Take the shame from our eyes

IT OUGHT to be a concern of all of us that more and more of our fellow citizens are falling through the social safety net and ending up on the streets in various capacities.

There is a proliferation of ‘robot’ taxis. These are unlicensed passenger vehicles being operated by persons who, in many instances, are out of a job and have turned to the use of their main asset, the motor car, in order to earn badly needed funds for members of their families and themselves.

Then there are many itinerant vendors along the streets at busy intersections, especially at traffic lights in the towns. These vendors peddle all sorts of items, including food items and some can be very aggressive at times.

There are also windscreen wipers at several intersections in urban areas. These are young men, many of whom are rude and aggressive. They are in particular aggressive towards female motorists who they believe they can do anything to and get away with it. From time to time the police will act to remove these aggressive persons, but it is not long before they return.

PROFESSIONAL BEGGARS

There are also beggars along our streets and mainly at intersections. Some of these beggars look like healthy, strong individuals who should be able to find a job for themselves rather than becoming professional beggars.

Yes, there are professional beggars. These are the persons who act disabled, like they are mentally retarded, visually challenged, or like they are destitute, when by the end of the day they return to their communities and become normal once more.

There are, however, persons who are genuinely impoverished and have ended up on the street because they have nowhere else to live. Some sleep on shop piazzas, some sleep on the sidewalk, some in gullies and some in public parks.

Younger Jamaicans have now become accustomed to ‘street people’, that is to say persons who live on the street. However, there was a time when our country was never so cold, distant and insensitive to the suffering of the less fortunate citizens.

It is a distressful experience each day walking to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal on King Street in Kingston and passing several street persons in the most terrible condition that no human being should exist in.

DESENSITISED YOUTH

In some instances, as we pass these street people the stench of decaying flesh assault our nostrils, telling us very forcibly how unsanitary and unhealthy the condition these citizens are in.

The country, and in particular young persons, are in a sense being made accustomed to the several desperate street persons, and it is now almost accepted that this is how Jamaica land we love should be, but it should not be accepted.

Our Government, over the years, has been comprised of men and women who have expressed a commitment to, and a belief in, Christian principles. Why then have they not maintained their duty to be ‘my brother’s keeper’?

Can we convince the Government to make a commitment to rescue our citizens on the streets who are unkempt, semi-clothed, smelly, hungry and eating from garbage containers?

Can we convince the churches, especially those with the magnificent buildings all over Jamaica, to make a collective commitment to demand that the Government join them in rescuing our fellow citizens from the streets?

Can we get a commitment from the political Opposition to join the Government in a nonpartisan effort and bring human dignity to our fellow man and rescue our citizens who are destitute, walking the streets eating from garbage, and take the shame out of our eyes?

Feedback: lpgordon@cwjamaica.com.