalities where they are not registered · children born in rural areas, whose birth was never registered and who have remained entirely out of the system

In addition to children who drop out of primary education, the other important group consist of those who are 15, and therefore no longer obliged to attend school. This group includes children with learning and discipline problems, and who have often repeated grades so often they are older than their peers. Some of them are expelled or

64 flunked out of school the day after they reach fifteen. Usually these are teenagers who already have problems at home.

Teenage school dropouts In Daugavpils a school was opened for those young people who have not attended school for many years. The school only accommodates Russian speakers, however, and authorities claim they did not have sufficient funds to open a similar school for Latvian speakers. for a not been in one for a long time, but they are only for Russians. They said they couldn’t find the funds for a similar school for Latvians. For one poor Latvian family in Daugavpils, this has left them with no options. Private teachers would be too expensive. The mother doesn’t know what will happen further with her son’s education. Now her only hope is that he will live and work in the countryside, since “you don’t need to be too smart there!”

Many of these problem teenagers therefore leave school before acquiring a basic education and do not have any profession. According to the existing labor legislation, these problem youngsters cannot be employed or apply for unemployment benefits. As some older respondents noted, in towns and particularly in rural areas, these youth may well become a generation lost to criminal and gang activities, alcoholism, and prostitution. At present, the Ministry of Education is therefore discussing the idea of prolonging the age of compulsory education until the age of 17 or 18.

CONCLUSION

Education is often thought as a mechanism which promotes a sense of membership and involvement in state and society, and creates a shared sense of nationhood. At present, however, education is contributing to the processes of differentiation at work in Latvian society. Children from poor families only have access to local schooling, while more prosperous parents, or those highly motivated because of their own educational background can and often do send their children farther afield to better schools. This fact, plus the high unofficial costs of education (particularly at these elite schools) means that parents and children do not have free choice of an educational institution which best suits their children’s talents and abilities. It can be said that children in Latvia no longer have equal rights to receive a good elementary and secondary school education.

65 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS

WHO ARE THE POOR?

While poverty in Latvia cuts across all boundaries, the study identified household types whose situation puts them at greater risk of becoming and remaining poor. In such households, all the members are at greater risk of prolonged poverty. They include: · large families with three or more children · single-parent families · households /families with unemployed persons, especially those nearing pension age ·households with one or more seriously ill or disabled members · households without close family networks · rural households · households with one or more alcoholic member

Large families with many children, especially when the children are young, face special challenges in addition to the obvious one of a high dependent/earner ratio. These include steadily increasing expenses for education, as well as higher housing costs (without meters, these are reckoned according to family as well as apartment size). In our sample, children from larger families were less likely to continue their education for a variety of reasons, including the need to contribute an income to the family. Parents of large families feel bitter at their present treatment by the state. One mother with many children expressed her feelings as a “victim” of patriotic idealism, because she and her husband had been motivated to raise as many Latvians as possible.

Single parent families in our sample experienced difficulties either because the parent (usually but not always the mother) was often unemployed or underemployed, without a backup in the other spouse. Or the single parent worked and supported the children on a single income. Given the job discrimination women experience as they age, or as mothers of small children, along with the fact that unemployed former husbands often fail to pay child support, female single parents cope with significant burdens.

A single mother Benita (aged 43) is a divorced, unemployed mother living in Riga, where she is bringing up two children alone. As a result of “incompetently divided property” after the divorce, her husband received all their joint property and provides no support for the children. Benita and her children live a hand-to-mouth existence, and when hunger gets the better of them, she and the children hitchhike to her mother in the country for a meal.

Unemployment is generally a significant factor in poverty, but unemployed people nearing retirement age face a combination of problems: they are least likely to find another job and very likely to become long-term unemployed; they are often at an age when a spouse has died or left, children have grown up and moved out, and they must

66 cope alone. The problem is acute both in rural areas, especially among aging collective farm workers with few transferable skills, and in urban areas, where the competition for jobs is fierce.

Disability put individuals and their entire household at risk for poverty, even when they receive social assistance. In the first place, families often have to devote considerable resources to medical treatment, in some cases exhausting family savings and going into debt. In cases where the disabled person used to be a family breadwinner, the disability often prevents him or her from maintaining employment in the current competitive environment, in contrast to the Soviet period, where they were virtually guaranteed employment.

The respondents in our study rely heavily on family networks for assistance, both on a daily basis in the form of small sums of money, meals, agricultural products, and services, and for emergencies. Not surprisingly, people without such networks -- for example, among elderly, single, childless people, or immigrants, whose spouses may have died, and whose remaining relatives live abroad -- have the most difficulties and the fewest resources to fall back on.

Alcoholism, and its relation to unemployment, depression, and family disintegration, was a pervasive theme encountered by all the interviewers. While respondents may have regularly drunk on the job during Soviet times, today this practice is less tolerated, with the result that people lose their jobs, become demoralised, increase their alcohol consumption, and become ever less employable. Women repeatedly brought up the problem of alcoholism as a reason for family strife, and local experts attributed many problems observed in children (poor health, truancy, and delinquency) to alcoholic parents.

REGIONAL, ETHNIC AND GENDER VARIATIONS IN POVERTY

Poverty and previous degree of development The experience of poverty is affected by where people live in terms of immediate neighborhood, as well as the relation of their community as a whole to the region, and its overall level of economic development. For example, during the soviet period, huge factories were built in Daugavpils (Latgale region), Jelgava (Zemgale region), Liepaja (Kurzeme region), and Valmiera (Vidzeme region), and the government encouraged workers from Russia and other republics to settle in these cities. Closure of these enterprises has resulted in concentrations of unemployment among a highly specialized labor force, many of whom lack extensive social support networks because they come from outside Latvia. This latter group experiences particular obstacles because many do not know Latvian, and thus find whole categories of employment closed to them.

Extensive unemployment particularly characterizes the Latgale region, where, according to current figures, official unemployment is about 24%, compared to 3.1% in Riga. Latgale, ruled for many years by Poland, still has a strong Catholic identity, as well

67 as a much more ethnically diverse population than other parts of Latvia, with high numbers of ethnic Russians, Poles, Belorussians, and others. According to many indicators, it is also considerably poorer than other parts of Latvia. Life expectancy, education levels, level of employment, and average incomes in the rural districts around Jekabpils, Daugavpils, Rezekne, and Gulbene are lower than the national average, while mortality rates in the working-age population are higher (particularly from parasitic infections, respiratory illnesses, and accidents).

Latgale also has a high proportion of long term unemployed who do not receive unemployment benefits, which has contributed to deepening poverty there. Poor people in Latgale more often stressed the role of social networks in finding work and their involvement in the “gray economy.”

The two Latvias “Don’t let anyone tell me that prosperity in Latvia is developing; maybe a deputy or someone who makes large investments says that. We feel that there are two states in Latvia – Riga and the rest of the country ” (an official from the Daugavpils Social Assistance Center).

Viesite district exemplifies the problem of Latgale. One of the least densely populated areas in the country, it has large swamps and extensive forest, with many scattered homesteads isolated from larger centers. According to 1997 city statistics, conditions in Viesite were ranked the lowest in Latvia, in terms of unemployment and demographic trends. In the last years, a number of enterprises have closed, throwing further numbers out of work. These included a large agricultural enterprise, whose former rural employees now have a markedly high rate of alcoholism; a diesel factory which collapsed along with its soviet markets; a sewing factory which employed 50 women, and an industrial enterprise. There are only a few remaining enterprises which operate with a very reduced labor force. The majority of the rural population survives on private or leased land and some forestry work, both of which frequently rely on manual labor.

The liquidation of the former agricultural collectives have left a decayed infrastructure and vandalized facilities. According to Social Services staff, most of the residents suffered serious health consequences from the nature of their work and poor environmental conditions. Alcoholism is reported to be a leading cause of death among men; mental illness is high among women.

Riga and Ventspils are relatively more prosperous urban conglomerations, where residents have more opportunity to find some sort of work than in other towns, certainly more than in rural areas. Complaints in these cities focused on the difficulties of finding well-paid jobs or work in their specialty. This attitude contrasts with that expressed by unemployed respondents in smaller towns and villages, who were eager to work for any remuneration. Likewise, respondents in Bauska district, just south of Riga district, and bordering Lithuania, felt that their situation was marginally better than elsewhere in the country, because none had experienced real hunger, and all had retained their homes.

68 They also felt that the appearance and condition of their town and roads had improved in the last year. Respondents reported a great variety of small-scale entrepreneurial activities (construction, renovation, crafts, etc) by which they were able to supplement salaries and incomes from social transfers.

Those districts which were more sparsely settled, and had been dominated by collective farms, report some of the harshest conditions. At the same time, our findings suggest that there is often little distinction between the worst living conditions in the best and worst municipalities. Even in more prosperous parishes, where roads are well paved, streets lit, and conditions safer, there is still extremely sub-standard housing where local people without options remain. Examples are Bunka and Rucava municipalities in Liepaja district, and Kabile and Renda municipalities in Kuldiga district.

Bunka, for example, had been built around a collective farm. After the farm was liquidated, little infrastructure remained, and respondents have mainly survived by means of subsistence agriculture. Alcoholism and depression are widespread. Neighboring Rucava, however, has a more well-developed infrastructure, and its population is more closely linked economically with neighboring regions and countries. Many farmers grow cranberries, a profitable crop; others cut reed in Lake Pape and export it to Denmark. An ornithological park is being developed around the lake to attract tourists. Kuldiga district is considered “average” in terms of economic development, but within it, Renda is one of the more developed municipalities, linked by road to Riga, while Kabile has poorer infrastructure, including primarily dirt roads. Renda municipality also offers more assistance to residents than does Kabile (see chapter on Social Assistance).

Rural-urban differences While a qualitative study is not equipped to comment on the relative prevalence of poverty in different regions, the findings do reveal pronounced differences between urban and rural poverty. The interviews suggest that urban poverty is both more visible and more anonymous, because neighbours do not know each other’s living conditions, and few people interest themselves in the nameless beggars or people searching through garbage containers. In the countryside, by contrast, poverty stands out less, because the sharp contrasts between living standards observable in cities do not exist.

The high price of rent, heat, and electricity exacerbate poverty in large cities such as Riga, Jelgava, Liepaja, and Daugavpils. Yet another urban ill is the failure of employers to pay the social tax. Rural respondents mentioned this less, in part because a greater percentage of respondents rely on subsistence and other forms of self employment.

Problems of poverty in rural area are also mitigated by the greater possibility of subsistence gardening and foraging, and the lower prices of rent and utilities. In urban areas, on the other hand, poverty is mitigated by greater access information (about different forms of governmental and non-governmental assistance, rights, and opportunities), of better quality health care, and access to cultural and intellectual life.

69 Poverty in rural areas is connected with greater isolation, as roads deteriorate and rural transport services are cut back or raise their prices, and with fewer employment opportunities.

Poorer access to schools and high quality education is a dimension of poverty which differs markedly between urban and rural areas. In rural areas, respondents complained that schools were often located far from their homes, sometimes 20-30 km away in the nearest town. Municipalities also differ significantly in the extent to which they devote their budgets to increasing accessibility to education, through discounted or free transportation, textbooks, and lunches. In part, this difference appears to be a function of individual leaders rather than differences in available funds. Thus, Ape, Trapene (Aluksne district), and Atasiene (Jekabpils district) provide bus transportation as well as significant financial assistance to local schools. In Skrunda (Kuldiga district, Kurzeme region), by contrast, access to schools is limited by the absence of local transportation. In this region, respondents more often complained about the comparatively high costs of text books, exercise books and other supplies, which they had to purchase themselves.

Poverty and gender While poverty affects both men and women, it often does do in different ways. Men have more possibility to find casual jobs requiring physical strength or operating heavy farm equipment; women have more opportunities to work in the service sector. Women tend to experience more fierce discrimination on the basis of age (35-40, even 30, is sometimes considered too old), or because they have small children at home.

Respondents felt that poverty had very different psychological consequences for men and women as well. In a society where men were still considered the primary breadwinner, unemployment weighs very heavily on men. While depression was a commonly noted symptom among men and women, respondents of both sexes felt that men were more likely to counter depression by increasing alcohol consumption, sometimes resorting to suicide, while women, who in some cases also increased alcohol consumption, were nevertheless more likely to resist suicidal thoughts for the sake of their children.

Poverty and ethnicity The study did not demonstrate any particular correlation between ethnicity and degree of poverty, but did suggest that people who lack Latvian language competency -- regardless of their citizenship status -- have an additional obstacle to retaining their jobs or finding new ones. Another poverty-related aspect of ethnicity is that poor people who immigrated to Latvia from other parts of the former Soviet Union often have smaller social networks, since many of their relatives live abroad, and it has become relatively expensive for the poor to travel or maintain even telephone contact.

Inability to speak Latvian is not just a problem of nationality or citizenship, because it also affects some Latvians, particularly those from mixed families where

70 Russian is spoken at home. Some Russian speakers are resentful, because they have been obliged to master a new language too quickly.

The transition from Latvian to Russian Ilona (age 29) is a Latvian living in Riga, is from an ethnically mixed family. Her husband (32) is Russian, and they have three children (12,10,9). They consider that the official language law is unreasonable because it prevents Russian speakers from participating in education and employment. “It is nearly impossible to master the language fullym and Latvian in Russian language schools is taught very poorly.” Although Ilona considers herself to be ethnically Latvian, her language knowledge is only basic, because she grew up during a period when the Latvian language was neglected. She attended a Russian school, because her mother, although Latvian, had felt that higher education would be more accessible if her daughter studied in a Russian school, and because the better quality books were published in Russian.

POVERTY AND MATERIAL LIVING CONDITIONS

Regardless of where poor people live or the kind of apartment or house they occupy, they share several problems: the increasing cost of utilities (heat, hot water, telephone, gas, etc.), the steady deterioration of their buildings and apartments, and consequent inability to maintain a healthy environment for family members. Few municipalities or new private landlords are willing and/or able to pay for capital repairs. In urban areas, increasing apartment-related costs have indebted some poor households. It has forced others to move to homes without amenities to economize, with the potential long-term effect of creating concentrations of urban poverty.

POVERTY AND SOCIAL WELFARE

Poverty has affected health of poor respondents in several ways: medical care has become less accessible, since few respondents purchased medical insurance, and therefore tended to wait until illnesses became acute before seeking help. Respondents and local experts were convinced that poverty threatened to have a long-term impact on children (particularly urban children) because of chronically poor nutrition, as well as secondary problems of increased alcoholism among parents. Poor parents were less able to maintain healthy surroundings for children and sick family members, because they had to conserve on heat, and they often lived in -- or had moved to -- areas served by well-water of substandard quality.

Finally, for a population used to a modest but stable existence, poverty, instability and stress on all fronts has had a definite impact on mental health, as witnessed by increasing alcoholism -- frighteningly high among youth, especially in rural areas -- and at least the perception among respondents of increasing mental illness and suicide.

71 HOW DO POOR PEOPLE MAKE ENDS MEET?

Income-generating activities Most of our respondents pieced together incomea from poorly paid jobs in the private sector, temporary or seasonal work, unregistered home enterprises, social assistance, sale of assets, and economizing in various ways. Poor people have revealed great resourcefulness in finding niches where they can earn money, seeking out retraining courses, attempting to learn Latvian, searching for information on possible employment, and willingly accepting poorly paid public works to at least offset housing related costs. Even those with full-time jobs, however, felt very vulnerable. Because most of them lacked contracts, they knew they could be fired at a moment’s notice, pressured to work extra hours, denied benefits, and -- since employers often failed to register them or pay social tax – they would not be able to receive pensions or unemployment compensation.

How helpful is social assistance? For many of our respondents, social assistance, even in small amounts, was often a critical component of monthly household incomes. Families with children can receive many different forms of assistance, including the school lunches which are sometimes the only nutritious meal their children ate during the day. Social assistance is also critical for people who are socially isolated, particularly elderly or disabled people living by themselves. In rural areas, pensions, generally paid regularly and on time, were often the only reliable source of income. Nevertheless, respondents expressed considerable distress at the difficulty in obtaining information about their entitlements, about what they perceived as arbitrary decision-making on the part of social service employees, and behavior which was sometimes arrogant and rude.

POVERTY AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

Social networks Ironically, poverty makes it difficult for people to maintain social networks at the very time when they most need these networks for survival. Yet poor people can no longer afford to be either hosts or guests on a regular basis, nor can they afford transportation and phone costs involved in visiting, and networks. Therefore, these networks, among the most important resources the poor have for accessing information as well as goods and services, are shrinking. That assistance which does take place tends to flows between people living in relatively similar circumstances, rather than from richer to poorer relatives, for example.

Social exclusion As this study attempts to demonstrate, poverty is a multidimensional phenomena which is much more than the inability to afford goods and services. Rather, it affects the ability of people to participate effectively in economic, political, social and cultural life. In our sample, many poor households are experiencing exclusion in many different forms -- physically, as they move out of long-inhabited apartments in pleasant parts of town to the outskirts; intellectually and materially, as their children are relegated to a smaller

72 choice of schools and prospects for good employment limited; and socially and culturally, as they withdraw from social and cultural life because they cannot afford to maintain their involvement. As people become progressively more isolated, they also cut themselves off from information and assistance that could help them overcome their problems and re- enter society. Those households in danger of long-term poverty face the danger of a general exclusion from society, unless these many issues are tackled together.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL POLICY

This report is one of several ongoing studies of poverty in Latvia which will investigate the extent, depth, and nature of poverty, and lead to the formulation of policy recommendations for addressing this serious issue. It is anticipated that specific recommendations will emerge in the process of public discussions of all the completed studies. Rather, this report will conclude by noting issues which should be addressed by any comprehensive policy directed at poverty. These include the following:

High housing costs: Housing costs have become a severe burden for poor families; high costs lead to serious indebtedness, cause families to go without services that are important for maintaining family health (heating, electricity, working plumbing), and destabilize families forced to move from their homes. This destabilization, in turn, ruptures long- standing neighborhood support networks so important for helping families cope with day- to-day difficulties

Medical costs: Poor families are more prone to health problems (the result of poor nutrition, economic-related stress, failure to invest in preventive health care, industrial accidents, etc.) and less able to pay both official fees and under-the-table costs. Poor health contributes to poor public health (through the spread of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases); sick people are less employable and a potentially greater burden on the social budget and social insurance.

Public health and alcoholism: Alcoholism is a serious problem in Latvia, and very markedly among poor respondents, particularly in depressed rural areas where young school leavers lack both work and entertainment. It has been implicated in industrial and road accidents, birth defects and fetal alcohol syndrome, premature deaths of working age people (especially men), dysfunctional family relations, spousal abuse and child neglect. While the causes of alcoholism are complex, the phenomenon itself clearly affects poverty as both cause and effect, as well as a maintaining and exacerbating factor.

Access to education: Poor families are less able to pay for their children’s school supplies, for “extra” courses in foreign languages, for extracurricular activities, and for cultural excursions; poor children are excluded because of low income from the better quality new “elite” public and private schools, and less able to pursue higher education because of tuition expenses, transportation, room and boarding expenses. Children from poor families, particularly those in poorly served rural areas, are therefore more likely to remain unskilled and less competitive as the economy improves.

73 Access to information: A prevalent complaint among poor respondents is the difficulty involved in obtaining full, easily understandable information about opportunities, entitlements, and rights. Limitations in access are compounded by poor peoples’ limited access to the media (when their TVs break down, when they cancel newspaper subscriptions; when they reduce socializing; when they lose connections with colleagues and workplaces). Lack of information in turn reduces peoples’ abilities to muster resources to cope with their own difficulties, and increases their vulnerability to exclusion (through age, gender, ethno/linguistic, or disability related discrimination) and exploitation.

The vicious cycle of poverty: As the foregoing paragraphs suggest, income poverty is not the only problem for poor people. Rather, a multiplicity of other factors help perpetuate or exacerbate the very factors that lead to income poverty. For this reason, a multi-pronged approach which acknowledges the many dimensions of poverty will be the most successful in confronting the challenge of alleviating poverty in Latvia.

74 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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76 ANNEX I: SAMPLING STRATEGY

Step 1

The first step was based on the characteristics of living conditions and level of welfare. All the communities are ranked from high to low along the scale of living standards, and which taken together, represent the diversity of local economies, degree of urbanization and geographical locations, social structure and demographic features, ethnicity.

All the communities were ranked into three categories according to the index of living conditions (UNDP Human Development Report, 1997, p. 68, 71), based on: · average earnings (Ls per person) · retail turnover (Ls per person) · the number of cars per 1000 population and · the number of telephones per 1000 rural population.

Using the aggregate index values, Latvia is divided into three groups (division of communities and regions are presented in the supplement 1): · Top- ranked communities (regions) with the highest index of welfare (0.70-1.00). Riga, Talsi, Valmiera, Ventspils, Ogre, Bauska, Limbazi regions (rajoni) are the high developed districts. · Medium developed communities (regions) with mid-range index of welfare (0.40- 0.60): Liepaja, Kuldiga, Saldus, Tukums, Jelgava, Cesis, Jekabpils, Madona, Valka, Aluksne regions (rajoni). · Bottom ranked communities (regions) with the lowest index of welfare (0-0.30): Rezekne, Kraslava, Daugavpils, Ludza, Preili, Balvi, Gulbene, Aizkraukle rajoni.

Table 1. First step of sampling. Quantitative division of interviews in the regions with different development level (based on the calculation of welfare index) 1. level. High developed region 120 2. level. Medium developed region 120 3. level. Low developed region 160 Total 400

Composing the sample. The sample was organized according to the basic principles: to have interviews with poor households in Riga, cities, towns and rural districts within each of three welfare development regions: level 1 - high developed cities, towns and rural districts; level 2 - medium developed cities, towns and rural districts; level 3 - low developed cities, towns, rural districts (Table 2.).

Table 2. Number of respondents in regions, according to level of development Interview groups 1. level 2. level 3. level

77 1. Rîga 100 2. Big cities 20 30 30 3. Towns 30 30 30 4. Rural districts 30 40 60 Total 180 100 120

Sampling also takes into account the historical and geographical dimensions: Riga and Riga district (rajons), Vidzeme (North from Riga, North East), Latgale (Eastern part) and Kurzeme (Western part). Each of these regions has some highly developed districts (regions), some moderately developed regions and some poorly developed regions. The following strategy was used: several municipalities/parishes (pagasti) in selected districts from each of the major regions were chosen to represent Latvia’s economic, social and geographic diversity. Interviews were clustered in municipalities, rather than distributed uniformly throughout the selected districts, so that interviewers could gain a sense of community relationships and dynamics within the municipalities/parishes.

Step 2

The second step involved the choice of households according to criteria such age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, nationality, education, etc. Based on previous data about people and types of households likely to be poor, care was taken to include significant numbers of pensioners, disabled persons, unemployed, families with many children, orphans, persons of pre-pension age, and former prisoners in the sample.

78 Table 3. Number of inhabitants (legal residents) in towns and regions, 1997 Number of % Hypothetical Actual inhabitants sample sample Rîga 815851 33 130 100-110 Cities 432747 17 70 80 Towns 463866 19 70 80-90 Rural areas, villages 767406 31 130 130 Total 2479870 100 400 400

Step 3

Sampling of respondents within municipality.

Table 4. Organization of interviews throughout the country According to N Rîga Cities Towns Parishes (Pagasti) the index of living conditions 1. Rîga Rîga Total 100 100 - - - 2. High Jûrmala (10) Bauska (10) Rîgas raj. - all (10) Ventspils (10) Lielvârde (10) Bauskas raj. - Vecsaules, Ceraukstes(10) Mazsalaca (10) Ventspils raj. - Popes, Ugâles(10) Total 80 - 20 30 30 3. Medium Liepâja (20) Cçsis (10) Liepâjas raj. - Nîcas, Rucavas (10) Jelgava (10) Alûksne (10) Jelgavas raj. - Glûdas, Svçtes (10) Skrunda (10) Kuldîgas raj. - Rendas, Kabiles(10) Alûksnes raj. - Trapenes, Pededzes (10) Total 100 - 30 30 40

79 4.Low Daugavpils Krâslava (10) Daugavpils raj. - Bebrenes, (20) Demenes (10) Rçzekne (10) Lîvâni (10) Rçzeknes raj. - Maltas, Mâkoòkalna (10) Viesîte (10) Krâslavas raj. - Svariòu, Dagdas (10) Jçkabpils raj. - Ataðienes (10) Madonas raj, - Mçtrienas, Lazdonas, Gulbenes raj. - Druvienas , Daugstu (20) Total 120 - 30 30 60 N 400 100 80 90 130

· All the big cities were embraced in the study because they were proportionally part of structure of density of population. The sample is proportional to population.

Table 5. Number of inhabitants in cities Rank of Number of % Hypothetical Actual city inhabitants sample sample Daugavpils 2 117502 27 22 20 Jelgava 2 70962 16 13 10 Jûrmala 3 58977 14 11 10 Liepâja 2 97278 22 17 20 Rçzekne 3 41464 10 8 10 Ventspils 1 46564 11 9 10 Total 432747 80 80

· Regional towns were chosen according to population size and living conditions (based on the index of living conditions)

Table 6. Regional towns Towns Region Rank of Number of Hypothetical (rajons) town inhabitants sample 1. Alûksne Alûksnes 4 9954 10 2. Bauska Bauskas 2 10772 10 3. Cçsis Cçsu 2 19705 10 4. Dobele Dobeles 3 12765 5. Krâslava Krâslavas 3 15436 10 6. Skrunda Kuldîgas 2 2842 10 7. Lielvârde Ogres 2 5012 10 8. Lîvâni Preiïu 4 10982 10

80 9. Mazsalac Valmieras 4 2001 10 a 10. Subate Daugavpils 5 1038 10

· Parishes (Pagasti) were chosen in the same regions (rajoni) as towns and cities of the sample. In such cases, interviewers chose settlements for the interviews according to population density, also taking into account the ranking, (according to the index of living conditions) of parishes (pagasti). Within each region (according to the index of living conditions) parishes were chosen from groups with different ranking.

Table 7. Characteristics of parishes Parish (Pagasts) Region Group of Number Working Propor- Income (Rajons) ranking of age tion of tax per inhabi- popula- unem- person tants tion (%) ployed (in lats) (%) Glûdas Jelgavas 2 2743 55.7 5.7 41.3 Ropaþu Rîgas 2 5522 55.0 1.1 30.5 Rankas Gulbenes 3 1867 Ceraukstes Bauskas 4 1863 Svçtes Jelgavas 4 1456 Nîcas Liepâjas 3 2946 Popes Ventspils 3 1099 Allaþu Rîgas 4 1885 Maltas Rçzeknes 4 3750 Ugâles Ventspils 5 2596 Demenes Daugavpils 4 1407 Rendas Kuldîgas 3 1329 Druvienas Gulbenes 5 666 Trapenes Alûksnes 5 1053 Bebrenes Daugavpils 7 1613 Kabiles Kuldîgas 7 1012 Dagdas Krâslavas 5 923 Rucavas Liepâjas 5 1652 Liezçres Madonas 7 1992 Ataðienes Jçkabpils 7 929 Svariòu Krâslavas 8 574 Mâkoòkalna Rçzeknes 7 912 Pededzes Alûksnes 8 952

In locating households, the following procedure was used in each community:

· Before starting the field work, the team manager and/or interviewers met with a representative from state institutions responsible for social assistance services, labor

81 services, and local government services. The departments were introduced to the goals of study and addresses of poor households were requested. About 1/3 of respondents within municipality/parish were chosen chosen in this way.

· Other state institutions and NGOs, schools, hospitals, farmers’ unions, and membership organizations of interest groups (of the blind, disabled, single mothers, etc.) were visited, and about 1/3 of respondents were chosen according to their recommendations.

Respondents were themselves asked to name households as poor or poorer, and about 1/3 of the sample was chosen by this method of “snowball sampling.”

Interviewers chose respondents proportionally according to · gender · age (young, middle, elderly) · ethnicity, nationality · marital status (single, various number of children, two generation households, single parent households) · employment status.

· Integration of the post-imprisoned in the society has to be promoted, they have to be ensured with an employment place, thus cases of formation of marginal persons’ groups would be diminished.

82 ANNEX II: HOW LATVIANS DESCRIBE POVERTY

On the whole, respondents preferred to describe themselves as "on the verge of poverty" (S, 68, LI-8). This is possibly due to the traditional connotation of the Latvian words used to describe poverty. Although trûcîgs and nabadzîgs are often used as synonyms, the secondary meaning of nabags often signifies a beggar, and implies social dependence..

The terms for poverty The Dictionary of the Latvian Literary Language gives the following definitions: à Nabadzîba - a shortage of basic material resources à Nabags - a person who cannot provide for himself the necessary means of subsistence and depends on what others donate or give him; a person who has insufficient material resources à Trûcîba, trûkums - a situation when the necessary material resources, means of subsistence are not sufficient; also nabadzîba. à Trûcîgs - having insufficient amount of necessary material resources and means of subsistence, also nemantîgs, nabadzîgs. à Ubags - a person who obtains the means of subsistence by begging; also nabags, (2) a poor person.

83 ANNEX III: A CASE STUDY

The following interview summary suggests how many different factors can come together to create extremely difficult economic circumstances for an individual. Dace, the subject of the interview, is a well-educated woman with extensive employment experience. A number of issues raised in the study are illustrated in this interview with Dace: problems registered at the NES because of lack of Latvian language proficiency; difficulties of finding work at pre-pension age; problems of dealing with local bureaucracies; negligent medical care; the acute problem of housing costs and indebtedness; the importance of family and friendship networks, especially during crisis periods

Dace, 56, Russian by ethnicity, but a Latvian citizen lives alone in Ogre, a town 37 km from Riga. For about a year, she has been working for a private firm, in a newspaper kiosk. Dace graduated from the Department of History of Moscow State University, and worked 23 years as a tour guide. During the summer of 1992, the firm was reorganized, and she was among the 120 people – most of the staff -- who were made redundant.

She registered at the National Employment Service and received unemployment benefits for 6 months. She was also able to take free courses for 3 months on small businesses and marketing through the NES. These courses were very interesting; they stressed that people should adapt themselves through study to new conditions of live. They offered different kinds of advice regarding how to start a small enterprise. The coursework itself involved taking concrete steps toward a real business. . Dace decided to create a tourist firm. All 20 of the course participants successfully completed the course She later learned, however, that only one person had succeeded in creating a small business – a hairdressing salon – and another one had organized a charitable organization for single mothers.

Dace tried to enter the tourist field, but it turned out that even such a small enterprise required a lot of money, which she didn’t have Dace then started an intensive search for any sort of work. She read the ads in the newspapers. If she found anything that seemed reasonable, and phoned them, the employer demanded younger women. She put her own ad in the newspapers, and hardly received any response. She phoned all her acquaintances, with the result that a few times she was asked to lead excursions. She led excursions in Riga and two times, went of excursions to Pskov. She got an offer to work in the market in winter, but refused, since her health wasn’t that robust. She was without work for 1 year and 2 months. Finally, need forced her to accept work as a cleaning person in the tuberculosis hospital, where she received a minimum salary of 28 lats. She worked there 3 years.

84 By the last year, she was receiving 38 lats, but then, in connection with the closure of the hospital, she again found herself without a job. This took place in February 1997. She again applied to the NES, but this time they refused to register her because of a new law limited registration to those who knew Latvian. They demanded a certificate attesting that she had passed the examination in Latvian. During the whole time she had worked in the TB sanatorium, no one had every demanded such a certificate, and for work as a cleaning person her knowledge of Latvian was sufficient. She then enrolled in a course of Latvian, paying 25 lats.

In March, when she was in Riga, she fell on the street and broke her right arm. An ambulance took her to the hospital, where a broken bone was diagnosed and the arm was put in a cast. With her broken arm, in April she got a certificate stating she was a “second category disabled” and returned to the NES in her town to register for a disability pension. Again they refused to register her: “We won’t accept you – because you aren’t registered to work.”

Dace returned to the surgeon and asked that he give her a “bulletin” (for sick leave) since she no longer had anything to live on. For a long time, the doctor refused to give her the bulletin, knowing it wouldn’t help her since she had already lost her job a month and a half ago. Finally she persuaded him and he gave her the paper. With this paper, she went to the social assistance center, which rejected her application for social assistance, on the grounds that she wasn’t registered at the NES. Realizing that she was in an impossible situation, she decided to apply for her old-age pension. She was about to reach age 55 in April. According to Latvian law, if she had been working she would have been entitled to go onto her pension at 57, but since she was unemployed, had the right to start – but without the right to work -- before her 57th birthday.

When she went to apply for her pension, she found out she would only receive 28 lats. This, despite the fact that she had been born and lived her whole live in Latvia, and had worked there 34 years! She rejected the idea of going onto her pension. She then went to the clinic and had the cast removed from her arm. When she went for her x-ray, it revealed that because the doctor at the hospital had been negligent and never ordered a second x-ray, the bone had healed at an angle of 60 degrees. As a result, she can no longer work with her right arm.

Meanwhile, during her period of unemployment, Dace lived at the expense of her sister, a pensioner receiving 42 lats a month, who shared her meager supplies with Dace. The NES led her by the nose for a long time: “this one said I should go on pension, the other – the opposite.” Finally, after 4 months, they accepted me at the NES, and I got my first monthly payment on July 15 - 28 lats! A month later, thanks to an acquaintance, I got this unofficial job at the kiosk, and hope to earn a little more money this way. But if they find out at the NES they may take away my unemployment benefits

Dace lives in a 2 room apartment in Ogre. She lived with her father, who died in 1991. She received the apartment after the previous building, which her grandmother had

85 built in the 1920s, was razed. Her apartment is in a concrete panel building with all amenities, but is nevertheless, is cold and raw because of poor heating and construction.

By 1996, Dace had accumulated about 300 lats in debt for housing costs. The town authorities took extremely harsh measures – a team of workmen came severed all the hot and cold water pipes in the apartment building, and also disconnected the electricity. She got her water from neighbors, and used candles. This state of affairs continued for 3 months, until the authorities restored service. There is no way she can solve the problem with her debt, however, since she only earns 38 lats, which is about the same amount as her monthly housing costs.

Dace considers herself extremely needy, but hopes that she won’t descend into complete indigence. Most of her acquaintances are in a similar condition, and for that matter, most of the residents of Latvian. And here there is no particular difference between Latvians or Russians.