Through subsequent analysis, I have made some interesting discoveries about how informants' identities are affected by exchange in a developing country. After the exchange I was confused about my role as a volunteer and the role the West plays in the global South.
Introduction
Outline of the thesis
The chapter then shifts to look at how poverty can be eradicated in 2.3, namely through development aid. The third and last part brings the discussion to how the informants constructed their identity in light of the given topic.
Definitions
Each of the chapters is divided into three parts, the first two are related to the first and second interviews. Poverty researcher Peter Townsend links relative poverty to inequality by seeing how it can result in people not being able to obtain and pursue the same lifestyle and behavior as the rest of society (Banik 2006, p . 12).
The organizations and Communication for Change
The emphasis of the NCA and Norway's YMCA/YWCA is on development aid, with 64.9% of their work aimed at long-term development aid. Poverty is violence against human dignity" (www.kfuk-kfum-global.no), can be read on the web pages of YMCA/YWCA or Norway Global.
Theory
- Identity construction
- Poverty
- Origin of poverty
- Perspectives on poverty
- Development aid
- History of development aid
- Norwegian Development Aid
- Various approaches to development work
- Volunteer work
- Motivation
- Voluntarism as a boundary phenomenon between aid and tourism
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century there was little change in the wealth, health and population of the world. However, there are studies that say that people in the global South want to be involved in the process of development work: "The rest of the world can contribute to the liberation of Africa.
Methods
- Selection
- Qualitative research
- Interview
- Situatedness
- Transcription and translation
- Analyzing the research material
- Validity, reliability and generalizing
- Validity
- Reliability
- Generalizability
- Ethical reflections
One of the informants only participated in the first interview and could not meet after the exchange. The informants were informed that they could withdraw from the interviews at any time, but due to the nature of the questions they did not sign a consent form. During the interviews, I recorded the conversations on a digital dictaphone, in order to concentrate fully on the informants and the dynamics of the interview.
When a quote contains details that pose a threat to the anonymity of the informants, I also use parentheses. I was thus able to reflect further on several aspects of the interviews, and I better ensured the anonymity of the informants. It may also be that the researcher is influenced by structures that affect the ability to make free interpretations of the informants and the field.
Poverty
Poverty: Before
This leads the informants to express a desire to be influenced by the way one lives in the global South. Informant B also wants to be influenced by attitudes in the global South: “[..] I want to experience those who are materially poor, but rich in other ways.” At the same time, that's one of the reasons why I chose to participate in this program, to be able to see it from their perspective.
Coming from a Western culture, the informants worry about how they will be perceived in the global South. Yet she is clear about how she wants to be seen: “I think about it a lot, I don't want to come across as arrogant or very stubborn. The general opinion is that they want to be seen as equals, and that is how they see themselves.
Poverty: After
The informant knows about the vast materialistic differences in the world, so what is interesting to note is how she decides to focus on the similarities between people. At the same time, several of the informants pointed out that people in the global south want to change their own situation and thus be strong agents in a development perspective. In the Voices of the Poor study, the third dimension mentioned of what poverty is is actually psychological dimensions, such as shame (Banik, 2006).
As the informants did in the first interview, they again used Norway as an example when talking about what poverty is. The informants said that the people they met in the global south wanted more and were disappointed with their situation, but when compared to people in Norway they seemed happier. In a way, I think it was evident in the first interview that the informants had decided to focus.
Poverty and identity construction
Before the exchange, the informants were keen to be portrayed as equals to people in the global South, but after the exchange most of them realize that this is unrealistic. The informants have seen that they have other opportunities and now see poverty as a lack of options. I believe that this experience can influence the way the informants construct their identities, as they realize how different their lives are compared to those of people in the global South.
However, some of the informants expressed concern about how quickly they had already fallen back into the "Norwegian bubble". At the same time, the informants talked about having more knowledge than people in the global south and having a role as a teacher. Through the exchange, the informants have realized that they live very different lives than those in the global south, which results in an inability to understand what poverty is.
Development
Development: Before
- Suggestions to development aid
- Norway’s role in development work
The increased interest in development aid may be a result of the increasing number of people traveling and the increasingly popular mix of travel and volunteer work in the global south. I think we in the West can learn a lot from other cultures because we don't need as much as we have. Very few of the informants questioned the role of the West as a development actor in the global South, which I find interesting.
The first is that they know no other option than that the West is actually present in the Global South. It also points to the importance of a physical and mental presence in the Global South for a better understanding of poverty. Development is a process, and even if it does not always go in the right direction, it is a long-term process.
Development: After
- Suggestions to development aid
- Who is responsible?
Is it the development workers and volunteers or is it the people in the global south. The informant portrays people in the Global South as having accepted the way society is and as passive citizens who are unable to change things. The challenge here is that informants do not think that young people in the global south know enough about their situation to say what they really need, or what needs to be fixed (Thomas in Serveas, 2008).
Like they think to themselves: "Don't I want to be one of the poorest people in the world one day?" I really get asked about it a lot. In many ways, this summarizes what informants think about development aid and people in the global south. Inequality in the world drives people into development aid work, trying to erase some of the differences.
Development and identity construction
Corruption is something that informants from Norway do not know, so it is more difficult for them to understand. The informants talked about being on par with people in the Global South, which also contradicts what they say about more knowledge. When the informants were asked how people in the Global South perceive themselves and their situation, they said that they wondered the same thing.
Before the exchange, the informants expressed a desire to go to the global South and be influenced by their happiness, despite the materialistic poverty. Seeing how different they are, materialistically, it is clear that this affects the way informants see themselves. The way the informants perceive the way of life both in the South and in Norway makes them reflect more closely on how they want to live their lives.
Volunteer work
- Motivation: Before
- Motivation: After
- Volunteer: Before
- Will the exchange change you?
- Volunteer: After
- Were you changed?
- Volunteering and identity construction
Before the exchange, many informants expressed a desire to help and change the world. It is relevant to ask whether the organizations the informant traveled with or the project they worked with in the Global South asked too much of the informants. However, many informants were able to appreciate what they could do or how.
However, the informants agreed that they tried to adapt to the culture in the global South in the best possible way. However, as some of the informants mentioned before the exchange, some felt that people in the global South carry prejudices from people in the West. Before the exchange, the informants said that they hoped to be changed in some way.
In the second interview, some of the informants felt that nothing had changed in terms of how they reacted to watching TV reports. Many of the informants hoped they would be changed by the exchange, and many thought they were when they returned.
Ending discussion
The informants have an expectation that the exchange will be a dual experience of altruistic intentions and travel. Most of the informants mentioned that they did not think that they would help everyone, but maybe some. In a way, the exchange can be seen as a tease for the informants' construction of identity and lifestyle.
However, I have questioned whether informants can be expected to construct their own identities in the exchange when they do not understand the context in which they find themselves. In this thesis, I asked whether the informants understand the great differences that exist in the world. Informants are asking more questions, implying that they have not yet changed, but are in the process of changing.