The Bahrain Centre of Human Rights states that half of Bahraini citizens suffer from poverty and poor living standards. This inference was made from official statistics and studies based on number of unemployed bahrainis and employees with low income.
There are 20,000 unemployed Bahrainis. If the number of dependants is to be taken, the average would come upto 80,000. It has to be kept in mind that the unemployed and their dependants do not receive any social and security aid, which is in contradiction with the constitution.
The report revealed that the number of households that are unable to work and those receiving financial assistance from the Ministry of Labour and from charity funds exceeds 20,000 families which means that around 80,000 people receive BD18 per month. One has to know that the Poverty Income Threshold for a household, according to official studies and statements is BD309 per month.
A quarter of employed Bahrainis live below the poverty level of BD309 per month which means that half of Bahrainis, that is, 200,000 people suffer from poverty and poor living conditions.
A large portion of the society also lacks decent housing and housing facilities. Unemployed citizens and those who receive financial aid do not receive housing loans granted by the Governement. Today, around 44,000 with low income families are on the waiting list for Government subsidized housing for upto 12 years and more. Official statistics show that there are 6,000 ruined houses.
What is surprising is the fact that as the average income is increasing, the poverty rate is also increasing. This shows a large difference between classes of income and living standards. While poverty rate is increasing, there are 5,200 wealthy people in Bahrain. A survey indicated that the private wealth in Bahrain worth sum upto around US$20 to 30 billions.
On one hand where Bahrain is proud of being one of the most lieral countries in terms of its economy and attracting foreign investments and boasting of a tax free society, what people don’t realize is that on the other hand there are 23 types of high fees imposed by the Government on people in return of its services.
The reasons attributed for such high figures in the area of poverty are miseable conditions of citizens, unequal distribution of wealth, waste of public money, financial and administrative corruption, poor planning and dumping the market with low wage foreign workers who constitute 60% of the labour force. The reason why poor people are affected the most is because of the continuation and dominations of a small group of influential and powerful people on the national economy, both in public and private sectors.
These influential people have taken over large land areas, especially the reclaimed ones. The rule passed by the Government that allowed foreign investors to own land resulted in a sharp increase in prices of land. This ultimately resulted in making the rich richer (read: landlords) and the poor poorer.
The crime rate, especially robbery has escalated in the past few years. Divorce rates have increased too. The number of working women and children working in bad conditions has increased. It is being warned that the number of cotozens classified as poor and the deterioration in standard of living will reflect on the political and social serenity of the country. It is also indicated that the average salary will drop by 19%.
The constitution of Bahrain grants social security and benefits for the unemployed. Scholars believe in implementing the article in the constitution that guarantees the above mentioned things for the country to function in a peaceful manner.
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