Concerns for the homeless population grew as the unusual blizzard — being called
Beast of the East — pounded much of eastern of Europe, claiming more than 60
lives, most of whom were rough sleepers.
Additionally, Storm Emma has further caused the thaw to set in, thereby
sustaining the sub-zero conditions and prompting the UK Met Office on Friday to
issue a red alert for snow — the highest level of warning. The red alert stands
as of now with icy weather continuing to bite.
"The temperature is pretty severe, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we do something to
help?’” Rabnawaz Akbar, a trustee of Makki Masjid in the northern city of
Manchester, said.
Volunteers from the community have been camping out at the mosque to facilitate
Manchester’s homeless, providing them with food and shelter as well as shower
facilities.
As the mosque is located in a predominately South Asian area, the menu includes
mostly traditional Bangladeshi and Pakistani dishes such as rice and curried
chicken.
UK’s neighbor on the east are also implementing similar strategies to help out
the most vulnerable with mosques under the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland
also opening their doors to the homeless.
"We will have a security team on duty at night, and maintenance teams have been
alerted to make sure there is sufficient heating in the building, especially
late at night,” Summayah Kenna, head of community welfare at the Islamic
Cultural Centre of Ireland, told Dublin’s 98FM radio.
Additionally, Ireland mosques have also been providing sleeping bags to the
people needing shelter.
Jamie, a homeless man who found shelter in a UK mosque, said often, the media
portray mosques in a negative light.
"You always get the stereotypical [portrayal] of mosques … Not everybody is like
that. I’ve not been encouraged to be radicalized,” he said.
"I’m an addict. I’ve never been in a mosque in all my life,” he said. "I was in
two minds over whether to get myself some heroin or crack, so that I could be
okay for the night. As I was thinking about this, a guy came from the side and
said, ‘You’re homeless, would you like to spend the night in a mosque?’
"They made me feel very welcome, gave me something to eat, to drink. Something
that the basic council can’t even provide for us.”
Military personnel has been deployed across UK to rescue those stranded in cars
and assist hospitals in keeping their facilities running as strong winds,
snowdrifts and blizzards continue to rattle the country.
Forecasters have warned the UK is "not out of the woods yet” as Storm Emma
continues to gain strength.
Source: IQNA