WHY?

[Maureen K Clifford]

I never thought the time would come when turning your back on a refugee would even enter my head, having always believed that we have a moral duty to help any who ask for it, but confess to now thinking along those lines (ashamedly) as the number of refugees trying to get into our country has reached alarming proportions and they are becoming like lemmings and hey we have our own problems here dont we? Seeing on TV tonight the Sydney CO's doing their bit to raise awareness for homelessness sparked this. I was horrified with the number of homeless quoted In excess of 105,000 people across Australia with 28,000 of that number being children. That is just so not acceptable.

The nights in Ipswich are cold - very cold - as in other parts of our country - my girls (fur babies) sleep inside on proper beds with warm coats and blankets, and yet there are people sleeping in parks and on riverbanks, or living out of their cars, or in tents in public parks through no fault of their own in many cases. We have trouble rehoming our unwanted dogs and cats and now we have trouble rehoming our people and yet we can extend the charity to illegals coming into our country. My nephew is a security guard at one of these refugee facilities over near Broome, last year he was at Weipa. He assures me they go without nothing.

When times are good that is exactly as it should be - we offer a hand up to those who need it - but right now we seem to have things as my old Dad would have said 'arseaboutface' and times here in our country are not that good right now.


WHY???

The nights are getting colder; the streets are chill and bare.
A scanty scrap of cardboard don’t warm the night time air
or keep the cold from creeping into the lungs and bones
of those folks who are homeless, for those folks without homes.
No roof or walls to call their own, and no safe place to bide.
The streets are harsh and lonely with few safe places to hide.

The stereotype is no more – not all these folks do drugs
or drink to excess, many sadly never feel the hugs
of family or loved ones. This problem now is huge,
one hundred and five thousand people, some who’ve been abused.
Twenty eight thousand children are sleeping rough at night,
in this the lucky country. Something here sure ain’t right.

What is the answer? I don’t know. But answers we must find.
To have people in this country homeless is too unkind.
How have we sunk to such low depths? How has this rot set in?
Why do we turn our backs on them? Surely that is a sin?
Perhaps it’s time to say ‘enough’ and charity to cease
to other lands when seems our own poor are on the increase.

A farmer must protect his flock. A man must guard his home.
A soldier keeps his country safe, children aren’t left alone.
We must guard well our country and the bounty that she shares
and is not our people’s welfare our Governments affair?
There’s times when one can help another country and their plight
but when we’ve homeless on our streets – that somehow don’t seem right.

Let’s try to get our nation back on track and being strong
before extending dollars to solve other countries wrong
economy and problems . We’ve helped without surcease
but need that money for our own. This charity must cease.
Seems we can provide shelter, warmth and food for refugees
but can’t help our own homeless folks. Why is that? Tell me. Please.


Maureen Clifford © 06/13

[alongtimegone]

Hey Maureen, that's brilliant ... the poem and it's message. You ought to send it to one of your favourite pollies.
I know... it's hard to find a favourite in the mob at present but do it anyway.
Wazza

[warooa]

I think she fancies her Mayor, Waz

[Maureen K Clifford]

Thanks Wazza

There are a few people fancy our Mayor Marty - the rest of Australia is very jealous of Ipswich and our Paul I think.