‘Walls Of Kindness’ To Help The Homeless Of Iran
Faced with a harsh winter and a difficult economic situation, some Iranian citizens have organised spontaneous outdoor charity drives to help local homeless people. But the “walls of kindness” appearing in major Iranian cities have also generated an online debate about official efforts to help the poor, says a BBC report.
The idea started in the northeastern city of Mashhad, where someone installed a few hooks and hangers on a wall, next to the words: “If you don’t need it, leave it. If you need it, take it.” Donations of coats, trousers and other warm clothing started to appear. The idea quickly spread to other cities, fuelled by thousands of Iranians on social media.
The drive increased in popularity as severe cold weather recently engulfed the country. Photos of walls across the country have been posted on social media asking their fellow citizens not to “let any [homeless people] shiver in the cold this winter.”
“This is a great initiative. Hope it spreads across Iran,” said one Facebook user. “Walls remind us of distance but in some streets in Shiraz they brought people closer to each other,” said another, citing the southern city where the second such wall sprung up.
However, some have taken this spontaneous show of charity as a sign that the government isn’t living up to its pledges: “People are helping each other out in a country with so much wealth. Those in charge seem not to share similar concerns as that of the people,” said one Facebook user. “If only we had wise and caring statesmen, we would not have a single needy person in this country with this amount wealth we have,” another one complained.
Despite promises of a better future by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and the government’s efforts to bring the country out of its international isolation, Iran is still grappling with a recession, the effects of sanctions and sluggish employment. Many ordinary Iranians are badly affected by the situation and reports say that the number of the homeless in major cities has risen as a result.
Various official organisations are in charge of providing welfare to the homeless, who are described in Iran as “cardboard sleepers.” But there are questions about how transparent and effective these initiatives are, which partially explains why people have decided to take the matter into their own hands.
The “wall of kindness” idea is similar to another citizen-driven initiative, called Payan-e Kartonkhabi (ending homelessness), where fridges have popped up on city streets so that people can leave food for the homeless.
