Non vorrei certo dipingere sempre un attraente ritratto di Londra. Come nel tempo di Dickens esiste incessantemente molta povertà – infatti – più povertà che mai e la disuguaglianza tra i ricchi e i poveri diventa sempre più vasta. Adesso, per esempio, più di diecimila persone, dette ‘rough sleepers’, dormono sui marciapiedi di Londra, il triplo di tre anni fa!
(Mie foto)
Allo stesso tempo aumentano sempre le proprietà vuote a Londra. Circa 20,000 appartamenti e case non sono occupati perché l’affitto, o il prezzo d’acquisto, è troppo alto e anche perché, in Inghilterra si compra una casa principalmente per investimento. In Italia, invece, i prezzi delle case sono diminuiti di almeno il 10%. Guarda Bagni di Lucca, dove scappano via gli inglesi vendendo le loro case a prezzi 30% di meno di quelli dell’acquisto!
Che fare? L’indifferenza è certo l’atteggiamento più vergognoso. Se vedo una persona col solito affisso ‘I’m hungry’ (‘ho fame’) non do mai soldi (che poi forse potrebbero essere usati nell’acquisto di droghe o alcool) ma un panino o una bottiglia di acqua.
Il fatto è che quando ero piccolo non si vedeva cosi palesemente questa immensa disuguaglianza di redditi. Dopo una guerra nella quale l’Inghilterra e le sue città furono sottoposte al bombardamento nazista più lungo, continuo e assiduo di qualsiasi altro paese, è sorto uno stato sociale col National Health service (servizio nazionale di sanità), con case popolari costruite per affitti ragionevoli a tutti, con un sistema di trasporto dove, anche senza macchina, si poteva viaggiare facilmente in tutte le parti più distanti del Regno Unito e, dove il livello d’istruzione era fondato sul merito dell’allievo e non sulla ricchezza della sua famiglia.
A quei tempi si credeva proprio in una società dove nessuno mancava di cure mediche, di un tetto sopra il capo, di un’istruzione di qualità, di lavoro per tutti…
Ora, con questo famigerato brexit, il Regno Unito rischia di vendersi sempre di più al lurido mondo di lucro: più lavoratori si troveranno con contratti a zero ore e, sicuramente, i senza-tetto, che trovano qualche spazio accanto ad un portone di un grande magazzino o un sottopassaggio pedonale, aumenteranno esponenzialmente.
E’ ovvio, con la sempre più spaventosa differenza tra i ricchi e i poveri, che ci saranno sempre più allarmanti abissi tra le schierate politiche non soltanto in Gran Bretagna, non soltanto in Europa ma in tutto il mondo.
Chi ci salverà, mi domando? Non certo i marziani… o no?
Vite perdute?
Le masse ammucchiate
su marciapiedi.
We have a similar problem in Melbourne, though certainly not to the same degree. Those numbers are extraordinary and of course this is the poverty you can see- then there is the hidden poverty where families struggle to pay for heating or weekly food.
If I see a people begging for money on the pavement, and I consider them to be genuine ( some are not), I always drop some coins into their tin. It’s not for me to judge whether they will buy water or alcohol, or bread or drugs. That’s up to them as adults to make a wise or unwise decision. As I have said to many friends before, if I lived in this way and was that desperate, I might also choose the alcohol. And, in the safety of my own home at night, I often do- my nice bottle of red or white wine sits proudly on the table, not in a paper bag, and is out of the view of those two might judge me. Shall we open another? Why not.
And so those loose gold coins that rattle around in my pockets or purse are better off in the hands of the desperately poor. They may in fact spend it on food or something useful and if not, that’s not for me to judge.
Thanks Francesca. I very much appreciated your viewpoint on this subject and so glad you fully understood my still developing italian prose!
I really enjoy reading your Italian prose Francis and would comment in Italian, if I wasn’t so lazy. I taught Italian for many years at a secondary school but as time passes. I have to think more about writing, whereas reading Italian is second nature. Keep it up, I admire your dedication,
It is really a very sad reflection of our times each of these individual people has a unique story to tell. Several months ago in the Victoria area of London I actually spoke to a middle aged person that I had seen for a very long time in the same spot I asked him directions then when I realised that he was a foreign person I had recognised his French accent I mustered up courage and asked why he was there with his luggage he replied that it was to do with the beaurocracy of the French and English Governments. He indeed was in some sort of catch 22 situation and ultimately no one was helping him. It is up to Governments actually to help these people off the streets of any town or city. This image portrayed by these people is so sad for all concerned and it does not help the morale of people in fact it is indeed quite scary. This gives the impression that we are an uncaring society indeed we are not. However there are many people that are simply not genuine and that too reflects badly on society. A recent study stated that on an average day in a busy area these people can earn up to circa £200 – 300 per day on top probably of their Government handouts so the incentive is not to go to work and they even earn more than those generous souls offering alms. This makes the whole situation into a most bizarre unacceptable one in fact this form of begging is illegal and the Police have told people to refrain from giving as indeed it is illegal. It is suggested that we offer these people a sandwich or a hot drink or cold depending on the weather. Maybe society should investigate more the reasons for these people sleeping on our streets I find this behaviour distressing in our so called civilised country this behaviour is hardly ever seen in so called primitive societies so maybe we should query their motives and try and put an end to this apparent abandonment of people for whatever personal reason as temporary accommodation and hostels do exist maybe build more to support people with dignity as our dignity too is affected in this blatant behavioural mode. Stop this unsavoury scandal in our streets! It is stated that sadly also many of these cases suffer from mental illnesses due maybe to poor diet, drug taking these issues should be properly addressed. God help us if the National Health Service should be privatised then our streets could well become clogged with a sea of humanity that is need of dire attention and help!
I am perfectly in line with your well-reasoned comment. I feel that the best gift one could ever give to people in difficulty is a kind word, a sense of respect, a sharing of experience, a knowledge that there but for the grace of god i could be there on the cold, indifferent pavement of life. Your supreme love saved me from that da