In the big cities of Peru, more people lose their jobs with every lockdown day. Most of them fall through the cracks because they work in the black economy without social security. For fear of impoverishment, many of the unemployed now make their way home to the provinces to make ends meet.
There is not much sign of the lockdown and the curfew in the poor districts of Lima, reports Jannet Villanueva, our country coordinator in Peru. As if nothing were wrong, people there go to the market, hardly anyone can keep the minimum distances. "Recently, an authority took random samples at a large market on the outskirts of the city and found 170 positives in a short time," says Jannet.
There is a high risk of infection on the street. More and more people who have lost their jobs and homes during the crisis are now gathering there. For homeless people it is hardly possible to keep their distance and wash their hands regularly. This is a breeding ground for the corona virus, which now infects more than 49,000 people in Lima alone and 76,000 in Peru as a whole. It is doubtful whether the relatively low number of registered deaths of around 2170 people is correct.
The Peruvian capital has been growing at a rapid pace since the 1960s. Tens of thousands of people come to the metropolis every year. In the last ten years, the city has grown by around 1.7 million people to 10.7 million inhabitants. The other cities are growing just as fast, but the second largest city, Arequipa, has only about one million inhabitants.
Gudelia's History
Many young people come from the country, the Andes and the Amazon lowlands. They seek their fortune in the metropolises. Among them are many young girls who are employed as housemaids and are often exposed to abuse by their employers. terre des hommes schweiz supports a project to improve the living conditions of housemaids.
A former housemaid from this project is 29-year-old Gudelia. Her parents were small farmers who had to feed their 10 children with little land and livestock. At 19 Gudelia moved to Lima, her 9 brothers were already in the big city at that time. Here Gudelia was able to finish her education besides working as a maid and having a second child.
In the project for housemaids run by terre des hommes schweiz, she learned about the value of social security and her rights. "That's why she worked towards a formal job, to secure her existence and that of her two children," says Jannet. The work of terre des hommes schweiz is bearing fruit.
Gudelia is determined and has the luck of the brave: She can work her way up to become a cake baker by taking a job as a cleaning lady in a bakery - with an official contract and social insurance.
It is still a long way from reaching the middle class. She earns 430 euros a month. "That is barely enough for the most important expenses: school fees, food, clothes, health care and transport costs," says Jannet. "Informal work without a contract often brings in a bit more. There's no security for that."
Defenceless in the crisis
Gudelia thus belongs to the minority in Peru, as only around 30 percent have a contractually regulated position. More than two-thirds of the people work in the informal sector, in the informal economy, for example as travelling salesmen, cleaning staff or factory workers. For these workers, the lockdown threatens their existence. At any moment they could lose all their income, which they use to pay for rent, food and school fees for their children.
So it happened to all nine brothers of Gudelia. One of them complains to Gudelia in despair: "We have no money to pay for our room. My partner and I have lost our jobs and cannot find work. Not even something as small as washing cars or being a street vendor." That was on April 10th, when the lockdown lasted over a month and there was no talk of an end.
Gudelia's brothers, like many people employed in the informal sector, have only a small apartment, without water and rarely electricity. There, the families now live in very confined spaces. The school lessons continue online. "But we have no computer and no mobile phone. Our children cannot join in the lessons", writes one of Gudelia's brothers. Every month brings a new rent bill.
On 15 April it is clear that the curfew will remain in place. It is enforced rigorously and with prison sentences. "The problem is not the police, but the military," says Jannet. "They're not used to dealing with civilians and they always react disproportionately."
Some of Gudelia's brothers are thinking of returning home. Without work, food, school and the prospect of an end to the crisis, not much remains for them in Lima. It is an escape - an escape into the past. "On the farm there is always something to eat like potatoes and wheat, the people are friendly and they help each other. And the children have room to play. We're leaving," writes one of Gudelia's brothers. The family sets off on foot, because there is no public transport any more. 500 kilometres through the foothills: the despair is enormous. Thousands make the same journey.
Villages barricade themselves
Shortly after the pilgrimage has started, the government has an understanding. Buses are to take the families to the provincial centres. "We have been waiting for 5 days now", the four brothers who set off write on April 20th, "We and the 1500 or so other people had to sleep by the side of the road. All: old people, young people, children. Everyone is desperate." After this news, it will take two more days for the buses to get there.
Runaways are not welcome. Villages are barricading themselves in fear of the coronavirus.
"Before leaving, they tested Four were infected and were not allowed to go. When we arrived, they did more tests. Now there are 50 infected. We are in quarantine tents at the stadium and must stay here for 15 days before we are allowed to leave. Everyone is worried, because some have fled on the way, they could bring the virus into the communities. The virus has made me flee Lima and impoverished my children. If it gets to my home country before I do, where else will I flee to?" So writes one of their brothers from Huancavelica.
In the villages the message of the escaped people has already arrived. The fear of the virus is great. Therefore, the communities are sealing themselves off to stop the escapees. The quarantine is the only guarantee that the virus will not spread further in the countryside. There are no medical tests here.
Fast help for Peru
Many people have lost their livelihoods and the country therefore needs rapid international assistance. But even the long-term consequences could wreck progress in the fight against poverty, for the protection of minorities and for equality.
How many people will return from the city to their regions of origin in the Corona crisis remains to be seen. If the rural exodus could be slowed down in the long term or even reversed to a small extent, the people in Peru would benefit.
For too long, infrastructure development has lagged behind the sustained and rapid growth. As a result, young people from the countryside rarely found good conditions in the big cities. They ended up in poverty, were exposed to abuse of all kinds and only a few managed to make the leap into a secure existence, like Gudelia.
Peru has better chances if the young people get involved in the countryside, become innovative there and do intelligent business with organic farming. This is what terre des hommes switzerland is doing with its projects in Peru. For example, we help coffee farmers to improve their quality in order to make more profit. In projects like these, young people need outside support at all costs. But first and foremost, the focus is on rapid assistance.
Help terre des hommes switzerland now vital information to disseminate and Hygiene measures to be implemented.
