Public Housing communities are truly wonderful. I love living in Public Housing.
With Ramadan underway, my Muslim neighbours are fasting from sunrise to sunset for a month. 23 April - 23 May.
This is a deeply religious and significant time for Muslims worldwide. The evening meal - after sunset on every day of Ramadan - is known as Iftar. Usually this is a communal and social event with family and friends dropping by. There is also a growing tradition around the world of Muslim communities providing food in outdoor areas to the general public, and anyone who is hungry, as part of Iftar.
With the COVID 19 social distancing restrictions, there have been changes to celebrations this year.
Guess who's the lucky recipient of my Muslim neighbours' generosity? Me! 😍 😋
Each evening for the past week, there's been a knock on my door, and plates of food are given to me from, not one, but two of my lovely neighbours.
Delicious food! They are both excellent cooks!
Dates, barley and wheat soups, samosas, puff pastry sweets.
I am very touched. "Shukraan jazilaan" "Ameseginalew" Thankyou very much.
To all our Muslim neighbours living in Public Housing and everywhere- "Happy Ramadan".
- Fiona 💗
- Fiona 💗
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I cannot understand why more people in Australia are not involving themselves more in defending public tenants?
Is it the erroneous stigma and prejudice attached to public housing and public tenants,
or because they don't really know what's going on, because its largely not publicised.
or because they don't really know what's going on, because its largely not publicised.
We have amazing multicultural communities in Public Housing!
As part of the Vic Labor state government's so-called Public Housing Renewal Program, relatively few public tenants will be returning home, and it is also highly likely that the new homes will be transferred to private Community/ Social housing. In fact this has already happened on 3 former Public Housing estates so far.
Many families will be unable to return, because the developers will be replacing 1,2 and 3 bedroom homes with small mainly one and two bedroom units. What a blow for multi-cultural diversity in the innercity!
All Public Tenants are assured that they have 'the right' to come home after redevelopments, but the fine print says otherwise. It is only if the size of the new units matches the need.
If you want to support public tenants from 'relocation' or rather displacement policies that promote Gentrification by Stealth, then a good place to start is to call us by our right name - public tenants, not 'social housing' tenants. No public tenant that I know, will call themselves a 'social housing' tenant.
We are proud to be public tenants.
Please support us. Our communities are too precious to be broken up and destroyed!
If you want to get more involved please write to our housinghumanrights@gmail.com, and visit us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FOPHVIC/
Thankyou.
Fiona once again highlights a little known fact, public housing is not social housing. Unfortunately news reporters and press commenters don't realise the distinction and intermingle the terms. Only government owned and managed housing is public housing. Housing provided by housing associations, charities etc to tenants where rents are subsidized is social housing. Congratulations to Fiona for sharing her joy as a public housing tenant.
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