FourSeeing The Past

It came to my attention the other day while we were all sitting in the dinning hall, sipping our residence coffee and avoiding going back to work, that many people have a problem with the street children and beggars of Grahamstown. There have been 5 muggings in the last two weeks and something needs to be done.

I understand that Grahamstown has a serious poverty issue but when I asked around it would appear that measures have been implemented to lower these poverty rates. One of these methods is the many shelters that are situated throughout Grahamstown. I know what you are thinking shelters are usually shocking and hardly liveable. However my friend volunteers there and she says it’s a respectable enough shelter.

Which makes me think then why are there still street children roaming the street, pick pocketing and swearing at you if you won’t give them money. The answer to this question is that there is a better income to be had from these endeavours than from a shelter. I mean a shelter offers food and accommodation and who needs that when you can get drugs?

I understand us as students are in a better financial situation but does that mean that we should give these hostile street children our money to feel better about our economic superiority. I think not because this is just adding rubbish to the rubbish heap as if we keep giving them money they will never leave and go to the various shelters provided to them. I must say that I feel extremely guilty going to the shops to buy myself food and often walk on the opposite side of the road. This shouldn’t be the case and it’s as if the Street children own the roads of Grahamstown.

It is possible that I am making generalisations but there seems to be a general consensus among students that something needs to be done about the street children. It would appear that these children are responsible for the muggings that have students worried to be in academic buildings such as the Drama department. It makes me feel as if we are not safe on campus anymore. Other than the muggings there has been widespread pick pocketing that has me clutching my bag like it was my newborn child and looking over my shoulder as if I was being followed.

Grahamstown is not a large scale city with millions of inhabitants, it is relatively small in the grand scheme of things. Therefore it is a worrying thought that the government and the residents (including students) can not do anything to stop the amount of street children harassing passers-by.

What hope does this give us for the rest of South Africa? We need to unite and make some changes to this town that we invade for most of the year, I really believe there is a solution that will benefit everyone and we need to find it. The street children of Grahamstown have pushed us too far and action needs to be taken.