Showing posts with label sleeping rough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleeping rough. Show all posts

Wednesday 8 November 2017

A System Beyond Reform.




         Got up this morning, sat down at the computer, looked out the window. I’m comfortable, my window looks out across Littlehill Golf Course, a public owned golf course, a beautiful scene of undulating hills of grass and different types of trees, but Scotland’s winter had laid her icy hand across the area, the grass was white with frost. In conditions like this, how can you not think of those unfortunate individuals who find themselves sleeping rough, how do you not feel the frost savagely biting at the marrow of their bones, it is a lonely, slow, cruel death situation. It is difficult to grasp the fact that we, living in the sixth richest country on the planet, still tolerate such a cruel, unnecessary injustice. They suffer this vicious injustice not through lack of resources, but because of ideology.
The Homeless.

Tenebrous spectres, they exist,   out there,
on the crumbling edge of chaos.
A father, a son, a brother,
a daughter, a sister, a mother.
Fragments of some shattered family structure;
waste products
from a society being driven to destruction
by a hurricane of greed
living a life that wears out life,
dying,
the devious death of exhaustion from existence.

        No doubt, like me, you have listened to our political ballerinas spouting their hypocritical mantra, about what they are doing to help the homeless. They do this without shame or conscience, fully aware of the fact, that in the UK, since 2010, homelessness has increased by a staggering 34%. This massive increase can be laid at the feet of the government, through their welfare changes, introduction of Universal Credit, housing benefit cuts, etc.. Though these are not the only reasons for this increase, you can’t solve homelessness without building affordable homes. Our system of profit from houses is much more important than actually housing everybody, it is a system devoid of human compassion. It is much more profitable to have hordes of people chasing an small limited number of homes, this drives the prices up, big bucks for developers and estate agents. It pushes up rents, big bucks for landlords, why would they want to change such a lucrative system? It is a fact that the ideology of our political ballerinas, has driven the building of affordable homes to a 24 year low. It is also a fact that approximately one third of those homeless today will still be homeless a year on.

         It is an indictment on this system of profit before humanity, when we are looking at more than 300,000 people in this country waking up having spent the night, crammed with their families into hostels or dingy temporary rented accommodation, and these are the lucky ones, others will have spent the night on a pavement, doorway, dark lane, and if they wake up, in this weather, that is not guaranteed, it will be to face a cruel world, where their struggle for survival will be dependent of others and charity.

          This is capitalism, this is the system we tolerate, we know its injustices, we are aware of its inequality, we can see the suffering it inflicts on so many. We know within our hearts we can create a better, fairer system, a system built on compassion, mutual aid and co-operation, a system that will see to the needs of all our people, a system freed from the cancerous burden of profit and exploitation and free from the yoke of rich over privileged parasites, that suck the blood from all of our lives.

       Capitalism cannot be reformed, we have had centuries of reforms, the poverty, deprivation and wars are still with us. The only answer is the total destruction of this man made system of greed and exploitation. The next step is up to us.
The Warmth Of A Dream.

He lay in a dark doorway, dreamed of home,
night frost locked his joints
morning rain chilled the marrow of his bone.
In the dream there was a sister,
a pram in a garden, a crowd of youngsters
who called him "mister", a time of little pain.
Are these youngsters the same young men, who
now laugh at hime, throw beer cans,
piss on him as he lies drunk in some dark lane?
When was the first step down this slippery slope,
when was that first step to no forgiveness.
No will to rise to beg for food,
numbness kills the pain.
The dream brings a warmth that feels good,
dark fog shades out consciousness,
an ambulance carries off a body washed in rain. 
 Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Thursday 26 January 2017

Growing Economy, Growing Poverty,


       That babbling cabal that infests the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, are continually telling us that we are living in the fastest growing economy in Europe. They trumpet, employment is up, unemployment is down, wages are rising, and we should all be feeling yippedy doda and be extremely grateful. All smoke and mirrors, all illusion and lies. That “fastest growing economy” is not based on making things and exporting, it is made up of consumerism and ever growing personal debt, hardly an economic success story.
       What does this “fastest growing economy” look like to you and I? Well let’s look at children, The number of children in absolute poverty has increased by 0.5 million since 2010. At present nine children in a class of 30, will be living in poverty. Of course the babbling cabal are always making adjustment to taxes and benefits, supposed to be for our benefit, but according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as a direct result of tax and benefit decisions made since 2010, the number of children in relative poverty will have risen from 2.3 to 3.6 million by 2020. Our babbling cabal of the money class, will always spout, “get a job you lazy poor and that will sort everything out”, well not so, Two-thirds (66 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works.
       Let’s look at homelessness, during the period 2014- 2016 the number of those accepted by councils, (England) as homeless rose by 6%, while for the same period, those housed in temporary accommodation (England) rose by 23%. Sadly, and shockingly, those at the bottom of that poverty/homelessness crime, those sleeping rough, saw a massive increase 16% from 2015 to 2016(England).
        These are the facts on the ground, in the real world where you and I live, a million miles away from that babbling cabal of money, greed and privilege. While you and I struggle to get a decent living, they on the other hand, spend their time waffling and babbling in endless pointless circles, making sure nothing changes. Their main purpose is to make sure the wealth and the power remains securely in their hands. Ah, the wonders of capitalism. 
Endless Babble.
 
 The questions arise, why war and hunger?
Why does poverty continue to linger?
Why such need in a world of wealth?
Why put a price on a child's health?
Confused and angry the public stand
gazing in disbelief at this pathetic band.
Those shiny politicians designed by spin
their street credibility paper thin
the great persuaders looking the mood
struggling so hard just for our good!!
Masters of the art of wheeling and dealing
exceptional experts at legal stealing.
Enter the media, drowning us all in trivial text,
everything you need know
of scandal and sport, crime and sex.
Together they create a world of confusion
all fashion and style, a vicious illusion.
So no matter how often we point at need,
we always drown in a sea of greed,
no debate entered into, no answers found,
the waffle the babble goes round and round.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Saturday 20 August 2016

Squat The World.


        It's amazing how the logic of the state says that it is unacceptable that people should live in an abandoned building, and it is much better that they live on the street. That's capitalism for you, living in an abandoned building is too dangerous, much safer to sleep on the streets. Of course we all know that the state cannot allow the people to resolve their problems by themselves, it must always create the illusion that only the state and the corporate world can resolve our problems. Big business and the state are supposed to be the answers to all our problems, when in fact it is obvious that they are the root cause of most, if not all, of our problems. This video from Workers Solidarity Movement, (Ireland)

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Monday 18 April 2016

The Warmth Of A Dream.

 
          The British winter has passed, but our climate still makes this country a vicious, brutal and death dealing place to sleep rough. Across the country in towns and cities, vulnerable people are having to spend their nights finding a doorway, a lane, a hole in the wall, or wherever, to bed down for the night. The capitalist system can produce 5 star hotels and luxury housing for some, but shit housing for the majority, and in many case no home at all. Our cities and towns are awash with empty premises, all locked up, yet we still have people dying on our streets, and the powers that be call this democracy. There is no way that we should accept, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, that anybody should have to sleep rough, this is surely an indictment against a system that is greed driven and built on exploitation and inequality. While some dine and sleep in unbelievable opulence, others seek shelter from the elements in tattered and worn clothes curled up in a doorway. This is the hallmark of a failed system that must be destroyed.



The Warmth Of A Dream.

He lay in a dark doorway, dreamed of home,
night frost locked his joints
morning rain chilled the marrow of his bone.
In the dream there was a sister, 
a pram in a garden, a crowd of youngsters
who called him "mister", a time of little pain.
Are these youngsters the same young men, who
now laugh at him, throw beer cans,
piss on him as he lies drunk in some dark lane?
When was that first step down this slippery slope,
when was that first step to no forgiveness.
No will to rise to beg for food,
numbness kills the pain.
The dream brings a warmth that feels good,
dark fog shades out consciousness,
an ambulance carries off a body washed in rain. 
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicallglasgow.me.uk

Saturday 30 January 2016

A Home, A Money Making Commodity, Or A Right??




        Homelessness is part and parcel of this system of exploitation that we live under, a home is not seen as a basic right, but as a source of wealth creation for a handful of greedy individuals. Nor will the powers that be ever resolve the “housing crisis”, as that would interfere with the profitability of house building companies and developers. As long as there is a “scarcity” of houses, the price of buying and renting, will continue their upward surge, more profit for that brand of business. The so called housing problem is not a problem, it is a policy. Are our learned politicians sitting in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, telling us that there is not enough raw materials in the country to build enough houses, or are they saying we don't have the skills? We can build expensive abodes for those with deep pockets, we certainly can create opulence for the few, but are deemed incapable of creating decent houses for the many? Without the building of more homes for the ordinary people, people will obviously look to solve the “problem" by themselves. Our cities and towns are awash with empty premises, people are without homes, put the two together and we have a temporary solution, until we can take control of our own society, and create that basic right of all, a decent place to lay your head. 
      Squatters of London Action Paper (SLAP!) is a new London freesheet for squat news, actions, history and events. Paper copies soon available at Freedom Bookshop in Whitechapel and 56a Infoshop in Elephant and Castle. (Read Slap! First issue pdf)

     At worst, homelessness can mean sleeping rough on the streets.
Government statistics show 2,744 people slept rough in England on any one night during 2014 - a 55 per cent rise on 2010
Local agencies report 7,581 people slept rough in London alone throughout 2014/15 - A 16 per cent rise on the previous year, and more than double the figure of 3,673 in 2009/10 However, the problem of homelessness is much bigger than that of rough sleeping.
More on rough sleeping
In England:

     112,330 households applied to their local authority for homelessness assistance in 2014/15, a 26 per cent rise since 2009/10.
        The vast majority of single homeless people who are not entitled to housing, as well as those who, for a variety of reasons do not even apply for homelessness assistance, end up surviving out of sight.
       Many stay in hostels and there are just over 38,500 be spaces in hostels for single homeless people in England but there are other ways to get by. This might mean staying in squats or B&Bs, in overcrowded accommodation or ‘concealed' housing, such as the floors or sofas of friends and family.
        If you do not qualify for local authority housing assistance, if you are sleeping rough, staying in a hostel, a squat or some other form of unsatisfactory or insecure accommodation, then you are one of the countless thousands of hidden homeless people.

More on hidden homelessness More on hostel accommodation More on squatting
 
 
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Sunday 7 June 2015

The Warmth Of A Dream.


The Warmth Of A Dream.

He lay in a dark doorway, dreamed of home,
night frost locked his joints
morning rain chilled the marrow of his bone.
In the dream there was a sister,
a pram in a garden, a crowd of youngsters
who called him "mister", a time of little pain.
Are these youngsters the same young men, who
now laugh at him, throw beer cans,
piss on him as he lies drunk in some dark lane?
When was that first step down this slippery slope,
when was that first step to no forgiveness.
No will to rise to beg for food,
numbness kills the pain.
The dream brings a warmth that feels good,
dark fog shades out consciousness,
an ambulance carries off a body washed in rain.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Monday 22 December 2014

'tis The Season Of------


      As 2014 draws to a close, we should do well to remember that, "'tis the season of-----" sleeping rough and homelessness. Figures for those sleeping rough in England, state that there were 2,414 rough sleepers at any time during 2013, an increase of 5% on the previous year. Government figures, (England) for homeless applications for 2014 were 27,970. Families in temporary accommodation for 2014 was 60,940, up 6.1% on 2013. It is also accepted that 62% of single people homeless is hidden, sofa surfing etc.
         "'tis also the season of-----" workfare, working for no salary. An employer's dream. Government figures state that the so called "work experience Scheme", which is an 8 week placement, usually in the private sector, is expected to put more than a quarter of a million people in work without pay. However the government refuses to state how many of the 850,000 people already on their "work program" have been forced to work for no pay. 
           "'tis also the season of-----" sanctions. Government figures show that sanctions, (stopping of benefit) on Employment and Support Allowance claimants were approximately 4.5 times higher this year than the same period last year. The first three months of 2014 saw 15,955 individuals on ESA sanctioned, up from 3,574 for the same period in 2013.
             This is just some of the "good cheer" that is being visited on vast sections of our community, by the privileged, pampered parasites, that manage the system on behalf of the financial Mafia. At this time of year, those who legislate to bring this penury to our communities, will be sitting and wallowing in unearned wealth, no worries about heating, which one of their homes they happen to be in. No worries about putting ample food on the table, and no worries about the bills after the event. Why do we put up with it?
Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk