Last week, a decision was taken to remove a group of homeless people in one of the main central locations in Sydney, that is Martin Place, a financial centre that includes the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Those poor wretches for whom that roofless place came to be considered home were offered alternative places of accommodation, however will and offer of temporary accommodation of a few days resolve anything?
That label given by the council, that of a 'public nuisance', to me demonstrates how these vulnerable people, possessing only whatever they can carry, exposed to all types of abuse by people around them apart from the elements, are considered.
The important thing is being moved on. They are no longer visible, the problem is no more. Now we can forget about them, perhaps it was just a bad dream. We can finally allay our conscience.
Who do we think we're kidding? What will happen to those people, after their period of temporary accommodation is over? Will they not become a 'public nuisance' elsewhere?
About a year ago, the same exercise was carried out in the public Belmore Park in front of Central Station in Sydney, whose two sides were chock-a-block with tents belonging to those without a permanent home. They were shooed away from there (though a few went back, but that's bye the bye). And where did they go? Who knows? Do we even care?
And what are we proposing to do about those people living underneath the arches at Wentworth Park, or those close to the police station at Woolloomooloo?
The problem of people without a permanent roof over their head is considerable, even more than one might consider possible in an advanced economy such as Australia. It's estimated that 0.5% of the population was in this situation in 2011, about a hundred thousand person, and the same figure is still being quoted today. This statistic varies from 0.3% to 0.5% in the Australian states and territories, except for the Northern Territory, where the rate shoots up substantially to 7%!
Age | Proportion | Total |
<12 | 17% | 17,845 |
12-18 | 10% | 10,913 |
19-24 | 15% | 15,325 |
25-34 | 18% | 19,312 |
35-44 | 14% | 14,484 |
45-54 | 12% | 12,507 |
55-64 | 8% | 8,649 |
65-74 | 4% | 4,174 |
>74 | 2% | 2,028 |
Is it really possible that a rich country like Australia, having an economy measured in the trillions of dollars, is unable to find a solution? That someone ends up in this situation cannot be prevented, as they might be running away from difficult situations such as financial pressure, abuse in the family, domestic violence etc. However to remain in the same situation, for weeks, months and years, without help that is a game changer, is a tragedy, and a shame (on us).
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Il-ġimgħa l-oħra, ttieħdet deċiżjoni li jiġu mneħħiha grupp ta' nies li kienu jorqdu barra t-triq, f'wieħed mill-iktar postijiet ċentrali prinċipali ta' Sydney, jiġifieri f'Martin Place, ċentru finanzjarju li jinkludi l-Bank Ċentrali tal-Awstralja.
Dawk l-imsejkna li għalihom dak il-post mingħajr saqaf kienu jikkunsidrawh darhom ġew offruti postijiet alternattivi ta' akkomodazzjoni, imma fil-fatt li tingħata akkomodazzjoni temporanja ta' ftit jiem se ssolvi l-problema?
Dak it-titlu li ta l-kunsill, 'inkonvenjent pubbliku', għalija jixhed kif dawn in-nies vulnerabbli, li jippossiedu biss dak li jistgħu iġorru, esposti għal kull tip ta' abbuż min-nies ta' madwarhom apparti mill-elementi, jiġu mħarsa.
L-aqwa li ġew imċaqilqa. M'għadniex narawhom b'għajnejna, il-problema spiċċat. Issa nistgħu ninsewhom, forsi kienet biss ħolma kerha. Inserrħu l-kuxjenza wkoll.
B'min naħsbu li qed nidħqu? X'se jiġri minn dawk il-persuni, wara li ż-żmien ta' akkomodazzjoni temporanja jtispiċċa? Mhux li jsiru 'inkonvenjent pubbliku' x'imkien ieħor?
Xi sena ilu, l-istess eżerċizzju sar fil-ġnien pubbliku Belmore Park ta' quddiem l-istazzjoni Ċentrali ta' Sydney, li ż-żewġ naħat tagħha kienu miżgħuda bit-tined ta' min dar permanenti m'għandux. Tkeċċew minn hemm (ħalliha li xi whud marru lura, imma ħalliha). U fejn marru? Min jaf? U x'jimpurtana?
U x'se nagħmlu b'dawk ta' taħt il-loġoġ ta' Wentworth Park, jew dawk ta' ħdejn l-għassa tal-pulizija ta' Woolloomooloo?
Il-problema ta' nies li m'għandhomx saqaf fuq rashom hija kbira, iktar milli wieħed jimmaġina possibbli f'pajjiż avvanzat ekonomikament bħall-Awstralja. Huwa stmat li 0.5% tal-popolazzjoni kien qiegħed f'din is-sitwazzjoni fl-2011, madwar mitt elf persuna. Din l-istatistika tvarja fl-istati u t-territorji Awstraljani minn 0.3% sa 0.5%, ħlief għan-Northern Territory fejn ir-rata tispara 'l fuq sostanzjalment għal 7%!
Età | Proporzjon | Total |
<12 | 17% | 17,845 |
12-18 | 10% | 10,913 |
19-24 | 15% | 15,325 |
25-34 | 18% | 19,312 |
35-44 | 14% | 14,484 |
45-54 | 12% | 12,507 |
55-64 | 8% | 8,649 |
65-74 | 4% | 4,174 |
>74 | 2% | 2,028 |
Possibbli li pajjiż sinjur bħall-Awstralja, li għandha ekonomija bi skala tat-triljuni ta' dollari, mhix kapaċi ssib soluzzjoni? Li nies jispiċċaw f'din is-sitwazzjoni wieħed ma jistax jippreveniha, għax jistgħu ikunu qed jaħarbu minn sitwazzjonijiet diffiċli bħal pressjoni finanzjarja, abbuż fil-familja, vjolenza domestika eċċ. Imma li jibqgħu f'din is-sitwazzjoni, għal ġimgħat, xhur u snin, mingħajr għajnuna deċiżiva, hija tal-biki, u tal-mistħija.
1http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/after-six-months-clover-moores-council-breaks-up-martin-place-homeless-camp-20170624-gwxqob.html, retrieved 26/6/2017
2http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/about-homelessness/homeless-statistics, retrieved 26/6/2017
3http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-23/australia-to-buy-58-more-joint-strike-fighters/5405236, retrieved 27/6/2017
4http://www.acoss.org.au/budget-2017/housing/, retrieved 27/6/2017
5Lk 3:11
1http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/after-six-months-clover-moores-council-breaks-up-martin-place-homeless-camp-20170624-gwxqob.html, retrieved 26/6/2017
2http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/index.php/about-homelessness/homeless-statistics, retrieved 26/6/2017
3http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-23/australia-to-buy-58-more-joint-strike-fighters/5405236, retrieved 27/6/2017
4http://www.acoss.org.au/budget-2017/housing/, retrieved 27/6/2017
5Lk 3:11
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