By Bill Heaney
The story of Christmas is that of Joseph and Mary trekking through bitter cold with only a donkey to carry the expectant mother on the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for a census.
They spent many hours seeking out a place that was warm and safe for their child to be born, but there was none. No place, no house in which to shelter, no Room at the Inn.
Theirs is a poignant story that has touched the hearts of millions down through the centuries.
And it includes icons of the stable where Mary eventually gave birth to the child Jesus and laid him in a manger to sleep in the hay with cattle and sheep and a donkey.
Homelessness was a major issue in those days of villainous King Herod and it plays a major part in the stories of the Nativity and the Slaughter of the Innocents.
Now, 2023 years later, homelessness is yet again in the headlines as the Arabs and Israelis have once again taken up arms in the bloody conflict that is Palestine.
It hasn’t gone away you know — and neither has death.
The United Nations says the outbreak of war has turned Gaza into a “graveyard for children.”
So many young lives have been extinguished that it obscures the tragedy of each one. At least 7,000 have been killed, and that only accounts for those who have been identified – many likely lie beneath the rubble. Thousands more have been changed forever by injury.
The cry from the hearts of millions this week to stop the killing in Gaza could be heard even in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament this afternoon in Edinburgh.
Homelessness and the desperation, stress and misery it brings with it is ubiquitous in the public square.
Commenting after First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, RIGHT, said “People across the country are preparing for Christmas. It is a special time, but for many it comes at the end of a year filled with anxiety about their family finances.
“Over the past year, we have seen a 30 per cent increase in the number of families at risk of losing the homes they own and being made homeless.
“Every family that loses their home risks joining the almost 30,000 families who are currently homeless in Scotland.
“Over 15,000 families across the country are staying in temporary accommodation right now, many of them in hostels, B&Bs and hotel rooms.
“Shockingly that means 9,500 children will wake up on Christmas morning without a home to call their own.
“On average, families with children spend 347 days in temporary accommodation – and in Edinburgh it is a shameful 611 days.
“We have a housing emergency in Scotland – something that this SNP Government fails to recognise.
“30,000 homeless households in our country, 15,000 families in temporary accommodation, 9,500 children without a home, 110,000 families on a housing waiting list, and a child made homeless in Scotland every 45 seconds.
“We desperately need more homes, but this SNP Government cut the housing budget by more than a quarter and new housing starts are down 24 per cent.
“This Government’s incompetence has consequences.
“We cannot wait for more families to be made homeless before this SNP Government takes responsibility for the crisis it created.”
