That 9% of the poor” “

Switzerland is considered one of the richest countries of the world. Yet a recent survey conducted by Caritas-Switzerland shows that the Alpine nation now comprises almost a million poor people. Families are considered poor when their income is lower than half the national average income. That corresponds roughly to a seventh of the population. Switzerland, however, is no special case. For the fact is that millions of people living in conditions of poverty are now ascertained in all European countries. Swiss Caritas has therefore asked that the guarantee of the material security of citizens should become a priority of the State. That poverty was increasing in the country was already recognized, but the figures of Caritas are surprising and shocking. Living in poverty means not being able to permit oneself what is normal for others. Families with many children, single-parent families, the unemployed, self-employed workers, people with low levels of schooling and the elderly are the groups with the greatest probability of falling into a state of poverty. The figures also register a growing number of so-called “working poor”, i.e. people who, despite having a job, live below the poverty threshold. The Federal Office of Statistics has announced that 6.7% of the employed fell into this category in 2004, a decrease over the 7.4% registered in 2003. The proportion of “working poor” out of the total population increased in a dramatic way in the mid-1990s, but the general trend has been in decline since the start of the new century. According to UNICEF’s 2005 report on child poverty in 26 countries of the OCSE, almost 7 % of children in Switzerland fell into this category. Based on these parameters, only the Scandinavian countries did better, while Switzerland was on a par with the Czech Republic. What’s particularly striking is the fact that today 9% of the population of the EU is exposed to the persistent risk of poverty. So what judgement should we give to this phenomenon? It may undoubtedly be said that with European integration some improvement in poverty rates has been achieved. But there still remains a lot to do: too many European citizens still live in conditions of poverty and new phenomena, such as the poverty of children and of those in employment, deserve to be tackled promptly and effectively. The Church is called not only to give a response, but also to support, with all possible means, people in need. That also goes for the affluent continent of Europe.