“Our livelihood has been snatched away”: voices from the world’s fastest growing economies

The world’s middle-income economies have become the fastest-growing group of countries in the past two decades, but their workers are seriously affected by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus.

As government shutdowns have paralyzed business activity in recent weeks, a generation of people who grew up with high growth rates and rapidly increasing levels of education and healthcare face the worst financial challenge of their lives: with less generous and less complex social assistance systems. than those in the richest countries.

The economic maelstrom that has fueled record investment flows from developing economies threatens the livelihoods of millions of people, but some are finding opportunities in turmoil.

Harinath Singh and Sunita Devi

Uber driver, New Delhi, India

Harinath Singh felt uneasy when he returned to his working-class neighborhood in New Delhi after a long day of driving on March 21, the eve of what was supposed to be a “curfew” of a day.

Many Uber drivers had already stopped working, but Singh, a former coach driver who bought a car in 2016 to start driving for Uber, financially supports his wife Sunita Devi and two school-age children, and has several loans that pay. His goal was to stay on the road.

However, that should not be. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed one of the strictest blockades in the world, suspending all public transport and taxi services.

These days, Singh, who emigrated to New Delhi two decades ago from the impoverished state of Uttar Pradesh, is trapped in his rented one-bedroom flat, playing doctor and patient with his eight-year-old daughter and worried about what is lying. . ahead.

“It’s good that the whole family is home, we can eat all the meals together,” said Devi. “But me and my husband are very concerned about the loss of income. Locked up life is very difficult for people like us who depend on daily wages. Our livelihood has been taken away. “

With no real income since the shutdown began, Singh, who previously spent up to 18 hours a day at the wheel, has used his savings to buy food. The family’s debts, including her monthly car payment of Rs15,000 ($ 198) and her older daughter’s wedding loans, weigh on her mind.

Uber has distributed Rs3,000 to approximately 55,000 of its Indian drivers, including Singh. New Delhi has also ordered landlords not to collect rent from tenants whose earnings have been affected. The Reserve Bank of India ordered a three-month moratorium on debt repayment, such as Singh’s car loan.

But these measures are little comfort to him; He foresees difficult times for many months, even if the New Delhi blockade is eased as planned on May 3.

“People are very afraid of traveling because of the coronavirus,” he said. “Even if the blockade ends, the business is going to be bad.”

Alex Maia

Fishmonger, São Paulo, Brazil

Alex Maia has a problem: he has “too many orders”.

For almost 20 years, the fishmonger sold his products in São Paulo’s public markets, but last month the fairs were abandoned by customers worried about the coronavirus.

For many of the feirantesAs the vendors are known, the pandemic has been a death sentence for the small businesses they have led for decades. But Maia began offering home deliveries to the millions of people quarantined in Latin America’s largest city, and the business is booming.

“I have 70 orders per day. With so many orders, our delivery system almost collapsed, ”said the 35-year-old man.

“They get fresh produce at home and can pay in different ways,” he added, citing the increase in new payment platforms now available in Brazil.

But Maia’s new business model remains vulnerable to the pandemic. The feirantes depend not only on their suppliers, but also on the Brazilian army of truckers who transport most of the country’s goods.

These drivers are now openly discussing the strike to protest current conditions, including the closure of gas stations and roadside garages.

Brazilian government ministers have promised that the country will not face food shortages as long as truckers keep things moving. But Maia is already seeing ominous signs.

“Some products are missing,” he said. “So now I’m talking directly to the fishermen [to source food]. “

Mariwan Jintawijit

Salon owner, Bangkok, Thailand

The Shewa Spa is located amidst the bars and hostels of Bangkok’s Khaosan Road area, typically the heart of the city’s tourist life.

But a six-week shutdown has drained Khaosan of visitors. That has smoothed the curve for new coronavirus infections, meaning authorities may begin to allow companies to reopen, but it may be too late to save Shewa, Shewa’s salon, nail and massage salon, Mariwan. Jintawijit.

“Now the disease is declining, but the business will die,” said Mariwan.

The Thai government announced this week a partial lifting of the blockade from May 3, but with strict edicts on what companies can open and what they can and cannot do. Beauty salons can cut and dry hair, for example, but coloring is prohibited and must be closed every two hours for cleaning. Manicures and massages are prohibited. Social distancing must be maintained.

“I have four chairs,” said Mariwan, pointing to her barbershop as she calculated the distance between them and how much her hairdressers could earn. “Do we do two, three or one [client]?

He also doubts that many customers will return, with most international flights on land until at least mid-May.

Its situation is typical of many people in Bangkok, who lives on the steps of foreign visitors.

Ms. Mariwan’s 50 employees and casual workers, many of them immigrants from Northeast Thailand, mostly cut European and American nails and hair or massage their feet. Bangkok’s more optimistic residents hope long-distance tourists can return in the high season by the end of the year, although Chinese visitors may return earlier.

Meanwhile, she has applied for a government salary relief related to Covid-19 for 10 of her staff, which has not yet arrived, and a government-backed loan for the business.

In 22 years running her business, Mariwan has seen political fights on the streets outside her store on several occasions and catastrophic floods in 2011, but this, she said, was worse.

“When we had the yellow shirts and the red shirts [fighting]You could still stay open and have money to pay the rent; even during floods, “he said.” Now I have zero. “

Oke Olumide Victor

Tailor, Lagos, Nigeria

Nigerian weddings are flashy affairs, filled with matching kaftans and traditional dresses, and until recently formed an essential part of tailor Oke Olumide Victor’s business.

But the coronavirus has wiped them all out, including yours, planned for last month, along with all of your scheduled in-person consultations and accessories in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.

Many customers have canceled orders and have had to charge double their usual rates to the few who have placed new ones; Most of its materials are imported from China, and prices skyrocketed after Beijing imposed strict closings.

For the first time since he started his business three years ago, Mr. Victor did not earn money for a full three weeks. One of his six employees resigned, unhappy with the half-pay he offered; the other five, who are among the many 21 million Lagos residents who live hand-to-mouth, barely manage.

Mr. Victor also finds it difficult.

“My final fear is that when the closure ends, it will take time for companies to start because people would want to pay off their debts and also get back the money they must have taken from other areas to survive this period,” he said.

But then he had a glimpse of good news: An old customer came up and asked him to make 100 custom skins. The customer, a retailer, wants fashionable masks that people can wear to match their outfits, the kind that Mr. Victor usually designs.

“At this point, food and shelter are all we need and this job would provide us with that,” said Victor.

Fatih and Fatma Kavraal

Hotel workers, Antalya, Turkey

Fatih Kavraal worked only six days this year before being sent on unpaid leave. Like many in the Turkish city of Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast, it depends on seasonal employment at the thousands of large resorts in the area.

In normal times, the loungers would now begin to fill with tourists from Europe, bringing in billions of dollars in foreign exchange earnings that are vital to the Turkish economy. But now all international flights to the country have stopped, and the hotel where Kavraal was supposed to work during the summer as a chef is closed.

The 27-year-old is just married, and he and his wife Fatma, who also received an unpaid leave from his job in hotel security, are eager for mortgage payments and other bills totaling approximately TL3,500 ( approximately $ 500) each month.

“If I was working, I could pay for it on my own,” he said. “But now, every month that I am not working, I will fall behind by approximately TL3,500. Instead of saving, you’re going to get into debt. “

Tourism directly accounted for 4.8% of Turkey’s gross domestic product in 2018 and the industry supports a number of other sectors, especially in a region like Antalya, which received 14.7 million foreign visitors last year. Kavraal has looked for another job in the city but to no avail.

He is waiting to see if he will be eligible for a new pay for suspended workers worth TL1,170 ($ 167) per month, equivalent to half the minimum wage.

He managed to get a TL3,000 loan from a state bank, but it was less than a third of what he expected. Like many in Turkey, he trusts the family: his in-laws have given him some cash. “They don’t have much money either, but they are trying to share with us,” he said.

The Kavraals are struggling to reconcile their hopes for their first year of marriage with reality. They had planned to use part of their income from the summer season to treat themselves; instead, they are trapped at home, worrying about how to make ends meet. “Our morale is not good,” he said.

Reports by Jyotsna Singh, Amy Kazmin, Bryan Harris, John Reed, Neil Munshi, and Laura Pitel