A Socially displaced individual is defined by the Socially Displaced
Persons Act, 2000 of Trinidad and
Tobago as "any idleperson
habitually found in a public place
whether or not he is begging and
who by reason of illness or
otherwise is unable tomaintain
himself, or has no means of
subsistence or place of residence, is
unable to give a satisfactory account
of himself and causes or is likely to
cause annoyance or damage to
persons frequenting that public
place, or otherwise to create a
nuisance."
In this edition of Life on the Streetz,
we take you to the streets of
Bridgetown, the capital city of
Barbados.
Photo taken by Joseph Weekes.
(12th February,2016)
Meet Mr. Francis...he is what the urban geographer terms as a socially displaced individual. However, Mr. Francis is one with amazing talent. Yes guys!! He plays the alto saxophone and he plays it extremely well. #musician #musicislife
On an encounter with Mr. Francis in the city of Bridgetown, hewas more than willing to share a bit of his history.
Mr. Francis is 61 years of age and developed an interest in the saxophone at the age 13. He was born and raised in New Orleans, St. Michael Barbados, residing in a government owned apartment building. For those of you who may not know, the area more commonly referred to as "De Orleans" by many Barbadians is a ghetto area which has been characterized over the years by high cases of crime, poor standard of living, poor standard of housing and a lack of the basic living necessities.Mr. Francis continued by stating that both his parents worked very hard as vendors but added that they were also addicts and "could not stay away from de [the] weed".
Mr. Francis won his saxophone in a music competition at the Saint Leonard's Boys School when he was 17 years old and hasplayed it religiously every day until this present day. "Never,ever, ever missed a day" he stated. Francis began playing in his community in order to receive tips to make a living but moved to the more populated parts of the city, where the tips from tourists are better, totaling $50 BDS per day.
Across the world in modern cities, there are more like Mr. Francis; their stories or backgrounds are different but their situations are the same. In the case of Francis, the abuse of illegal substances by his parents caused them to be extremely violent towards him, the reprimanding of his father to prison when he was 21 years old and the admittance of his mother tothe psychiatric hospital, leaving him to survive alone. Specifically in the Caribbean region, the genuine issue is not that artistic individuals are homeless but that no real action is taken to give these individuals a second chance. In contrast, organizations of New York City have sought to rectify the issue by "addressing the social and financial problems of all homeless while providing special services specific to the needs of homeless artists.
Policies include permanent housing with job training, a small salary, and a workspace where artists can create, display, and sell their works." (Azimov,
Babushkin, Gurbo and Squitieri, 2009) Individuals targeted include the visual artist, the creative writer, the actor and the musician.
Mr. Francis and other talented homeless individuals may never receive the opportunity to receive a Grammy award but they would certainly be appreciative of the opportunity to make a living from their talent. For this reason, similar policies should be implemented in the Caribbean.
References:
Azimov, Neyra, Nicole Babushkin, Victor V. Gurbo and Christina Squitieri. 2009. "Starving for Their Art: Homeless Artists in NYC". Lecture presented at MHC Seminar, New York City, United States of America, June 12th, 2009.
Ministry of Legal Affairs. 2000. The Socially Displaced Persons Act. Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
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