Human rights, Racism and Global Crises

This is a time of craziness we can feel it in the air. On the one hand I have a dear friend with jail time because she defended her right to walk on the property of her day care that she founded and ran for 17 years. Three self proclaimed white trustees decided they owned the land and brought a case against her! Land seems to represent power and investment, while millions of people have no roofs over their heads. They call it homelessness here in Canada as people move to cities and can’t afford rent. In South Africa, where my friend lives in Masiphumelele, the settlement is growing as people desperately move to Cape Town to try to find work. They live in cramped quarters in shacks, yes even with COVID. There are regular fires, the last being in December losing over 1000 houses. People are literarily sleeping under cardboard while the city organises temporary shelter. Fortunately my friend’s house remains intact even though her life is in chaos because of racism. The surrounding suburban folks, mostly white, are uncomfortable to say the least. They wonder why ‘these people’ want to live in their neighborhoods.
When will we learn that what happens to the poor is a direct result of our selfishness and greed? Gone is apartheid, but the minds of white middle and upper class people think we can continue with business as usual. It is time to open our hearts and minds to the fact that everyone is important. Each life has the right to shelter, food, health and education. Each creature has the right to shelter and food, at the very least. We all need clean air. Let’s take this time of COVID to clear our minds and see that we need each other. Smile and be kind it is good for the nervous system.