Rights instead of alms by Peter Nowak

RIGHTS INSTEAD OF ALMS Protests for the Rights of the Homeless in Berlin By Peter Nowak [This article published on 1/30/2019 is translated from the German on the Internet, http://jungleworld.de Many passersby reacted with malice, snide remarks and indifference to the protest action, a vigil for the rights of the homeless before the Red City Hall.] “This placard is only for the homeless,” it says on colorful posters informing people without housing about aid programs. Is there a growing private readiness to help in the cold season, as the Taz (Berlin newspaper) editor Waltraud Schwab thinks? She hopes for a harsh winter. “The frost isn’t horror but wakens sympathy for all those freezing in the city.” Persons who live on the street have n o appreciation for such social romanticism. “I could sleep here if I had a polar-fit sleeping bag and socks,” said a woman who spent two nights in front of Red City Hall in temperatures below freezing… From January 23-25, they joined in a vigil against homelessness. The “Homeless Parliament” endorsed the vigil. The protestors demand rights for persons without housing instead of beautiful words and alms. Nicole Lindner of the Renter Party has little regard for social romanticism. She cannot confirm that cold temperatures produce social warmth. During the vigil before the Red City Hall, she was met with much malice, snide remarks and indifference, she told Jungle World. Another female participant broke out in rage that young persons in good winter clothing made fun of the people who froze before the Red City Hall. The 30 members of a flash mob against homelessness on January 26 also lamented the indifference of the public. One user of the emergency shelter for the homeless said from personal experience that not enough was done for health protection… Occasionally, there was indignation when the rights of the homeless were violated. The mayor of Berlin, Stephan von Dassel (The Greens) experienced this at the end of January…. The Berlin social senator Elke Breitenbach (Die Linke, The Left party) abhorred the expulsion and stigmatization of the homeless. She criticized the clearing of the homeless camp near the main train station and referred to model interaction s with the homeless in Lichtenberg. “We send social workers to the camp of homeless persons.