This is a report of the proceedings of - Asian Strategy & Leadership ...

THE ASIA THINK TANK DIALOGUE REPORTRebuilding Confidence, Restoring Livelihoods Conclusions 35innovations. Now children with no background in Englishcan actually acquire knowledge and information. Thiscan be done by getting private-sector companiesto either lease out their computers at a low rate orotherwise. Kiosks were another option to be looked into.These efforts were believed to be feasible, achievableand target-oriented.The poorest of the poor in Asia are forest-basedcommunities and as they do not have land titles, they tendto be exploited. Suggestions were received about howthey could be helped through integrated developmentprogrammes and legal support, advocacy, accessto basic facilities, land reforms, and a more equitableshare of the forest produce. It was agreed that therewere many who wanted forest products and herbalremedies, and that these medicinal values of the forestwere what forest-based communities were familiarwith, but their knowledge was not exploited to benefitthem economically. There was a felt need for macrosupport for this community which faced the risk of beingthe poorest of the poor regardless of whether or notthere was a global economic crisis. Though issues ofethnicity and identity were not addressed in the contextof the rise in inequality, it was acknowledged that theresurgence of culture and the resurgence of ethnicconsciousness could pose a challenge. Insurgencymovements may intensify if some communities felt thestate was depriving them of equitable resources. Whilethe strong hand of the state may be in control, withincreasing market forces, consciousness of freedomand growing democratization, greater awareness ofethnicity, religion, and cultural identities may resurface,causing divides of another kind.Education & LiteracyEducation should not beboxed up as merely asystem of formal academicinstitutions and literature butrather be positioned as away of making the publicparticipate in the development process as a whole. Thiswould ensure the nurturing of a mature democracy.People have the right to know what the governmentdoes and people need to know what the governmentisn’t doing. At the micro level, government should focuson the quality of education, as attendance in schoolswas simply not enough. The need to create a sustainableeducation system for the poor was discussed, to enablethe pursuit of a good education regardless of socioeconomicstatus.Migrant WorkersMigrant labour was regarded as a serious problem asit led many people to leave their homes in the ruralareas, to sell their lands and move to a new city onthe promise of good wages. Many ended up withoutwork, without income, in debt, and living on the streets.In times of economic downturn, one could expect tosee an increase in the number of contracts not beinghonoured, workers unpaid and workers having norecourse to justice and being deported back to theircountries. Better regulation was called for with someasking for action to ensure rules were fairer and justiceprevailed. For instance, employers often paid agentsa fee for highly-paid workers; however this was not thecase for low-paid workers. Advocacy groups couldbe established to help migrant workers. In line with thebusiness model of a socially-responsible enterprise, fairtradeemployment agencies could be encouraged,with companies having the option of hiring employeesin an ethical way.In regard to the exploitation of low-skilled workers, itwas recognized that part of the problem was becausethey did not know enough or did not have sufficientinformation about the situation. If the migrant workersknew better, the possibility of them being exploitedwould be greatly reduced. Access to the Internet couldbe the answer, and computers could be part of thesupport system for migrant workers.