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Bitter Winter, Homeless People And Our Efforts
- Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh
Writer, Author & Social Activist
Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"
Have we ever wondered how do homeless people spend the winter in the country? How do they spend their nights in the bitter cold? We do not even have a definite figure for this. But according to India’s 2011 census, approximately 47,000 of the city’s residents were sleeping rough. This number has increased in the last ten years. However, the agencies statistics show that 1.77 million Indians are homeless. Shelters are made for such people but are they enough? Probably not! We don't have a choice when it comes to saving lives. We couldn't be happier saving 2 out of 10. We must keep assessing our efforts.
I remember a story I used to read in my childhood - "The Little Match Girl". It was a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story, about a dying child's dreams and hope, was first published in 1845. In the story, on a freezing New Year's Eve, a poor young girl, shivering and barefoot, tries to sell matches in the street. Afraid to go home because her father would beat her for failing to sell any matches, she huddles in the alley between two houses and lights matches, one by one, to warm herself. However, the girl is ignored by passersby as no one buys from her, leaving her to suffer alone in the cold weather. In the flame of the matches, she sees a series of comforting visions: the warm iron stove, the lovely roast goose, the great glorious Christmas tree. Each vision disappears as its match burns out. In the sky she sees a shooting star, which her late grandmother had told her means someone is on their way to Heaven. In the flame of the next match she sees her late grandmother, the only person that ever treated her with love and kindness. To keep the vision of her grandmother alive as long as possible, the girl lights the entire bundle of matches. When the matches are gone, the girl freezes to death, and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the girl's body with a smile on her face, and express pity. They do not know about the wonderful visions she had seen, or how happy she is with her grandmother in Heaven.
Every year as winter approaches and I think of the homeless, I remember this story. Don't know how many people are there in our country who tries to live with the help of their dreams in the cold like that little girl. Some remain successful while some fail and lose their lives. It is a good thing that in many cities, night shelters have been made for homeless people and bonfires are also arranged for such people in winter. Some kind people also distribute warm clothes and blankets to wear. But are these efforts enough? Can homeless people be kept alive with just this much? In fact, the aid efforts of the government, NGOs and donors need to be expanded. It is necessary to get take follow up the efforts made. Official figures show the city’s homeless shelters are only able to accommodate about 9,300 people. Not every homeless can find a place in the shelters. Most of the homeless people who spend their nights in the open, on the roadside or outside shops, die due to cold.
As a human being, it is the duty of every human being to help the homeless people in one way or the other. Nowadays, there is a trend of colony and colony's society in almost every small and big city. If the people of every colony and its society start giving free hot tea to at least fifty homeless people once a week at night, then seven colonies can provide heat to fifty people with hot drink in seven days. It will be a very small but exciting task. Homeless people can also be helped to build temporary sheds for winter nights. Help can be given by giving them warm clothes. If not a few people, but almost every citizen does this work, then no homeless person will die due to cold.
We must remember that these homeless people who work for us on daily wages are not aliens. They are residents of this country like us. Simply, circumstances forced them to be helpless. Generally, people forced to leave their villages and come to the city in search of livelihood are forced to spend the night on the footpaths of the city, under flyovers. They have no guarantors and no money to rent a house. They are forced to spend the night under the open sky. Statistics show that 1.77 million Indians are homeless. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines “homelessness” as the state of people who do not have a regular dwelling because they are unable to obtain and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or because they do not have a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence. In other words, the term “homeless” refers to someone who does not have a place to live. Several circumstances like financial constraints, a lack of security, or the house not being available at a suitable time and location cause such a situation.
There are an estimated 1.8 million homeless persons in India, of whom 52 percent live in cities. Despite the government's "Housing for All-2022 Plan", not all the homeless have been able to get houses so far. Orders have also been given by the State Home Ministers to light bonfires and help the homeless. But every week or fortnight this update is not released on how many people were helped. While we know that in our country the issue which is not followed up, negligence starts happening there. But when it is a question of people's lives, we cannot leave room for such negligence. Every citizen has to be helpful, aware and whistleblower when it comes to helping the homeless in the bitter cold. We must remember that even the smallest of efforts by us citizens can help our fellow homeless to beat the cold.
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(25.12.2022)
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