JP\/xx\/US1<\/p>\n
Building a civil society, American-style<\/p>\n
The U.S. State Department's Foreign Press Center and the Meridian
\nInternational Center, an international cultural exchange
\ninstitution, invited 10 Indonesian journalists to the U.S. in
\nlate September to learn about civil society and volunteering. The
\nJakarta Post's Ivy Susanti took part in the two-week program,
\nwhich is part of a U.S. public diplomacy effort. Her report
\nfollows:<\/p>\n
The American dream has perhaps remained a unattainable goal,
\nnot to immigrant workers, but more often to American citizens.<\/p>\n
Against the backdrop of skyscrapers dotted along Washington
\nD.C. and New York City streets are homeless people, drifting
\namong those with money in slick business suits rushing to catch
\nthe next bus or train to work.<\/p>\n
Though they do not make a marketable Hollywood storyline, the
\nhomeless are real people who pose a real problem -- and real
\nshame -- to the United States.<\/p>\n
It does not need to take a hurricane to reveal America's most
\ndisadvantaged people -- just take a walk in the capital city and
\nyou meet many homeless people, often African Americans, roaming
\nthe streets leading to the White House. Sixty percent of the
\nDistrict of Columbia's population of 550,000 are African
\nAmericans.<\/p>\n
For successful immigrants, America provides the opportunity of
\na lifetime.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mazzen Sabbaq, a Syrian-born physician has a doctorate
\nfrom New York University's School of Medicine. After a few stints
\nin the U.S. following graduation, he decided to apply for U.S.
\ncitizenship, because he was confident he could contribute
\nsomething to America.<\/p>\n
\"In Syria, physicians don't have much opportunity. They can't
\nget the best out of their education,\" Sabbaq said. \"By (me) being
\nhere, people can learn about Syria. They would understand that
\nterrorists are a tiny minority there.\"<\/p>\n
Mazzen said he had never been mistreated by Americans,
\nalthough as Muslims, his wife and sisters wear head scarves. \"I
\nnever feel that I get less from a different country. People here
\nnever care where I come from, as long as I have the necessary
\ncredentials.\"<\/p>\n
The success stories of these doctors, who represent the cream
\nof society, as a foreign press center staffer said, was in stark
\ncontrast with the reality for others on the ground.<\/p>\n
The three cities on our itinerary -- Washington, New York and
\nTucson -- are among 70 centers in the United States that have
\npeople living below the poverty line. The U.S. Census Bureau's
\n2004 American Community Survey shows that 20.3 percent of
\nresidents in the city of New York fall into this category,
\nwhereas in Tucson it is 19.5 percent and Washington DC 18.9
\npercent.<\/p>\n
According to the census bureau's poverty threshold, a single
\nperson at productive age -- below 65 years old -- has to earn
\nless than US$9,827 annually -- or about $819 a month -- to
\nqualify as impoverished. For a family of five with three children
\nunder 18, the income cutoff is set at $22,543.<\/p>\n
The poverty threshold was widely criticized for being an
\ninaccurate measure to define poverty, especially because it
\nexcludes non-cash income like food stamps.<\/p>\n
In civil societies like the United States when the government
\ndoes not provide many welfare programs for the lowest level of
\nsociety, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) step in and care
\nfor the underprivileged and disadvantaged. These grassroots
\norganizations may be critical of the government but many of them
\nthat we encountered were willing to get their hands dirty doing
\nthe jobs the government was not doing.<\/p>\n
The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonprofit
\norganization based in Washington DC, was established in 1983 when
\na group of concerned citizens saw the surge of homeless people on
\nthe streets. The organization gets funding from private or
\ncorporate contributions.<\/p>\n
Alliance president Nan P. Roman said the lack of affordable
\nhousing was the primary cause of homelessness.<\/p>\n
Over 12 million low-income individuals and 5.4 million
\nfamilies across the nation spent some 50 percent of their income
\non housing, leaving little to pay for their basic needs, the
\nAlliance said.<\/p>\n
\"Income and housing go hand in hand. You can work but still be
\nhomeless,\" Roman said.<\/p>\n
She defined the homeless as people who had nowhere to live nor
\nother means to sustain life. The homeless also often have mental
\nhealth problems and need more public services.<\/p>\n
The homeless were mostly Americans, because immigrants had
\nemergency systems available for them from the federal government,
\nregardless of their legal status.<\/p>\n
The Alliance's short term program was to get homeless people
\ninto shelters, however, the movement has set a goal to end
\nhomelessness by 2010. The Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness
\noutreach campaign urges communities to develop databases of
\nhomeless people, to build a system to prevent homelessness, to
\nprovide low-income housing services and jobs through an
\nemployment service.<\/p>\n
A number of nonprofit institutions -- some of which are
\nreligion-based -- are set up to deal with people with substance-
\nabuse problems and victims of domestic violence.<\/p>\n
The Harbor Light Center in Washington D.C. is an adult
\nrehabilitation center that belongs to the Salvation Army, an
\nevangelical part of the Methodist church. The center provides a
\ncomprehensive, six-month residential treatment program for drug
\naddicts.<\/p>\n
The center's clients are primarily homeless who have limited
\nor no access to other treatment programs.<\/p>\n
Major Douglas Browning, the center executive director, said
\nthe center was funded through government contracts, aside from
\nprivate donations. Clients are recommended by prison
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
Here they are taught to discipline themselves -- they have to
\nclean up their own living space, attend classes and counseling
\nand be punctual. From time to time, the clients have to undergo
\ndrug tests. The program ends after 90 days.<\/p>\n
Though it is affiliated with Christianity, Browning said that
\neveryone was free to practice their own religion or belief.<\/p>",
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