As we all know everyone must face the consequences of their decisions, good or bad. Poverty, solitude and lack of social accommodation could be an example solely if these are the consequences of the life a person consciously decides to lead. As we know this is not the case.

No one becomes poor out of choice! Recent reports in local papers stated that the NAO stated that there are hidden pockets of poverty. People living in elderly homes, migrants and the homeless were not included in the statistics. Is this a deliberate action to hide reality or is it an attempt to put one’s conscience at rest and do nothing? Does this mean that the poverty issue is even more acute than it really is? Are innocent people suffering because of poor or selfish decisions by people who are duty bound to safeguard their interests?

Recent reports also indicate that ex-convicts, or rather prisoners who have just finished their prison term and are ready to integrate in society also fall in this category. Many might argue that in this case it is self-inflicted as they are living a consequence of decisions they had taken earlier in life. I beg to differ! Once they paid their debt to society, they should be given another chance and not condemned ad eternum.

Not only ex-convicts suffer from poverty but there is a wider spectrum of people who can fall in this category and surely not as a consequence of prior decisions. Single parents as well as separated parents and low-income earners. To compound it all there are fathers who fail to pay maintenance or child support end up in jail. They end up in jail not for paying but because of failing to obey a court order.

In a recent Parliamentary Question 14225 I tabled it suggested that a total of 1517 over the past three years till mid-May were arraigned in court of whom 120 were sentenced 7 of whom carrying a 3-month sentence. This is because they failed in their obligation. Prison time does not exonerate them from their obligations. Having said that I am not criticizing the court or justice system, I am merely raising a point that a prison sentence might not be the solution as we all know the consequences people suffer after serving time. This is a new form of poverty as many a time child support is not paid because of pique or capriciously but genuinely could not pay.

What is society doing to help? What is the Government doing to intervene? Kicking them to the kerb and leaving everyone to face life struggles? It is unjust that people face consequences for third party decisions taken so that an issue can be hidden or else being a smoke screen as an excuse not to face reality.

Governments are elected to better peoples’ lives, and if necessary, change laws. Governments are not there to hide behind statistics or manipulate numbers as a reason for them to do nothing. On the other hand, people are not numbers.

Let’s not wait for authorities to decide to do something. As a society we should act.