La Farola is one of Spain’s answers to the UK’s Big Issue – a magazine sold by the homeless to help them get off the streets. From the two Euro cover price, €1.20 goes to the seller and €0.80 to cover editorial, printing and distribution costs. Content covers youth culture, social issues, health, the latest films etc… This is all very well in practice but as far as I can tell it isn’t working in Madrid. Why?
1. The vendors usually have various different editions of the magazine. This makes it hard to decide whether the magazine is ‘current’ or follows a set publishing schedule.
2. Vendors seem reluctant to actually hand them over once you’ve given them some money – ‘you want the magazine?’ This makes sense – they can ‘sell’ each copy twice over, but gives the impression that the content isn’t very good (it’s not bad).
3. The Spanish attitude is not helpful. The photo above, of a young Sudanese seller, was taken outside our local supermarket. As I approached, an old lady walked past, glanced at the man and his paper, and said, ‘Ponte a trabajar, majo’, get a job instead, mate.
Is that the general attitude of the Spanish to the homeless? I suspect it is common at least.
Have you seen La Farola on sale anywhere else in Spain? There is no website, the publisher ‘Georges Mathis’ resides in Italy, and the only reference I can find to the magazine on-line is from a four-year-old article in El Pais that claims “La ONG Alicante Acoge responsabiliza al periódico de Mathis de traer rumanos ilegales a España” – the paper is blamed by an NGO in Alicante for bringing illegal Romanian immigrants to Spain. I’ve e-mailed a copy of this post to lafarola@hotmail.com (the contact details in the paper), to see if whoever is at the other end can shed any light on this puzzling publication.
Update: the e-mail never got through, a ‘message delivery failed: mailbox unavailable’ message was returned instead.
César
27 Jun 06 at 1:08 pm
Mate is a very bad translation for “majo”. “Majo” is an aragonian word that means something like cute ( see the paintings by Goya: “La maja desnuda” & “La maja vestida”)and in spanish you can use it instead of “guapo” meaning that someone is nice but not in a physical way like “bonito” but in his social skills like “simpático”.
The translation for mate could be “colega”, “tronco”, “colegui” or even more old fashioned “compadre”.
I can hardly imagine an old british lady saying “mate” in that situation, she would rather have said “young man”, don’t you think so?
Ben
27 Jun 06 at 1:34 pm
With all due respect Cesar, I know what majo means and I know how British people talk. ¿Vale, majo?
-Ben
Alan
27 Jun 06 at 1:47 pm
Mate is used like that. It’s one of those words that changes meaning with tone of voice.
César
27 Jun 06 at 1:57 pm
Though, why the translation for ‘ponte a trabajar, majo’ into ‘get a job, mate’ ?
I didn’t want to ameliorate you I just wanted to be accurate. I’m sorry if I have lacerated your linguistic proud. As a person that enjoys your podcasts, I just felt impelled to help you and I thought you would appreciate it, with all due respect. Tell me if I’m wrong
Marina
27 Jun 06 at 2:01 pm
Cesar I don’t agree with your meaning of majo, the one you describe is the main one but I think it has more shades of meaning. For example I would use majo in an ironic if someone has anoyed me.
César
27 Jun 06 at 2:02 pm
Interesting, Alan. So a british old lady would say also ‘mate’ ? .
A spanish old lady would never say ‘colega’ or ‘compadre’. Well, may be an old woman that doesn’t consider herself as a lady. ‘Colega’ is too familiar and means some “bond” to the person you talk to.
César
27 Jun 06 at 2:06 pm
Yes, I agree with you, Marina! In the same way we could use ‘guapo’. I think that the old lady has used ‘majo’ with this ironic sense.
Alan
27 Jun 06 at 2:15 pm
I think you’re taking this too personally, César. The majority of people would use mate in that sense, although an older woman may not (many do). But your translations do not give the same sense of disrespect that is intended with the word ‘mate’. All languages are different and it is usually impossible to find a word that exactly matches all uses of a given word. This is why computer translators do not yet work. Saying “young man” is too polite.
Ben
27 Jun 06 at 2:16 pm
Entonces, César, mate, would you consider revising your original opinion of my translation?
César
27 Jun 06 at 2:53 pm
Oh, I see, Alan. When the old lady said ‘mate’ she wanted virtualy be disrespectful to the young man. Amazing! ‘Majo’ could imply annoyance but hardly disrespect…
I’m asking at the very moment my work MATES about the use of mate by an old lady and they could hardly imagine that.
Ben, mate or ‘majo’ as you like, let’s find the middle ground and compromise: I would say mate is never ‘majo’ but mate in a context and with a certain tone of voice could be translated as ‘majo’. ¿De acuerdo, colega?
Ben
27 Jun 06 at 3:15 pm
Whatever, Cesar. It seems a waste of time to have got so wound up by the nuances of one small word in translation. I was hoping for some interesting comments from Spaniards about the attitude towards helping homeless people in Spain, but evidently you are having one of your citical, rather than constructive days.
César
27 Jun 06 at 3:46 pm
No, no, no, my aim is not marked by a tendency to find and call attention to errors and flaws, I just wanted to be accurate. I’m so sorry that I’m sometimes so ‘cañero’.
You say that I’m having a critical, rather than constructive day as I were a woman and you would say: ‘you are having a period’.
With my last comment, I wanted to smoke the peace pipe but you seem to have one of your non smoking days.
And well, homelessness, my problem is that I haven’t ever thought about that problem. In Spain there are so many ‘albergues municipales’ , homes run by non governmental organizations or by the church that I have seen always homeless people as people that have chosen to be on the streets because that was their way of life or due to alcoholism or drugs wouldn’t be accepted in a care house. Or on the other hand they were newcomers from abroad and there were also public and private organizations that help them.
Marina
27 Jun 06 at 4:08 pm
Cesar, even if you are not a woman you have PMT 365 days a year!
Your comment was truly chovinist, and from the point of view of a woman I would really like not having to read things like that.
On the other hand I think you are looking at the homeless people from your position of; I’ve got a job, house to live in and food to eat. In fact you would be surprised how homeless become homeless, many of them have psycological problems due to a very hard expirience in life.
I would never say that they choose it!!!
César
27 Jun 06 at 4:50 pm
Marina -
If you knew me, you would know how much I love women. My comment was slightly chovinist, sorry. But you would agree with me that women are quite sensitive when they are having ‘their’ period. Acepto tu tironcito de orejas con deportividad y me rindo a tus pies.
En cuanto a los sin casa, well, I am the opinion that we are responsible for our own lives and you have what you have chosen to have. You make decisions in life and you live upon those decisions. Even if you have had a very hard experience in life or have normal psychological problems you can choose to move on or to choose to remain in the misery until you lose your job, your house, your partner, everything.
Something very different is if you are affected with madness or insanity, in that case you have to be helped. You haven’t chosen anything, you are just brainsick. In that case, I would agree with you but if you are healthy and you are on the streets, I think I would say: ‘majo, mueve el culo y búscate un trabajo’, even tougher than the old lady outside your local supermarket.
ValenciaSon
27 Jun 06 at 5:20 pm
Well I thnk that part of the problem with the homeless is that there is a considerable amount of people who are unsympathetic and minimize there problems thinking all the homeless have to do is starighten up and get a job. The reality is that the vast majority of the homeless are mentally ill and that mental illness is more prevalent than people care to acknowledge. Then you also have those who denigrate the homeless as a means to compensate for their sense of insecurity and inadequacy as a human being. Lastly, mental illness is stigmatized, so individuals are reluctant to seek help. Instead, they maybe the same individuals who denigrate the homeless.
Alan
27 Jun 06 at 5:27 pm
En Escocia, el problema más evidente es las drogas. En ese caso, el dinero no es la respuesta porque se utiliza para comprar más drogas. í‰ste no es generalmente el caso para los vendedores de la "Big Issue†pero no es normal dar a mendigos el dinero. Aquí, los problemas mentales no son la causa principal de la falta de vivienda.
Xine
27 Jun 06 at 5:33 pm
Woah, lots of stuff flying around in here. This is my first time commenting on this site, but I do read it regularly, and enjoy it quite a bit. I studied for about 6 months in Spain in the late 90s, so I don’t have the most up to date memories etc. But it was my experience that in Sevilla, the Roma were the ones “selling” those papers, and they too were very taken aback if you actually wanted to take a copy of the paper. And they would seem offended if you didn’t give more money than was the asking price.
I wasn’t planning on commenting on this, but I just have to. I thorougly second your comment Marina about the causes of homelessness, and how the “choice” to be homeless is not necessarily a choice. And how easy it is to write someone off who you think could never be you. Mental health issues, especially if left untreated, can be 100% crippling. Those untreated mental health issues can cause you to self medicate if you don’t have access to treatment, meaning drug addiction, alchoholism, and so forth, making it easier for passersby to judge you and write you off. And you can’t just look at a peron and say: oh, this person has mental health issues, but that person doesn’t. Passing judgement based on YOUR life, YOUR experiences, YOUR health is really short sighted, but not surprising if you say you have never thought of homelessness before. Really? Never? I was thinking and asking questions about people without homes since I was a kid. I know how close to the financial edge many people living in today’s economy are, without them even knowing it. Most of us “middle class” are one paycheck, or one illness away from losing it all. I’m from the U.S. and here, one half of all personal bankruptcies are caused by medical debt. One wrong step somewhere can turn into disaster and homlessness for a person. Do you really think that people are homeless just because they just want to wallow?! Have you ever been homeless? I don’t think anyone WITHOUT mental heatlh problems would choose homelessness over wallowing. But that’s just my take on it, having worked with homeless individuals and families.
Ben
27 Jun 06 at 5:49 pm
Hi Xine, thanks for commenting, and welcome! You are right, a lot of people have no idea how close a lot of the world is to the streets these days….
Skip
27 Jun 06 at 7:50 pm
As always Ben & Marina, very interesting topic at NFS. I can’t really reflect on Homelessness in Spain, but we have the same social issues in the US. AS with spain, there are numerous NGO and government organizations that exist to help people. For example, my city has a very sufficient homeless “shelter”. This is a place for Homeless to go and sleep, shower, get clothes, get assistence, get help… If they Choose. So there is some public perception that these “street” people have the ability to help themselves. Yet still we see the pan-handlers, asking for hand outs…
For our local situation, I think that our “state” hospital institutions have rejected some folks that are “metally ill” and unable to cope, but not sick enough to justify taking the bed from someone more sick. So we seem to have some folks that fall between the bureucratic “cracks” and end up on the street.
Additionally, and on the other hand, We see drug addics, alchoholics, and others who have made bad choices standing on the corner just wanting money… and it is hard to justify feeding thier habit. The standard operandi is to stand on the corner, with a sign that says “Vet, Traveling, 10 hungry kids at home… God bless”. I think that leads to some attitudes about this, and I have actually seen people give them meals… and they just throw it in the trash!? I’ve also seen people hand out “job applications”… anyhow, I think at least these spanish homeless are selling something, instead of just begging.
-Skip
Rebecca
27 Jun 06 at 10:21 pm
I was homeless here in the US for not quite 10 months. It was because of mental illness. I managed to get into and stay in a shelter. 98% of the women there had bipolar disorder, and most were also alcoholics and/or drug addicts.
As far as this “straighten up and get a job” thing that comfortable people are so fond of saying…would you hire someone who hadn’t bathed in days? Then they have to clean their clothes. In the US one needs at least two kinds of ID to get a legal job. Homeless people frequently get what in the US is called “rolled”, usually by young people. This involves a beating and the theft of all the person’s possessions, such as ID. Then there comes the line on the application that says Address. I can tell you embarrassing it is to have nothing to write on that line.
César Ortega
27 Jun 06 at 10:45 pm
Ok, let’s forget the homelessness due to insanity or madness.
Let’s talk about the healthy people that ended up on the streets due to alcoholism, drugs, debt etc. There was a time when they must have chosen to buzz, take drugs, being careless with their finances etc. And if they have chosen once to do wrongly they can choose to fix also their lives again back to normal. One wrong step somewhere can turn into desaster and homelessness until you decide to stand up again and confront life.
We are responsable for our own lives, for the good things in our life and for the bad things.
Of course society must help people in a bad situation. There are a lot of such organisations, but I don’t feel guilty if I see a homeless person. I hope the council or someone would take care of him/her and at the end of the day only himself or herself could find back to normal, if he/she chooses to, if not, él/ella mismo/a. We are free.
ValenciaSon
27 Jun 06 at 11:08 pm
But there are still considerable amounts of people who are more prone to addiction because of an organic propensity, not character flaw. It is painting a broad stroke to say all addicts are at fault because to they chose to get high instead of being responsible.
blackboxtheory
28 Jun 06 at 8:47 am
Cesar, hey pureta shut the hell up! Your a annoying know it all!
César
28 Jun 06 at 9:13 am
Blackboxtheory – Maybe you should be the one that shuts the hell up and not trying to annoying me if you don’t have any arguments. That I have an opinion which you don’t agree with doesn’t give the right to say I’m a annoying know it all. First of all have an idea and then dare to speak to me, lad!
Ben
28 Jun 06 at 9:56 am
OK, please, let’s be nice. I really don’t want Notes from Spain to turn into a place where people shout at or insult each other. Anyone is free to express their views here (as long as they are not overly sexist, racist, pornographic or rude etc). We all get annoyed sometimes by what others say, but let’s try to keep criticism constructive, and try to avoid shouting matches. If someone really annoys you, the best thing to do is to IGNORE that person and their comments. Just carry on and say what you want to say about the subject. That is what I shall do in the future, sometimes it’s the only way to insure that NFS remains a friendly place for people to visit and comment. This is directed at no one in particular. What do you think?
César
28 Jun 06 at 10:20 am
I agree
Ryan
28 Jun 06 at 2:13 pm
Cesar – Sorry to hear you can’t see past your own experiences. In the US and I’m sure as in many other places in the world people don’t have the “free” choices that you claim they do.
Example: Try working for 5 US dollars an hour, 40 hrs a week and see what you get. Very little money. Now if you are in the US you probably don’t have great public transport system in your area so your trying to find a car/bike/or otherwise to maintain and pay for. Gas goes up, you can’t pay, you walk or hitch. You break your leg, catch a cold or worse if your a women become pregnant(no free contraception or education for this, thankyou mr.B) your company is probably not paying insurance for you, and/or they are only partially covering you. Now you have debt to pay back. Rent is high. So why not educate yourself and move up? In the US to educate yourself is a solo gig that is not paid for by the government. More debt. Then try to find a job. Maybe your lucky, maybe not, and don’t tell me that if you try hard you will succeed, you can’t tell me that hundreds of thousands of homeless people in the US are all lazy and unmotivated.
” According to figures provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services, up to 600,000 men, women, and children go homeless each night in the US.
Recent evidence confirms that homelessness among families is increasing. A survey of 25 U.S. cities found that in 2000, families with children accounted for 36% of the homeless population (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2000), with requests for emergency shelter by families with children increasing an average of 17% from previous the year.
In New York City alone, city officials estimated that there were 30,000 people utilizing the shelter system on a daily basis, more than at any other time in the city’s history.” 600,000 lazy unmotivated people?
Being homeless is not a cut and dry issue of working or not working. It’s societies problem to help create work and make sure it pays a fair wage so that people can live off of it.
I’ve had friends who were homeless. One of which had a PhD, let go from a University job. His problem, he was too old for most laborial jobs. His University couldn’t pay his pension, and he was overqualified to be hired by a non university. He was smart(great at chess), honest, and worked hard. Each day he would try to get some food from the shelters, which were often full, then he would come hang out on campus to chat with people about their ideas. The not having an address thing made it hard to apply for jobs, and since he was elderly it was hard for him to do jobs that required extended standing.
According to your logic, it’s all his fault. He even admitted that he made some bad choices in life. But now he had to pay for them by sleeping on the park bench. People wouldn’t look at him or talk to him, sometimes he couldn’t get a shower so even he didn’t blame them. I took the time to talk to him, and he taught me a lot.
Today I try to look at the people who ask for money. Sometimes I’m like you and figure that they just need to get a job and off the street. Then I remember that maybe there is something more to that person. Maybe they have a story that I could learn from or maybe not, I don’t know.
Either way we are all humans, and until you ask them their story and take the time to listen to it, you have no right to put one in their mouth for them.
-I know my examples pertain to the US mainly, but each country faces this reality in their own way.
César
28 Jun 06 at 3:05 pm
Ryan -
It might be very difficult nearly impossible for many people to regain normality after they have ended up on the streets. What you are telling is so sad that I am almost speechless.
I just want to remark that no matter what has happend in our lives we can change for better if we want. The only thing we need is to make a decision and to abide by it. If I were homeless my question to me would be: Do I want to remain homeless, yes or no? If no, I would do anything, no matter how hard, to get out. If yes, I sincerely wouldn’t like to be alive and I would go to the highest bridge or building in town and I would make my body a flying kite that says adiós with dignity.
Ryan
28 Jun 06 at 3:11 pm
So you can’t be dignified if your homeless?
Also I’ve never heard of seen or even considered that a homeless person would ever think: “gee, I think I rather stay homeless” You have to be nuts to think this.
If I understand you right suicide is a better option to being homeless, even if society has let you down or no matter how hard you work, you never can get fully up.
Cesar that is a sad, sad idea. I feel for you.
César
28 Jun 06 at 3:45 pm
If i don’t have the energy or the guts to fight for my live, I truly prefer not to be here. And don’t feel for me because I think so, nobody pushes me, I’m free and I know what I want.
Society doesn’t let you down. You let yourself down by not doing what you have to do, no matter how hard it is.
I believe in the power of the individual for good and for bad. You always decide, always.
Please, no more excuses not to see life as it is: Tough, hard work, ‘una putada’ but that is the real thing. If you don’t want to realise that you are gonna be really unhappy.
‘Esto es lo que hay, compadre’
Skip
28 Jun 06 at 3:50 pm
I hope this doesn’t come accross as confrontational (often forums like this, can be so lacking in cordial debate). But I do enjoy debating the issues.
With all due respect, I must differ with some of your facts Ryan. In the US and most of the “western world”, we are “Free” to make good choices and bad choices. We have far more freedom then people in China, India, North Korea for example.
One problem I have with your example, is that there is this underlying attitude, that it is the Government or the US president job is supposed to take care of us (ie your remark about Prez Bush). The fact is, in the US, a women can go down to the local “planned parenthood” clinic and recieve education and contraception or an Abortion, the fact that Mr Bush feels that it is not the government’s job to pay for that service is a different argument. I know this is probably a big cultural difference between some Americans and Europeans for example, but it is just an opinion.
You point out that a person can not make a decent living working a minimum wage job… This is true, but I can tell you that I have worked as many as Three jobs at one time in order to make ends meet. And that this is what many people have to do to make thier life better. We all have to start somewhere, and it is our free will to start at the bottom, and work our way up. To expect everyone to be guaranteed (by GOV or society), a “perfect” salary is unrealistic, and it has nothing to do with Luck. This is just my impression of what you are saying, and I apoligize if this is not correct.
I too have a friend that has a PHD, and is very intelectual, but that doesn’t always put bread on the table… In fact he sits around smoking pot, and wondering why he cant get a good job. My attitude is that people have to live with the consequences of their own actions/decisions, and that society as a whole must understand that at the end of the day, we are the only ones who will look after ourselves. Maybe I was born a century too late, but I think the american settlers 100 years ago, had more self relience and we need to teach that to our yonger gennerations.
Having said all that, Do we still have a problem, YES society does still have these issues, and we must always keep the discussion open about about how to solve those. And I whole heartedly agree that everyone has their own reasons… and that we can not lump all homeless into one category and say it is all their fault…
regards,
Ryan
28 Jun 06 at 4:08 pm
Point taken, though I never said the government owed them anything. I just feel that sometimes the government takes Cesar’s view instead of a two sided approach. Hard work only goes so far. There has been more than one time that if I hadn’t had a strong family to support me I might not have made it to where I am today. I’ve kept multiple jobs and I’ve worked my butt off, but in reality you have to have a bit of luck along with your hard work.
As far as first steps the minimum wage would be a good place to start. Pay people enough so that they can become consumers. http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/06/two_hundred_lar.html
John stewart makes a nice point of this here.
There will always be the lazy complainer who smokes too much pot. But as I said in my original statement: “Maybe they have a story that I could learn from or maybe not, I don’t know.
Either way we are all humans, and until you ask them their story and take the time to listen to it, you have no right to put one in their mouth for them.”
As you say society does have issues that need to be discussed, I’m just afraid that many people are forgetting to have the discussion.
cheers, r
ValenciaSon
28 Jun 06 at 5:49 pm
If the deciding organ is the affected organ, how can one decide what they have to do to be functional in society?
Pepino
28 Jun 06 at 6:33 pm
I tell you what, if I ever see that old woman in the street referring to anyone as anything other than Señor/a, I’ll think of a few names for her!
Regarding the situation here in Manchester, I have to say I’ve never seen anything but polite behaviour from sellers of The Big Issue (homeless) magazine. And as one guy in the centre of Manchester always says as he’s drumming up sales… “Get your Big Issue here… two free staples with every copy!”
blackboxtheory
29 Jun 06 at 5:09 am
Don’t worry, Cesar one day you’ll be end up old and all alone eating cat food from a tin can.
Jackie
29 Jun 06 at 5:17 am
From the INSP website http://www.street-papers.com:
"The International Network of Street Papers (INSP) is a global association of over 45 street papers in 27 countries around the world. Launched in 1994 by The Big Issue, INSP now has a combined monthly sales figure of over 2 million…Members of INSP adhere to a street paper charter and follow the aims and objectives of the organisation.â€
They list the countries and the publications which are affiliated, including Spain. But not a word about La Farola, only this publication:
Milhistorias (currently only sold as an NGO information tool)
Madrid, Spain
Email: milhistorias@rais-tc.org
Web: http://www.rais-tc.org
Maybe these guys could shed some light. Makes me think that perhaps La Farola isn’t actually helping those it says it does…
César
29 Jun 06 at 11:54 am
Blackboxtheory -
Well, I’m sure that cat food will be of the best quality. I’ll keep some of it so you can join me.
Ben
29 Jun 06 at 3:28 pm
Jackie, Thanks! I’ve sent them an email, let’s see if they know anything!
Xine
29 Jun 06 at 9:10 pm
First off, Thank you Ben for helping to keep this important conversation amiable.
Next: Skip, just a couple of misconceptions that I feel are important to speak to; first you said “The fact is, in the US, a women can go down to the local "planned parenthood†clinic and recieve education and contraception or an Abortion.” That may be true in most large US cities, but not in most rural areas, and not even in all big cities. My friend just moved to Florida from San Fransisco, and is unemployed currently, so she thought she would go down to the local Planned Parenthood and volunteer. Turns out there IS NONE. There is nothing even remotely close! I think you underestimate the bible belt and many evangelicals who make access to contraception, and safe abortions nearly impossible for someone who hasn’t the means to travel hundreds of miles to find help. Sex ed classes have been cut down to abstinence only education. Kids don’t even know anymore WHAT or HOW to care for their sexual health. They are taught that condoms aren’t effective.
Second, you say: “We see drug addics, alchoholics, and others who have made bad choices standing on the corner just wanting money… and it is hard to justify feeding thier habit… I have actually seen people give them meals… and they just throw it in the trash!?” Well I too have seen street kids in Kenya do the same thing, I bought them a loaf of bread, and they sold it to get money to buy glue to sniff. These were 7,8,9 year old kids. I think that people really don’t understand how homelessness and addiction are connected. Were those kids glue addicts, and therefore became homless? Of course not. But you assume that those you see living without shelter, who might also have addiction issues, became homeless due to their addiction.
Here is a story. A friend of mine was living with an abusive man, in a community she had just moved to, where she knew noone, and was isolated in the suburbs. She finally got the guts to leave him, and in a matter of weeks went through what little she had, hadn’t been able to find a job in that time, and ended up on the streets because she had no money, no place to live, and no support system. She was pregnant at the time. She was having a difficult pregnancy, partially due to being on the streets in winter, and partially becase of what Rebecca mentioned: Being beaten by #1 kids #2 men in business suits, who just got a kick out of it. She got enough change together to take the bus to the hospital because she went into early labor. They gave her medicine to stablize her condition, put her in a wheelchair and said to her: Get the fuck out of here, this isn’t a shelter. Through the help of a program she eventually found, thanks to the kindness of people who saw her for who she was, a human being, she was able to get temporary housing, and counseling so that she could get back on her feet and get a job. She is now a motivational speaker, and helps other women who were in her same position. So, here is a woman who didn’t want to be homeless, who eventually did get the help that was available, BUT SHE STILL SPENT TIME BEING HOMELESS. The tone of this discussion is that someone is either homeless, and just isn’t trying, or that they are NOT homeless, ever. People can become homeless and eventually get out of that, but it takes time, and all of the red tape and barriers there are out there that Elizabeth so eloquently pointed out, makes it harder as time goes by. So for those of you who pass homeless people on the street and don’t feel anything, because obviously it was THEIR fault….. maybe you should think again. .
Skip
30 Jun 06 at 7:00 pm
Xine,
A simple search in Google – display’s plenty of Planned Parenthood organizations in Florida, all over Florida… It is not true that somehow the evil Religeous Right has destroyed someones access to free services in Florida. Regardless, I don’t see how the negative “bible belt” conotation is relevant to what My point was.
I certainly wasn’t trying to make a point about PP org’s, My point was that Why is it people’s attitude, that the Government is supposed to take care of them? Maybe this approach leads to people feeling Helpless and thus contributes to more homeless people? In other words, Maybe if Society taught people how to be more self relient, and not to depend on the government or hand outs, that homelessness would be less of an Issue.
And I have never said that because someone is homeless that it is their fault! However, I have tried to highlight things that might lead others to have this perception… I think everyone agrees that there are many factors that can lead to someone becoming homeless, some that are truely outside their own control, like Mental Illness. In saying that, I think it is also true that there are some people who are living with the consequences of their own decisions. So I think the question remains, how does Society address this issue? Give a man a fish and you feed him (or his habit) for a day, teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime…
ValenciaSon
1 Jul 06 at 2:08 am
Well I think it is reasonable to look for the government to assist since Reagan kicked out so many mentally ill patients from psychiatric facilities based on a promise he never delivered, which was to transition that population to society via clinics. It never happened.
Xine
3 Jul 06 at 2:30 pm
“A simple search in Google – display’s plenty of Planned Parenthood organizations in Florida, all over Florida…” Well, I am going by on the ground information, that my college educated, internet saavy, well traveled friend tried to volunteer in Nothern FLA recently at any planned parenthood, and she was told that they had been closed due to a series of bombings at the North Florida PP.
The bible belt point is that increasingly in the US (yes, I know this forum is about Spain, SORRY Ben! This is the last I’m posting on this) the religious beliefs of others are directly affecting a woman’s control of her body, and of knowledge about it. It’s not about “government” giving you birth control or anything else, its about government putting up barriers to your education.
I guess my bottom line point is this (and this is not directed at you Skip): how can ANYONE know the reasons that the person you are passing on the street is there. Just leaving that wiggle room for allowing humaness towards humans, empathy if not sympathy, would go a long way to break down the smugness that exists about homeless people, the kind of thinking that causes homeless people to be beaten for fun by kids who videotape it. They aren’t real people, they aren’t LIKE ME. Therefore I don’t have to have any compassion for their situation as human beings. Mans inhumanity to Man, justified through the idea of the “other” is the cause of so much strife in this world, why add to it?
enver
24 Oct 06 at 1:05 pm
i want to go somewhere to work because i live in Kosovo and Kosova hasn’t got money and i want to work in laboratorium of blood of peoples
Clara
20 Jul 08 at 3:51 pm
Hi Ben, I know this discussion is quite out of date, but hoping you still get notification when someone posts. I’m a Scottish student, in Madrid now doing an investigation into street papers (inspired by the success of The Big Issue in Scotland and La Farola’s lack thereof) – I’m wondering if the ISNP manged to tell you anything about this puzzling publication as you rightly call it, or if you ever found out any more information about it?
Thanks in advance,
Clara
Ben
20 Jul 08 at 4:06 pm
Hi Clara, never found out anything else about it I’m afraid, but people are still selling it on the street!
Clara
31 Jul 08 at 5:35 pm
Thanks Ben!