A SATURDAY UNLIKE ANY OTHER: the
Streets of Kensington
By Victoria Taittinger and Eloise
Dethier Eaton
There
she stands on the same spot every day of the week. While people come in and out
of Waitrose quickly moving on to the next task on their busy schedule, Katia
stands by the door, Big Issue in hand.
Originally
from Durban, South Africa, you can only imagine how different life is for her.
How did she get here? How did she end up being homeless until she picked
herself up? Where does she want to be tomorrow? These are all questions we
asked as we stopped by to chat with her, unlike most that just walk by.
Surprisingly
friendly and willing to talk about her troubles, Katia is part of the community.
This is a key part of her life as
it means she belongs somewhere: it is her home away from home. While she talked
to us, she stopped when seeing one of her friends, threw a smile their way and
wished them a good day.
It
was absolutely fascinating to hear about how she arrived here. She left Durban
after her family disowned her because she wouldn’t follow their rules. She
refused to convert to their idea of Islam, an “interpretation of her Islam”, as
she put it.
“My
family is rich; they say I can have a mansion and a car
if I wear a veil like them. But jeez, what good is that if it doesn’t make me
happy?”
Katia
converted to the Christian faith, and is a strong believer in God.
“Jesus
is my saviour, he gave me everything.”
Hope
keeps her fighting throughout the coming freezing months and onwards.
The
violence that she came to know too well in South Africa, with members of her
family being shot and raped, was also a reason behind her desire to depart. We
asked about the end of the apartheid, Mandela and Victor de Klerk*’s roles, and
the impact it had on her life. She thought it was necessary, but things didn’t
seem to have gotten much better, in her opinion.
According
to her, during the apartheid, “you knew where to stand and what your place was”
which meant you also had security… racial threats and inequality are still a part
of this booming BRICS country. However, there has been some improvement.
It’s
been ten years and Katia still recalls her year and a half spent sleeping rough
that she’ll never forget.
“It
was so hard, and cold.” she explains. It was a time where she preferred to stay
out of the public eye. It was very dangerous at night with drunks roaming the
streets; she didn’t ever want to be harassed again.
None
of us can understand what it’s like to be constantly afraid and hungry: we never
need to worry about our tomorrows and whether we’ll make it through the night.
We
asked if anyone helped or chatted with her during that time: “No not really, I didn’t
mind explaining my situation, but people don’t want to hear.”
Isn’t
that true? We aren’t all heartless, but I know I’ve walked by people many times
because I chose to look away. It’s not that we don’t see them or that we don’t
want to help. Personally it’s because, although I wish there was something I
could do, I don’t know where to start. You question whether the money you give
will benefit them, if it’ll get them off the streets or just deeper into the
drink. Perhaps it’s simply because we can’t relate, feeling almost rude for
trying to start a conversation. However, we are often mistaken: one syllable, a
small acknowledgement, can go a long way.
At
this point, Katia turned to drinking. She thought it might help to blur out her
painful situation yet she quickly realized it was only making matters worse.
“I
thought no, this would destroy me”, she said.
As
a result, Katia picked herself up, and it is alone that she arrived at the
happier place she is today.
Katia
left for London in 2004 because she thought it would be better. Unfortunately,
she didn’t know what was awaiting her since without a work permit or an EU residentship,
she wasn’t entitled to any government housing or medical coverage.
Indeed,
housing is a constant problem on the streets. How can you build anything when
you don’t know if you’ll have a roof over your head the coming night?
Before
meeting Katia, we talked to Peter while he hugged his dog Luke.
He
told us how impossible it was to find housing; no one would let him in with his
companion, for safety and sanitary reasons. You’d think it was his choice, but
no one chooses that kind of life. Imagine how hard it must be for him to separate
himself from the dog he rescued and feeds, his only constant support.
On
the other hand, Peter has gotten to know people down on Exhibition road, who
are quite kind, he told us. While we sat next to him, a young couple came by
and left him some food.
Fortunately,
Katia found help at Passage in Victoria where she was given food, housing for a
time, and a recommendation to work for the Big Issue.
Now
she gets her clothes, food and showers from the Methodist church on Kings Road,
a great place with an open shelter on Monday nights. Tonight, Katia will sleep
at a friend’s house down World Ends, who also works for the Big Issue. She’s
grateful for it, but misses “her own four walls”, and her privacy. We caught
her right before she set off on her bicycle to bring groceries to an old lady
she helps every Saturday.
It
was amazing to meet a woman who’s got so little but wants to give so much.
What
are Katia’s wishes for the New Year? A job does figure on her list, but first
she wants to learn how to use a computer; “I don’t even know how to turn on one
of those,” she told me, pointing at my phone. She had heard of Centerpoint and
their training programs, but unfortunately she isn’t able to take classes at
the Chelsea town hall because of her situation.
“I
want to help my community. I want to give back to the Big Issue all they gave
me.”
Although
she is already helping others who’ve suffered through the same hardship, she
wants to go even further. What can we do? Some organizations already offer
help, and we don’t have to save the world alone, but we can talk to people on
the streets and see them as the human beings they are. It is too easy to look
away and move on. Everyone dislikes being ignored and a smile can really make
their day.
So
come by Kings Road and talk to Katia, she’ll tell you her story, bless you with
words of inspiration and show you that there really is something you can do.
If
you want more information and ways to make a donation, here are some useful
links:
http://www.passage.org.uk/homeless.aspx
http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/
http://www.bigissue.org.uk/
[*South
Africa’s president from 1989-1994 and a co-recipient with Mandela of the 1993
Nobel Peace Prize.]
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