Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Colder than a witch's tit
Moscow's cold snap has moved southwest and I finally bought a hat. While regional cities recorded record lows of -30 Centigrade, Prague, with its traffic induced greenhouse effect, remains in the teens below zero. Still, if you're homeless, that's gotta hurt.
According to Prague Monitor, citing the Czech News Agency (CTK), five people died already from the cold snap.
Night trams are the most common place the homeless can be seen in winter time. Shelters are few. I think there's one by the main train station, but one thing that seems to have clearly resulted from 40 years of Communism is a very strong belief that it's up to the individual to take care of himself.
That said, there is a kind of charity here that doesn't follow official channels. Clothes and other items are usually cleanly stacked near trash cans instead of being donated to charities. Perhaps because it's less shamefull for a homeless Czech to root a dumpster than to stand with his hand out to some do-gooder.
And the other day--the first night of the coldsnap--I noticed a building project whose door was ajar. It wasn't one of thoses abandoned buildings that quickly become squats. This one had workers there daily. What surprised me was that the door didn't look like it was forced. I choose to think it was a subtle example of Czech charity.
According to Prague Monitor, citing the Czech News Agency (CTK), five people died already from the cold snap.
Night trams are the most common place the homeless can be seen in winter time. Shelters are few. I think there's one by the main train station, but one thing that seems to have clearly resulted from 40 years of Communism is a very strong belief that it's up to the individual to take care of himself.
That said, there is a kind of charity here that doesn't follow official channels. Clothes and other items are usually cleanly stacked near trash cans instead of being donated to charities. Perhaps because it's less shamefull for a homeless Czech to root a dumpster than to stand with his hand out to some do-gooder.
And the other day--the first night of the coldsnap--I noticed a building project whose door was ajar. It wasn't one of thoses abandoned buildings that quickly become squats. This one had workers there daily. What surprised me was that the door didn't look like it was forced. I choose to think it was a subtle example of Czech charity.
# posted by VMH @ 2:52 PM 
