Last week I wrote about the fact that I am noticing an increase in informal homeless communities in and around the Cape Town city centre.
I mentioned that I had personally counted more than a dozen of these communities in a 10km radius, stretching from Three Anchor Bay to Observatory.
I was disappointed, but not entirely surprised by some of the cold and heartless Facebook comments, referring to how “morsig” they are, because they “pee and poop where they sleep”.
Others referred to all of them being “druggies”, being drunk all the time, or robbing people.
One especially cold comment was: “Not even their families want them, so why should we be burdened with them?”
I understand the frustration, but it is also borne out of ignorance of the personal and psychological circumstances that results in homelessness.
But that is a very long deconstruction best left for another day.
I can suggest that you have a conversation with a few homeless people so you can better understand their stories and challenges so you can perhaps show more compassion.
It’s different for everyone and yes, of course some abuse substances, but that is more a reflection of society, not the entirety of the homeless community.
However you may feel about it, the fact is, it appears to be a growing problem that is bursting at the seams in the Cape Town CBD and something needs to be done about it.
On Facebook, George Willenburg said it best when he commented: “I was utterly shocked to see so many homeless. The City Of Cape Town has another pandemic on its hands.”
I agree. And if our City bosses don’t address this in a humane and sustainable way as a matter of urgency, then it will explode into something that will be impossible to address or reverse.
I fear that we may be very close to that tipping point already.