Summary This article is about wanting to change the law about homelessness in Cape Town, South Africa. The current law is that “rough sleeping” is illegal. Because of this law, homeless people have been abused by the police. For example, things have been taken from them, they get arrested, and crimes that are committed against them are not taken seriously by the police. There is a lawsuit to find out the constitutionality of the current law. Geography Theme The geographic theme that relates to this article is Place. Place has to do with Human and Physical characteristics. The human characteristics are how the humans have interacted with the place, like culture, homes and politics. This has to do with the politics and the making of the laws in the land. The current law makes it illegal to “rough sleep”, which basically means that it is illegal to sleep in the streets. The current law is causing people to question whether that law is constitutional or not. According to the article, the police of Cape Town, South Africa are kicking homeless people off of where they were living because they made “rough sleeping” illegal. Some people in Cape Town would like to change the law to get rid of the law against “rough sleeping”. Reaction I can’t believe that the police of Cape Town, South Africa are impatient with the people who “rough sleep” (are homeless). In the article it says how a homeless man was beaten and his girlfriend went to the police to file a report but the police did not care and basically said that it was their fault for being a rough sleeper. Even though there is a law against “rough sleepers” it shouldn’t mean that police treat homeless people as if they have no rights. Here in Hawai’i, sometimes there are homeless people who get beaten and even get killed, but the police still investigate and still try to find the person who caused the trouble. It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone has rights. Connections/Analysis The article David Versus Goliath: Being Homeless in the City of Cape Town brings up the question of “Am I my Brother’s Keeper? “Am I my brother’s keeper refers to the story of Cane and Abel where Cane asked God if he was his brother’s keeper? He was wondering if he was supposed to always take care of his brother. This translates for us today as we should be taking care of each other. This article shows there are laws in Cape Town that do not take care of people. The law of no rough sleeping doesn’t help the homeless situation in Cape Town. No one seems to care about the “rough sleepers”. Even the police ignore violence against the homeless. The law of no rough sleeping does not stop homelessness. It just makes it harder for the homeless to live and possibly get off the streets. References:
Bradpiece, S. (2021, June 4). “David versus Goliath”: Being homeless in the City of Cape Town. Aljazeera.com; Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/6/4/david-versus-goliath-the-story-of-being-homeless-in-south-africa
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