Search for a Middle Class
On a quest to find out whether Liberia has a middle class, Tecee and I traveled to Barnersville, a densely populated neighborhood in the outskirts of Monrovia, to see Saye Guinkpa, 30, a college graduate in economics and a trainee at the Ministry of Justice. He has great aspirations of becoming a government financial analyst. He fears instead he will have to work a low-paying job his entire life. "There's no room for saving. It would mean I would have to starve that day," he says. "If I cannot save at this age, I'll have to work until I die."
Despite his pedigree, Saye can't afford much. He earns $250 per month, more than half of which goes to transporting himself daily by shared taxi. He pays $15 a month to rent one room of a whitewashed two-room low-income housing unit. His room is cluttered with his girlfriend's shoes, items his friends have asked him to pawn so they can pay their school fees, and a fullsize mattress draped in a mosquito net. There is no electricity or running water. When I ask about a bathroom, he laughs. He wakes up at 5 a.m. to get to work by 9. Nevertheless, he earns considerably more than most Liberians. According to the International Monetary Fund, annual per capita income in Liberia is $400. The minimum wage is 25 cents an hour. The other tenants teach, which is borderline unemployment since teachers at government schools often go unpaid. Saye is a well-spoken, ambitious young man, but to some his living conditions might appear inhumane. We decide we haven't found a middle class here.
Despite his pedigree, Saye can't afford much. He earns $250 per month, more than half of which goes to transporting himself daily by shared taxi. He pays $15 a month to rent one room of a whitewashed two-room low-income housing unit. His room is cluttered with his girlfriend's shoes, items his friends have asked him to pawn so they can pay their school fees, and a fullsize mattress draped in a mosquito net. There is no electricity or running water. When I ask about a bathroom, he laughs. He wakes up at 5 a.m. to get to work by 9. Nevertheless, he earns considerably more than most Liberians. According to the International Monetary Fund, annual per capita income in Liberia is $400. The minimum wage is 25 cents an hour. The other tenants teach, which is borderline unemployment since teachers at government schools often go unpaid. Saye is a well-spoken, ambitious young man, but to some his living conditions might appear inhumane. We decide we haven't found a middle class here.
Comments
Post a Comment