#BTEditorial – Poor people cannot be wished away

When we, on several occasions, drew our readers’ attention to the growing level of poverty and displacement in this country, some who are blinkered by political loyalty may attribute this to some attack on any particular administration.

We are simply lifting the proverbial veil on the unpleasantness of poverty in a country that is generally viewed as mostly middle-income and a destination that is a favourite haunt for the world’s super-rich and famous.

“The poor will always be with you”, the “Holy Bible reminds us. However, that is by no means any moral licence to ignore or relegate the needs and cries of the most vulnerable in our society.

We continue to highlight the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic should have been a stark marker to those who doubted their vulnerability to major economic shock, and just how easy it is to become jobless, resulting in an inability to meet financial commitments. From there, homelessness could be a real possibility.

Though they may be hidden in plain sight in communities across Barbados very poor people are among us. The last known statistics on poverty in Barbados – which by the way are pre-pandemic numbers – put the percentage of Barbadians living in poverty at around 20 percent.

That figure may seem manageable for a small developing society. Broken down, however, that 20 percent which could have grown since the pandemic, represents one in five Barbadians.

As shocked as most people were to reports that a 29-year-old mother and two of her three children, ages one and three, were living on the streets of Bridgetown for the past week, this may be just a fraction of a much bigger problem.

The mother and her children were provided with accommodation at night at the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) shelter, run by Mr Kemar Saffrey. However, due to limited facilities, the family of three were forced to the streets during the day.

The area of the Treasury Building and Heroes Square have again become a place of comfort for those who either have no fixed place of abode or who prefer to roam The City where they can beg alms.

We are passing no judgement on the homeless mother. We can surely understand why officials of the Child Care Board moved swiftly to remove the children from the homeless woman and  place them in the care of the state.

“She was coming to the shelter and the children were provided with clothing, food, baby items, you name it, and we gave Danae counselling sessions. We were on the brink of working with her to provide her with a job,” Saffrey was quoted in the media as stating.

He added: “I want to let Barbadians know that the organisation could only do so much. We don’t have a day facility.”

For anyone who would listen, Mr Saffrey and others have been stressing how increasingly challenging the matter of homelessness in Barbados has become.

The homeless used to be typically profiled as an older man who either abused drugs or alcohol or both and was mentally disturbed. The numbers were small, and the characters were easily identified.

Today, the face of homelessness is changing dramatically. The presence of women on the streets is now not uncommon and the homeless are also much younger than Barbadians have become accustomed.

We cannot find fault in the programmes and actions of the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, neither can we be harshly critical of the Minister who appears committed to the cause.

What we are calling for is further action at the policy level and a recognition that the number of poor and destitute citizens is on the rise. Thus, more resources, including money and professionals in the field need to be assigned to tackle this problem that will not go away and cannot be wished out of existence.