Fars News Agency Social Group- Because man lives in society, in order to continue his social life, he must comply with the requirements, the disobedience of which is considered an anomaly. However, some features of social life are not mandatory and in many cases there will be no reward for doing so, in other words, it is a moral duty that one should be interested in doing.
One of these requirements is the social assistance of the members of the society in the face of problems that, like natural disasters, are constantly eradicated or, like begging and addiction, are constantly eradicated and its harms are increasingly multiplied. Although institutions are responsible for resolving these crises, if members of the community consider social assistance as a social responsibility to solve these problems more quickly, it will certainly have a great impact on the process of improving society.
In this regard, we have conducted a discussion on the impact of social responsibility on reducing migration from rural to urban areas with Alireza Nafisi, a researcher at Resalat Social Development Organization University, which reads as follows:
* When was rural development on the agenda of the Iranian government?
The Rural Development Plan almost goes back to the discussion of land reform and the White Revolution in the 1940s, which increased the central government’s influence in the countryside. Previously, the central government had little to do with the villages.
* In your opinion, were these reforms in favor of the villagers?
Many indigenous systems have relied on the role of the khan and the ownership structure of the villages, and that model has been the form of organization in the villages, including security, judgment, development, and communication with the government. In other words, the readers were in charge of communication with the outside world and markets, and even the provision of capital and social cooperation all relied on this ownership structure, and in fact the social structure, which was weakened by the implementation of land reforms.
* Were the villagers also affected in terms of economic capital?
When these reforms took place, the central government’s influence in the countryside increased considerably, and at the same time, the government’s wealth increased due to increased oil sales, which in turn led to heavy investment in industry. The establishment of large industries in cities caused the import of industrial products from cities to villages to increase widely. Also, investing in rural infrastructure and mass media due to the existence of electricity, television and then the Internet and satellite in the country has made the villages more familiar with the lifestyle and urban goods, and therefore when industrial products are widely available. And on the other hand, new needs arise from familiarity with the urban lifestyle. Naturally, new needs and imports reinforce each other, and this causes poverty because the need has increased but the income has not changed.
That is, the villages were not poor before?
The villages did not need much money in the past. Because many needs were met in a pure way and within the local community; But as a result of these programs, people’s need to get out of society increased and poverty spread, and because production was not cost-effective in a competitive market for industrial goods, even villagers, for example, found themselves in things that were self-sufficient, such as clothing and dairy. Production in the village is not worth it; Because they could provide it from outside the village at a lower cost and with less effort. This in itself led to the loss of many products in the village, and this, in turn, reduced the income and made the villagers poorer. That means less income and more needs. Secondly, the most important result is unemployment in rural areas, which is one of the main reasons for migrating to cities, and of course there is a feeling of relative deprivation; Because the villagers, due to increasing needs and, of course, central development, felt that the city was a better place to live and there was more prosperity, and eventually, this migration made many villages uninhabitable; Because the life of the villagers is very interdependent, and this in itself strengthens itself, which, as a reinforcing link, leads to the destruction of the rural community.
* According to official statistics, what is the distribution of rural population?
Currently, we have about 30,000 uninhabited villages. In contrast, 62,000 inhabited villages, indicating that one third of the country’s villages are uninhabited. Approximately 32% of these 62,000 villages have a population of less than 50 people. Another phenomenon is the dependency rate, which is based on the ratio of the population of people who are dependent and unable to work to the active population. This includes the elderly and children in relation to the working age population (ranging from 15 to 65 years); Dependence rates in rural areas are very high, indicating that most young people have migrated, about 10 percent more than in urban areas, and that the current rural population is mostly older.
* How did the distribution of the migrant population from the countryside to the cities happen?
In the country and in the most populous city and other parts of the country, 28% of the population is in the 10 most populous cities of the country. These cities make up 16 percent of the country’s area, but they have 28% of the population, which means that we have an unbalanced population distribution in the country. In particular, if we look at Tehran, it has 21.6 percent of the country’s population in 1.5 percent of the total area.
* What is the obvious result of this type of migration?
One result is that marginalization has increased in the country. The rural population who migrate to the city and most of them come to the provincial capitals, naturally can not live in the city because they do not have the power to buy land and housing, so they live on the outskirts of cities such as Tehran and provincial capitals.
* What are the disadvantages of this style of marginalization?
Before the formation of marginalization and the migration of people, we are witnessing land use change, aggressive occupation, and the sale of foreign and construction property. That is, in order to settle down, they start doing illegal things, such as seizing land. On the other hand, when they settle, many social harms are formed after that, because the group that is formed is completely unidentified and due to poverty, they are highly prone to social harms, and on the other hand, social control is very low. It is due to the lack of an identity structure that leads to theft, property, addiction, mass strife, violence, premeditated murder, destruction of public property, harassment, extortion, threats, sexual violence, prostitution, child abuse, and many other social ills. It happens.
So does the lifestyle in small rural communities prevent social harm?
Certainly, this is one of the main reasons why we should focus on the development of villages and small towns and the return of immigrants instead of the marginalized. Lifestyle in small rural communities has been strongly a close-knit community with very broad norms and social control. That is, these same people, when they migrate and become marginalized, and sometimes suffer severely social harm, perhaps one of the reasons is separation from family and rural environment; Because they were in an environment where everyone saw each other and all their attention was on each other. But now they come to an environment where they are alone. Anything can happen when they are alone in poverty. At the same time, when these people were together, they prevented each other from causing social harm; Because they covered each other with their social support and they covered poverty and other things.
* Has any research been done on the causes of migration from rural to urban areas?
Yes, in the censuses of 1985 and 1990, they asked why immigration takes place, where family following is the most important factor. Because they look at the individual, not the family. This 46% mostly includes women and children who have come and emigrated following the man of the house. In the next degree, other causes such as employment, which weighs 15%, after education, that is, the flood of young people who go to university, and that in the city, after public service after that, access to more suitable housing that it in the year 85 They did not ask, but what I understand from it is the pursuit of prosperity. Finally, there are more facilities and welfare, which is a common reason for migration, and it is said that life in the countryside is difficult.
* Does it mean that it is wrong to think that facilities and welfare are more in cities?
Statistically, life expectancy is almost equal in rural and urban areas, while the lack of facilities is high in rural areas, and many people migrate for access to hospitals and health facilities. . If in the city, there were other factors that neutralized these; Like stress and pollution and many other things that exist in urban life. Household spending is also really lower in rural areas. That is, many times they come to the city with the intention of earning more, but they have much higher costs, and maybe about forty percent more, and they will experience a harder life.
What is the ratio of rural to urban unemployment?
We have an activity statistic and an unemployment statistic that does not necessarily add up to a hundred. Because there are also inactive population statistics. People under 15 and over 65 are inactive. The activity of people aged 10 and over in urban areas is 62% and in rural areas is 69%. This means that many people who come to the city in the hope of working do not get a job because there is not much work in the city and the problem of unemployment in the city is sometimes more than in the countryside. This shows that, incidentally, we do not provide information to individuals, and incidentally, the fields of work in the villages may be much larger. Of course, there is not much difference in trying to draw conclusions.
What about lifestyle? What is the situation of villages compared to cities?
According to the lifestyle statistics obtained from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and a national survey, the number of villages is half of the cities in the center of the province. That is, the social norm strongly governs the attitudes of individuals and is reflected in their behaviors. Judiciary Report As asked, has any of your relatives ever run away from home? By city and village. It is about twice as big in the city as in the countryside. According to family statistics, the marriage-to-divorce ratio is 19.2 in the city and 8.9 in the village. That is, what prevents a rural woman and a rural man from living together, despite the culture that international organizations want to change and create gender equality, but in the city, this does not happen. This is also a lifestyle issue.
* According to you, being in the village is for the benefit of the people and in a way for the benefit of the urbanites. What is the social and macro level of dealing with the villages?
One of the reasons we have to go to the villages is the social capital in the villages, the collective activities that are formed in the village, although they have decreased in recent years, but its manifestations and examples are still seen in abundance, but do not exist in the city. Social capital is also one of the important factors of economic development in the development literature and provides a very exceptional opportunity for us to use it and mobilize it and move towards development. While in the city, it is very difficult and if several neighbors want to get together to do something, it will not be easy. The next reason for the presence in the villages and rural development is economic security.
* How does the issue of economic security of the country relate to the villagers?
When you focus production centers on large factories, you actually have a few big players who may experience severe fluctuations in economic turmoil. While, for example, a farmer who produces and sells these crops is not easily affected by economic turmoil or changes in investment and the like. On the other hand, decentralized production can greatly ensure food security in the country. Another important issue is territorial security. Our border cities have a very small population and we encourage people to come to the capital and the centers of the province, and of course in many provinces, for example, from South Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan, when it comes to migration, to the center of the province. They do not go, but go to more industrialized provinces. This can also expose the country to issues that fail to protect its borders. On the other hand, there are more conflicts and social conflicts in big cities and it can create a lot of costs for the country. For example, when did you hear that, apart from deliberate sabotage, there was widespread social conflict in villages and small towns?
* In the current situation, despite the misconceptions about rural life, how can people be encouraged to live in rural areas based on social responsibility?
First of all, the correct information must be provided to the villagers. Accurate and realistic comparisons should be made about the quality of life in various aspects such as health, traffic, air pollution and even work and education situations. Secondly, collective movements based on social assistance should be strengthened in the villages. This issue is still a missing link in many villages of the country after sixty years of land reform. If people think about the development of their village and solving their problems in their communities, they will both reduce the burden of their problems and feel the benefit of living together.
End of message /