A street dweller’s daylight attack on a woman in San Fernando yesterday has led to renewed calls for the Government to use a firm hand in dealing with the country’s homeless.
However, San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein said despite their efforts to address the problems, his council’s hands were tied because of human rights considerations.
Reports stated that shortly after 8 am, Radica Rambaran, 34, a counsellor, was walking along Library Corner, San Fernando, when the homeless man pushed her to the ground and attempted to snatch her purse. As she screamed, passersby and taxi drivers quickly ran to help.
A video of the incident posted on Facebook showed the homeless man, who police described as mentally unstable, being kicked in the chest by an unidentified man.
PC Paris, who was on patrol along Harris Promenade, responded and arrested the homeless man. Many social media users have expressed anger at the attack, and called on the Government to take the homeless off the streets.
Hosein told the Guardian that he constantly gets reports of homeless people harassing shoppers and passersby in the city, recalling that one of them smashed the glass of a store along High Street recently.
Since becoming mayor, he said, there were two exercises where police rounded up street dwellers. However, the magistrates would send them to the St Ann’s Hospital for psychiatric evaluations and they were eventually released back onto the streets.
He said he spoke to a doctor who said the hospital does not have enough room to accommodate most of the homeless so once they do not find any issues, they are released.
“I feel our hands are tied up to a certain extent because on one hand you have the human rights lawyers who say the street dwellers have rights. On the other hand, you have the shoppers and passersby calling my office, asking why we don’t get these homeless people off the streets and find a home for them.
“Most of the times we find a home for them, but they come back out here. The council is willing to work with the authorities to assist with homelessness because we have to rehabilitate these people,” Hosein said.
He said hopefully the San Fernando Centre for Displaced Persons will be opened this month, which will ease the conditions street dwellers live under.
There they will be able to take baths, get food and medical checkups. He said one businessman from Marabella has already pledged to donate kits with toothbrushes, soap and other personal hygiene items.