December first. A rather boring day to many. For me, it is the official beginning of the Christmas season. As a family, we ban all Christmas cheer until the first of December, at which point we go all out. We always have a nice breakfast, we start our advent calendars (yes, even as adults, we’re suckers for tradition) and we usually watch a Christmas movie in the evening. December first also has historical significance in the world. For example, in 1955 Rosa Parks is arrested on this day for refusing to give her seat up to a white person, sparking a mass movement demanding civil rights for all people of colour in the US. In 1988, Benazir Bhutto becomes the first female prime minister of a Muslim country, Pakistan. In 1952, the New York Daily News reports the first successful sexual reassignment operation. In 1959 12 nations sign a treaty for scientific peaceful use of Antarctica. Also in 1959, the first colour photo of the Earth is received from space. 1986 Paul McCarthy releases ‘Only Love Remains’ and 1991 Ukrainian people vote in favour of independence. In 2003 Return of the King premiers in cinemas. And in 2014, a homeless man is found dead just steps away from Dáil Eireann.
It has been four years since Jonathan Corrie lost his life to homelessness. In those four years, many more have died, denied of humanity by governments who refuse to make this reality a thing of the past. Let there be no mistake, people are facing homelessness because the government has decided to not take action. You often hear people dismiss those living on the streets, with snippy comments about how they put themselves there. If only they had stayed on the straight and narrow, they would have a home, a job, and a life worth living. It’s easier to believe that the people in these situations were somehow ‘bad’, that it’s their own behaviour that put them there. In reality, it’s a never-ending game of privilege. The housing crisis we are experiencing in Ireland today is not the product of one root cause. It is the culmination of many things: lack of public housing, landlords charging extortionate rents simply because they can, the rise and lack of regulation of Airbnb, lack of supports systems for those facing addiction, mental health issues, discrimination in jobs and education, but to name a few. Fixing the housing crisis starts with building public housing on public land, and it ends with a proper investment by the government in its society.
It’s simple, if we want a prospering society we need to invest in it. We do not invest in mental health services, leading to high levels of suicide, particularly among men. We do not invest in the healthcare system, so is it really any wonder that we have situations such as the Cervical Cancer scandal? There is a lack of investment in education, especially for children and people suffering from more severe disabilities. We do not invest in Traveller accommodation which forces members of the community to live in precarious conditions. When people seeking asylum and help from the country of a thousand welcomes arrive, they are pushed into the system of Direct Provision, which would be happier to watch this people fade into nothing than to allow them become active members of our society. And we do not invest in public housing, so it’s no wonder we are facing this crisis now.
This country is built on class, although it likes to pretend that it’s not. If you have money, doors are open that are locked and bolted to those who don’t. If your family falls under the right tax bracket, you’ll likely have gone to university, which makes it easier to get a higher paying job, which in turn means you can possibly afford rent. If you can’t get a job that will allow you pay rent, you can’t have a home. And if you don’t have a permanent address, good luck getting a job. It’s catch 22 on catch 22, with no end in sight.
People are being abandoned by their country. It’s not the amount of money you have in your bank account that makes you worthy of life, help, and love, it’s the fact that you exist. The situations that lead to people living without a home are incredibly nuanced and complicated, and are made worse by a stream of bureaucratic regulations that do not work. People in crisis don’t have time to wait for papers to be pushed from one department to another. We as a country don’t have time for people like Leo Varadkar and Eoin Murphy to hum and haw over minute details, to pretend like this isn’t really happening. People have died, and will continue to die and the blood is on their hands. Make no mistake, we know who’s to blame and we are coming for change.
Yesterday, 18,000 people took to the streets to demand the housing crisis be declared a national emergency. Our voices rang loud and clear as we stopped traffic, turned heads, and demanded once and for all that this situation be dealt with. We sang, we yelled, we cried. We will fight fiercely for an Ireland that looks after everyone on this island, not just the ones who played the game with a systematic advantage. This isn’t over. We will be back. Just you wait and see.
Written by Julia Crowe
Instagram: @Julia
Kildare Feminist Network 