IRIN Focus on people's lives hit by the political crisis

The impact of Madagascar's political crisis is being felt most severely by the country's urban poor. Already one of the world's least developed countries, a political standoff between government and opposition supporters has seen a further slide in people's standards of living. The opposition-held capital Antananarivo has been blockaded for the last two months by government supporters as the country split over the disputed results of presidential elections held in December. The impact of the slow strangulation is increasingly visible on the streets. Clutching at her mother's skirt, little Chrysante instinctively flashes a grin at tourists approaching Madagascar's top hotel. It seems an unremarkable act of politeness from a toddler, until she holds out her hand and says: "I will remember you. Just give me something and then its finished." The mother and daughter couple are relentless in their plea for money. Realising they have but a few seconds before the hotel security guards chase them, their request becomes increasingly more urgent. "Sometimes we are lucky and people are kind but most of the time we don't get anything. I need some money to buy food for my children," Helene Eliasy (35) told IRIN. Helene and her three-year old child are part of a growing number of families taking to the streets of Antananarivo to eke out an existence. Casualties of the political crisis that has sent the island's economy reeling, many of the urban poor find themselves on street corners begging for food or money. Two months ago, Helene's life was substantially different. Working five days a week as a textile machinist in Antananarivo's central business district, she earned US $40 a month. Some months, depending on the workload and overtime, she would earn an extra US $10. After paying the rent in an apartment she shares with her sister and aunt, she fed and sent her children to school. In mid-February, however, Helene's life began to unravel. She was told that the factory no longer needed full time staff but that she could hold onto her job if she was willing to accept half the hours and half the pay. Without any recourse, she accepted. "It was difficult, [but] it was something," she explained. On the 22 March, as she vividly recalls, she was told that the factory would close indefinitely. Up until four months ago, Madagascar's textile industry was seen as a market with huge potential. However, due to roadblocks between the capital and the main port, many factories have not received their raw materials and therefore cannot honour their international orders forcing employers to lay off workers or shut down completely. If the crisis continues, the World Bank has said, more than 150,000 more jobs will be lost. "There was no work anymore. My sister and aunt helped me with some money because they were still working but then they too lost their jobs at the jewellery store. They have their own children to look after," Helene said. A month later and her life has changed dramatically. She now gets up at 5 am, bundles Chrysante onto her back and rushes to get to a good spot in front of the hotel, where she stays until 8 pm. "The hotel is the best place even though we sometimes don't get much, but we know that sometimes the French will give us some money." Helene's biggest hope is to get her job back and return to the life that she knew. On another street corner a group of young men stand gathered. All of them are unemployed. "This must all end now. Enough is enough. Every night my wife expects me to come home with good news that I found a job. This is very bad," one told IRIN. "I used to sell postcards and tourists maps to the visitors but now there is no one to sell to. Does the government want me to start stealing?", another added. It would be easier to blame Helene's fate just on the political impasse between President Didier Ratsiraka and millionaire opposition leader Marc Ravalomanana. But her story is unremarkable in a country that is ranked by the World Bank as the eighth poorest country in the world. The recent crisis, according to one analyst at the University of Madagascar, has only exacerbated an already tenuous existence for many people in the country, especially those living in the capital. "Antananarivo is a microcosm of the island's problems: uncontrolled development, unhealthy living conditions, street children, traffic congestion, contaminated water, pollution (10-20 times higher than the WHO standard), underemployment (60 percent of the working population), rampant disorganisation, insecurity and malnutrition. Life expectancy is barely 50," Professor of Economics at Pépé Andrianomanana told IRIN. According to official figures, three-quarters of the 12 million Malagasy population suffer from malnutrition. Less than half the children go to primary school, less than a tenth to secondary school. The political crisis is yet another addition to the list of woes that has impoverished the country.