Not providing housing for the homeless is a human rights violation...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that every person has the right to a home, yet this human right is being violated in countries who clearly have the means to adress the problem. Why is it so?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was written after World War 2 by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948), this document was supposed to protect the world from future atrocities like those committed by Hitler during the second world war.
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
Source: Article 25 of "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights".
Minneapolis Tent City, also known as "The Wall" 2018. Image source: @fedoraonmyhead , check out his documentary fundraising campaign: Homelessness Documentary Promo Video and Fundraiser LIVE!
But at night the streets are being filled with people in sleeping bags, in rich countries, countries that could easily address this problem, this is something that really makes me disappointed with humanity...
Is this something you even care about?
I would really like to see a change, but what can we do?
The U.N actually did a report on this clear violation of human rights in 2015, here is a quote from this report:
Those who are homeless are constructed as a social group. Worldwide, their identity is created and then reinforced by people who have more money, more power or more influence. It is a vicious circle. Laws, policies, business practices and media stories depict and treat homeless people as morally inferior, undeserving of assistance and authors of their own misfortune, and blame them for the social problems they come to represent. Once stigmatized, their needs are further neglected and inequality and discrimination further entrenched.
This report also mention different projects and measures that countries are taking to prevent homelessness, but not much has happened in reality as far as I have seen anyway, you can read it here: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G15/294/52/PDF/G1529452.pdf
I know some people are paranoid about the U.N, maybe after watching too many Alex Jones videos? But I think they are pretty cool, I don't think they intend to put all the homeless people in camps or something like that...
But until someone else changes the world for you, what can you do?
One possible solution: "Tiny House Movement"
Source: Wikipedia, Tiny House Movement.
One grassroots movement that take this matter into their own hands, is the "Tiny House Movement," by choosing to live in a tiny house one can put the power back in the hands of oneself, there is no need to become a "debt-slave" for the rest of once life either, because building a tiny house can be done with a small or fairly low initial investment.
Supporting or getting involved in the "Tiny House Movement" can be a way to fight homelessness at a grassroots level and you don't even have to try and prosecute your own country in the International Court of Justice!!!
If you want to read more about the Tiny House Movement you can check out this 2018 article following up on people in San Fransisco who have been testing it out for a while, San Fransisco is one of the most progressive cities in the world, but San Fransisco has "crazy" rents, read more here: www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Bay-Area-tiny-home-micro...
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights
http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/udhr_article_25.html#at27
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_house_movement
The top image is a collage made by @friendly-fenix from copyright-free pictures of public domain ( pixabay.com & wikipedia).
Thanks to @yoginiofoz for writing an article that reminded me of the "Tiny House Movement". This movement is one of my favorite movements, right up there with crypto, it provides a peaceful, practical and empowering solution to a problem.
i love tiny homes! hey looks like you are getting a following. great post and information also a great solution. did you win the tarot card design?
Hey @eaglespirit so nice to see/hear form you!!! I thought you where pissed because I accidentally called you"schpiriteagle" I was probably drunk or really tired that time... 😇
Im not sure about that tarot competition I have to check back with @juliakponsford... The last day of submission was the 3 of november... So I guess I just have to wait... Im coloring "four of pentacles" right now, looks pretty cool so far, since you are an expert and all whats you take on "four of pentacles"?
Hugs
/FF
thanks for sharing this @friendly-fenix ... I've designed a micro structure that can be built for $100-200 ... I am going to put it into a sketchup file tomorrow.
If you want the plans, or know someone who might be able to build some for others, send me a message on telegram @j00ze
Hello @metama!
🙂
Thanks for connecting, (Im not on telegram, but I heard good things about it). I have not even seen your blog yet, but if you can make a post sharing this most useful information I would gladly resteem and promote!
And again thank you!
/ @friendly-fenix
I will do my best @friendly-fenix ... cross your fingers for me, planning on reaching out to some of my friends/connections to raise funds for the first prototypes :)
Sounds like a wonderful idea. Do it! =)
/FF
Are you planning on reaching out to NGO or Government with these solutions, or do you have a more kind of grassroots/non-violent activism approach to the whole thing?
I guess you might need to consult lawyers and look for permits, if you want it to be a more permanent solution, but just starting to do it as some kind of grassroots activism could also work since you probably would get a lot of sensational media coverage.
And that could be helpful.
But then after that you would have to play by the rules, if you want to provide a more permanent solution and be taken seriously and not have your temporary house trashed/removed by law enforcement etc ...
You know one part of my training was to build huge mobile refugee camps, this was when I was enrolled in the civil defense, (a while back). And then we built a whole bunch of mobile refugee camps real fast, as a part of the training, Im sure this could be a good time to put these skills to use, considering homelessness in the world looks like a real emergency right now...
I hope you get the funding you need, I will send you a small donation.
/FF
Yes, have you ever noticed that's not an amendment to the constitution? In other words, kind of strange don't you think that there is no right to eat, right to sleep, right to shelter, etc? Matter of fact, there's a lot of rights missing from the constitution...
Yeah, Im not an expert in international law, I like the constitution, but I think this "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" was ment to secure a common standard to prevent horrible conditions internationally. The US and most western countries voted for it, but some countries did not like these human rights so much, like some communist regimes they did not like the part about people having the right to leave their own countries, or something like that.
I also read on wikipedia that US federal/local law can override the "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights", something I find a bit odd? But then again not everything on wikipedia is true.
I guess we just have to try and help one and other...
Cheers and thanks for the comment, it made me happy to see you around @artopium!
/FF
@friendly-fenix, what country do you live in? The constitution is a very important piece of Common Law, which is the Law that governs many countries besides the U.S. For example, India is a Common Law country, mostly because of the colonization by England. Indian courts have been able to use the U.S. Constitution as evidence because of this. This is possible when a Common Law country has no precedence for a particular case, it can then use court cases from other Common Law countries. Common Law is greater than International Law because it is the Law of the Land, whereas International Law is the law of the Water. Law of the Land is the laws of the customs and peoples that live on that land. Law of the water is monetary law and is the laws of imports, exports and war.
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Hmm. Yeah thats crazy India using the U.S constitution had no clue about that, I knew India is Common Law so is Belize and many other former colonies, or at least so I heard.
So whats your opinion on "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights"?
Do you think it's some obscurity that is no longer relevant?
I'm sorry, I forgot to make my point clear. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is unnecessary if you live in a Common Law country. The Common Law is very simple to understand in that it basically states that One has the right to do absolutely anything so long as they do no wrong to another human being. The rest of the law is sorting out what is right, what is wrong. This is accomplished under Common Law by court trials and affidavits of Truth. This is contrary to International Law, Admiralty Law, and Napoleonic Law, in which everything is forbidden except for that which is expressly allowed. So, in Common Law, a statute or ordinance is something that is written into "code" that is not allowed. Under Admiralty Law, the only things written into code are those that are allowed, otherwise it's against the law. Think of a sea port with a list of items allowed into the country. The idea of "International Law" declaring rights for Humans is absurd. They don't have jurisdiction (water vs land) to declare something that actually already exists. I hope this makes sense. The only way such rights could be granted to those who don't live in Common Law countries would be through force. So is this a declaration of war?
Thats an interesting opinion @artopium, I read that some muslim countries also claim sharia-law over rides "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights", Im not sure why it was put in place if the U.N countries don't respect it as the ultimate law...
Are you proposing that they are to be seen as "guidelines" more then an actual law? If that is the case what was the point of the whole thing to begin with, sorry Im a bit confused.
Anyway everybody has opinions and we are allowed to share them (I think, wait let me check, hmm, oops maybe not lol)... 😇
Yeah, so that part of it comes down to Sovereignty. You feel you should be able to act freely so long as you don't hurt others and you don't like being told that there are things you can and can't do that would limit these rights. This is called sovereignty and the U.S. is the only country that grants sovereignty to individual humans. In other countries, including other Common Law countries, although the individual has rights, they do not have sovereignty, only the State does. Before the U.S. Declaration of Independence, only the State has ever held sovereignty. For an International body of Law such as the U.N. to declare that it's authority usurps the sovereignty of a particular State, regardless of how it treats it's citizens, is a precedent in how Law and Authority have worked on the planet for thousands of years. It puts the interests of money (water) above that of humans (land). It means that an International Court has more authority than a more local court. And in International law the judges are appointed, never voted. And as I mentioned before, there is no Common Law in International law. They contradict each other. The U.N. should not have authority over the Peoples of another Land. Regardless of it's plea for "Human Rights", the ultimate outcome is waiving of many rights not written in it's list. It's a horrible idea given a great sounding name for a great sounding cause.
But in the end Law is determined by those who have the biggest guns.
Hmm... Maybe you are right, I just read up more about the International Court of Justice, and it looks like the United States are no longer over ruled by this court...
I do agree on the point that it seems that the entities with the most guns make the rules, but Im not a 100% sure, I feel like it might be second to the entity with the most intelligence & money combined...
https://www.loc.gov/law/help/domestic-judgment/india.php
So, back to why the U.S. Constitution does not list the right to shelter, sleep or food. The Bill of Rights is not a document for Humans to follow. It was created by Humans for the Government to follow. People forget this all the time. At the time it was created there was no need to make a list at all because everyone understood what the Common Law was and already knew they had all their rights. It was greatly argued at the time of it's writing that no Bill of Rights should be included at all because to write the rights down is to create a list of things allowed (smacks of International Law), and it's limiting as a Human has rights that are infinite in their capacity to be creative without doing harm. So, when they finally did agree on a list, it was those rights they felt were so important that the Government itself needed to be constructed around them, so as to grant them to the employees of the government, because after all, they are human too. However, the government's capacity to act needed to be limited, and so the Bill of Rights is a limited list of rights allowed to Gov employees. It does not apply to ordinary people. And so, although a government employee still has the right to speak and carry arms, they do not have the right to privacy, or to own private business while in office.
Cool I did not know this about the "Bill of Rights". There are a lot of ways to interpret law I guess, and quite a few contradictions, what I notice is that I tend to try and align the laws with my own political opinions, and thats what most people seem to be doing, right or wrong. It's all very interesting actually.
it reminded me of the earthquake happened here , months ago we still have many homeless people who have lost their house , and still live in the Conex , ! i don't know really how they will face this winter
@adelepazani
Thats horrific to hear, I hope they get help, does the government intend to help these people or are you depending on NGO's and volunteers?
they get help but not much as they should
This happens in Mexico City all the time, a lot of volunteers help out, quite horrific, but at least in Mexico City the temperature is around +20 °C all year so the winters are not so super cold...
I wish I could help out...
/FF
also here a lot of volunteers help out . so much food and medical help , it was unbelievable :-) ... but for the house some of them still have serious problem ,i watched in news days ago ,
oh that is nice of you
Do you think I could go to your country and volunteer?
you are welcome always, but why you think of that ? it's hard to help , that's too much work. kind FF
I have been involved in various charitably activities/NGO's, but yeah you are right, this is not a good time for that for me personally...
I guess writing about it is a way to get the eyes of the world focused on the problem...?
And to be honest Im a bit sick of foreign charities and NGO's, so much money gets collected and not enough reach the end destination...
/FF
So many things in this time of plenty are unnecessary crimes. There have been a number of studies showing that housing the homeless is far better economically than paying out in welfare
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Yeah the whole situation is a bit bizarre... But Im guessing free temporary housing for all those homeless people could disrupt the real estate market maybe? I could see how there might be a commercial interest in keeping the homeless, homeless? I mean follow the money, right?
https://www.npr.org/2015/12/10/459100751/utah-reduced-chronic-homelessness-by-91-percent-heres-how
Great news, this is good, I hope other states follow this example!
Thanks for sharing @artopium!
/FF
Not just that, but if they had homes, they might get better health and an education. The gubberment would also have one less scapegoat
You are so right @ligayagardener!
We could also save tax money, sine these homeless cost a lot of tax-money because they usually end up being dragged away by police and potentially end up in the prison if they try to stand up for themselfs, and it is really expensive to keep an individual in prison...
You're right. Utah made this a fact. ;)
Really, thats good news @artopium!
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I was just talking about this with a friend. A lot of people hold the "Get mine/take care of yourself mentality" and have empty homes that aren't lived in for many years.
Also why do we throw food in the ocean if there are starving people? Hmmmmm....
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Yeah, a lot can be done to improve the situation, I guess the food and real estate market wants to keep the prices high...
/FF
howdy there friendly-fenix! great post here, very thought provoking. I think that would be wonderful to provide tiny houses, I mean how much could that cost if it's a good solution with the problem growing worse everyday?
Hello @janton I managed to provoke a discussion on international law, ha ha, not my intention.
But I learned a lot from that...
But my core message, is/was that we could fix this problem easily, it wouldn't be very glamorous but,
you could easily utilise something like this:
Look at this shed from walmart it costs: $1,209.99
It's large enough for adult to install a small bunk bed and som electricity, maybe even solar and a battery.
we could create smaller "community areas" like this, scattered through out a city (to prevent a large shanty-town) with lets say ten of these remodeled "shelters/sheds" and a communal shower bathroom to keep things sanitary and maybe a communal kitchen, and have a security guard drop by every now and then just to see that everyone was safe?
Plant some nice rosebushes and apple trees and maybe a small communal garden.
What do you think?
Well sir, that's as good an idea as I've ever seen that's for sure. I don't why something like that wouldn't work. I was shocked to see the large numbers of homeless in Minneapolis I think it was, how do they keep from freezing in the winter?
Not sure I guess we will find out, some of the tents looked like they had wood burning stoves. And I guess if they use sheepskins, multiple layers of sleeping bags, mylar-survival blankets, warm clothes etc... They could probably survive until Christmas, not sure how cold it gets in Jan, Feb... 😕 The whole thing feels quite horrendous...
/FF
yes sir friendly-fenix it sounds like a nightmare to me but alot of homeless people refuse to go to shelters and instead want to live on the streets and that aspect of it has always had me wondering too!
Yeah, I understand how you are thinking @janton, I used to think the same way.
But a homeless-shelter is not a home, try visiting a "mission" and pretend to be homeless one night, at firsts its pretty cool cause you get free food and there is a nice priest holding a sermon, but then it gets sketchy, you have to sleep in a very large room on a potentially infected mattress or blanket, surrounded by many other homeless people, some who might not be mentally stable or even dangerous violent offenders on the run or something, and you have no privacy, things go missing...
So I can understand why some people just decide to "camp out somewhere", also some of the homeless people are so crazy that they don't even know what planet their on so I guess they just end up where ever...
Others just want to take their drugs in some secluded place, where no one will bother them...
I know about this because I have done some months of volunteering at a Christian charity feeding homeless people.
This interview that @feodoraonmyhead just published pretty much answer your question:
I get it friendly-fenix, I was just saying that it's much more complex than most people think but I'll watch this interview sometime, my internet service was off for 9 hours today so I'm WAY behind!
@janton
OMG hours, how was it?
I bet you got a lot of things done as of household work and such?
I hate when the internet "goes away", but it's a good opportunity to clean and such...
=)
/FF
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