Families walking a tightrope

With about 10.2 million inhabitants the Czech Republic is among the Countries with the lowest poverty rate in the EU. Figures show that in 2012 it involved 990.000 people, while today almost 9% of the national population are at poverty-risk; 6,6% of inhabitants have fallen in a state of relative poverty. Although there are reasons to be optimistic, the Catholic Church – also with regard to the Bishops’ Synod on the Family, due to be held in autumn this year – drew attention on the situation of population brackets who are most frequently touched by poverty in their everyday life, and on efforts to improve their situation. The message of the Czech Bishops’ Conference on this theme was published last week. Causes of poverty. Statistics show that poverty-risk is higher among people who fail to find a job, among those who no longer receive their wages because they are involved in the full-time care of their ill, disabled and elderly relatives, and among those who are dedicated to the raising and education of more than two children. The Council for the Family of the Czech Bishops’ Conference has identified three main causes of this situation. Firstly, the relationship between the education of young generations and the future prosperity of society has not been the object of in-depth reflection. "Instead of addressing this crucial topic we are witnessing debates on the lack of contributions to the State and unpaid taxes by women on maternity leave," reads the statement of the Catholic bishops, stressing the fact that in the Czech Republic pension retribution is calculated on the basis of economic activity carried out during the past years of the person’s life, without considering any other aspects. The second problem is that the level of education of the family has very little or no influence on the social status of the spouses. According to Mons. Vojtech Cikrle, president of the Council for the Family, "it’s obvious and natural that people decide to have a family for other than economic reasons. But this does not alter the fact that society should consider family education or care for dependent family members as a fundamental value for its future development." A matter of values. An equally important factor of high poverty-risk among certain population brackets in the Czech Republic is that childcare is considered to be a private matter of parents. There’s an immense pressure on them to reduce the period of their maternity leave and start earning money – for themselves as well as for the State. Underrating the influence of parental care on children in order to shorten maternity leave, thereby prioritizing employment, puts both areas – absolutely unnecessarily – into competitive positions. "The pressure for reducing the duration of parental leave in a situation of high employment rates, typical of the Czech Republic, means also reducing the amount of time actually dedicated to the family, a time that is necessary to cultivate mutual relations and promote the transmission of values," say experts on social policies, "not to mention increased exposure to various kinds of pathologies that risk becoming an immense economic burden, that could escalate into the moral decay of society as a whole." "Unfortunately, public debates, as well as sociological studies and political programs, are confined to the description of the current situation and on strategies aimed at bringing benefits to the society in a short-time horizon," says Marie Oujezdska, director of the National Family Center. The expert added: "we forget to speak about real values" and to encourage young people to have a family and spend more time with their partners and children. "It will pay off at a later stage, and the State with its social programs should seriously take it into consideration." Do we have the courage? "Do we have the courage to draw the consequences from these conclusions?" – asks bishop Vojtech Cikrle, warning that if we measure the quality and effort of a person only through his or her direct economic output, we are discriminating against all those who fail to make similar achievements because of their age or disease. "All this influences the family behaviour of young people and – in the end – also the behaviour and prosperity of society as a whole."