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September 15, 2006
Rank and File
by Nova Stubbs, insurgent49

The Weakest Link

     When I woke up, I felt refreshed. The heat of southern India no longer took control of my breath. The train was approaching the northern city of New Delhi and the cool spring air soothed my spirit. With a hot chai in hand, I gazed out the window as we rolled into the sprawling metropolis.

     The outskirts of Delhi are known for their slums, and I was in a slight shock when I realized that the area surrounding the train tracks was where the dwellers went to take their morning poo.

     Hundreds of Indians were squatting and relieving themselves in a public open area. To the Western eye, this was living proof of third world poverty, and it is sad that all human beings do not have access to toilets and running water in such a technologically advanced world as ours.

    That experience was five years ago and now I live in Anchorage, but my Western eye continues to view a similar type of poverty. Where do Anchorage’s homeless have access to running water? They are forced to use public restrooms … and they often have to be sneaky about it.

    In the building where I work, there has been heavy homeless traffic lately. About a week ago there were reports of a homeless woman sleeping in the women’s restroom. She was literally resting in the restroom and wasn’t really hurting anyone.

     The staff had a minor debate as to what we should do about these reoccurring problems. I said, “just let them be, they are innocuous.” Others disagreed with me and felt that the homeless population inside our building was inappropriate. I could see both sides, but still felt that it was not much of a problem.

    Another occurrence this week changed my mind. My boss went into the restroom, and someone was bathing himself. All I can report at this time is that copious amounts of flesh were spotted. Yes … this is inappropriate in the work place.

    Still, I don’t blame the homeless. After all, the infrastructure used to help this group is limited considering the substantial homeless population within Anchorage. Yes, we do have Brother Francis and the Anchorage Rescue Mission, but their facilities are limited. Another element we must take into account is that if the person in question is drunk they are not always allowed to take a shower or sleep there for the night. A large percentage of Anchorage’s homeless have substance abuse problems.

     How are they supposed to “clean up their act” when it is difficult for them to clean up their bodies?

     The truth is that Anchorage residents, collectively, need to start looking more closely at our social ills. They say that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. Well, a community is as strong as its weakest resident.

    I refuse to accept the fact that I live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world and still … open access to running water is not available to everyone.

 





      Nova Stubbs is a freelance writer and activist, and is co-founder of Insurgent49. Nova resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage and may be contacted at nova@insurgent49.com.
- Columnists -

Editor's Desk
by Aaron Selbig

Rank and File
by Nova Stubbs

Red Alert
by Soren Wuerth

Alaskan In Exile
by Neil Zawicki

The
Bramble Bush
by Kevin Morford






Copyright 2005 Insurgent Media. All Rights Reserved.
in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership.