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Mohammad Mohabbie

The spread of the news of the burial of some of our homeless compatriots, and the expected harsh treatment towards them – who have gone to their eternal home without permission, payment of fees and taxes, and before their death – has caused a wave of shock and sorrow in our society. The republication of this bitter event and shameful reality on social networks has created a wave of reactions and statements in society. Although we quickly forget, and this forgetfulness has also spread to the media, responsible organizations, parties and factions, and after the new year and the emergence of political controversies, this issue has also been forgotten. And now it can be said with certainty that the homeless have once again been forgotten.

In fact, although the report of last month’s Shahr-e-Rozname newspaper about the graveyards, which is an example of media responsibility towards the citizens of the society, was very shocking and influential, unfortunately, in this path, continuity and perseverance are not seen.

It is a wake-up call for our government and each of us that in our country, needy people have resorted to death for survival. The reality is that there are two approaches to addressing such bitter but real phenomena. The first approach is to look at the causes; what has caused these helpless situations, and it has a systemic answer and is analyzed by considering various social dimensions, including the educational, moral, economic, managerial, and welfare systems. But in the second approach, the disabled are the focus of analysis, and as a result, without paying attention to the root causes, we will only judge based on emotions and on a case-by-case basis, and our answers will be temporary. If we want to speak justly, the emergence of phenomena such as sleeping in graves is the result of permanent neglect of the needy, the weakness of support institutions in fulfilling their essential duties, the government’s inability to provide basic needs for some citizens, the inefficiency of previous policies, wasting allocated budgets

But finally, who is responsible for addressing the issues of homeless, graveyards, and cardboard sleepers in Iran? How much budget has been allocated for it? Finally, some minimum standards must be provided for the survival of these humans!

In every country, organizations and ministries responsible for the welfare of citizens are responsible for these matters. In fact, the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare is one of the wealthiest institutions in Iran. This is because the Social Security Retirement Fund is a part of this ministry. Let’s not forget that this fund is the lifeline of governments in Iran, and governments often dip into it to make up for budget deficits, depriving workers of their rightful earnings. However, it is still a full and reliable fund.

The budget for the year 1395 (2016-2017) of the Social Security Organization is over 69 trillion tomans (1); how much of this amount has been allocated for the homeless? Unfortunately, it must be said that there is no specific budget for issues such as “sleeping in cardboard boxes”, “sleeping in graves” or the problem of “homelessness” and apparently it has been left to the discretion and judgment of the departments and offices under the organization.

It is regrettable that after the announcement of the news of a burial in the media that hurt the conscience of society, only now has a small budget been allocated, and that too from the unexpected budget of the presidency. On December 14, 2016, Jomhuri-e Eslami newspaper quoted Farhad Sadr, Deputy Minister of Welfare, as saying: “It has been decided that the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security will request a budget of approximately 2 billion tomans from the unexpected expenses of the presidency to organize homeless people in the current year.” The Director General of Policy and Support of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security continued: “The Ministry of Welfare is also obligated to review the budget items related to the issue of homeless people – which exist in the budget items of other ministries and agencies – in order to save more budget in this regard.” Sadr stated: “All relevant agencies in charge of organizing homeless people are required to report their monthly statistics and activities

Although the share of the welfare and social security sector in the GDP or GNP and the overall budget of Iran is lower compared to developing and developed countries, it is still a significant portion of the country’s general budget. However, the allocation of the budget by institutions is subjective. This means that budgets are not allocated to specific issues and challenges, but rather to institutions and their subsidiaries. Additionally, due to the lack of transparency in financial and tax accounts, and considering that a large portion of the structures, resources, and expenses in this sector are outside the scope of supervision and management of the executive branch, and also due to the lack of a well-established income and household expenditure system – which cannot be definitively commented on in this regard – it can be relatively said that the main cause of these problems and gaps is not the shortage of resources. Especially since even if there is a shortage, it can and should be compensated and provided for through social taxes.

So we must ask, if the problem is not due to a lack of laws, structure, or resources, where should we look for a solution to the problem? Should we create new structures? Should we once again establish new councils or committees, even of the “excellent” type? It seems that the answer to all of these questions is no. It seems that the main solution is to change and adjust the “approaches”, “regulations”, and “mechanisms”, and in this way, with the same laws, structures, and available resources, we can achieve social development. Changing and adjusting the “approach” means that the approach of officials and those responsible for welfare and social security must change, and they must see it as their duty, responsibility, and mission.

If this change in approach is accepted, naturally there will be no room for populist policies or groups to gain popularity or acceptance by implementing certain plans outside of the unified system of welfare and social security. According to Article 29 of the Constitution, access to social security is a universal right and the government is obligated to provide this access through insurance or support for all members of society. It is clear that the legislator has given priority to the “insurance system” because in this system, justice in access and justice in benefitting from public resources are attainable, and most importantly, in this system, in addition to transparency, calculability, risk distribution, etc., the provision of welfare services and social security is carried out while preserving the human dignity of individuals.

Undoubtedly, the phenomenon of homelessness exists in all societies to some extent, but what is the best solution to reduce and minimize this phenomenon? It seems that the lack of a comprehensive welfare and social security system in Iran is a serious gap that everyone feels. According to Articles 28, 29, 30, and 31 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which emphasizes the provision of basic necessities of life such as housing, health, insurance, and education for all citizens, the government is obliged to firstly eliminate the conditions that lead to phenomena such as sleeping on the streets, grave sleeping, and homelessness, and secondly, provide minimum facilities for those citizens who have been affected by such tragedies; a minimum standard of living that ensures they are not exposed to cold, and a food that meets their physiological needs. Additionally, a healthcare system should be established to treat their illnesses, as it has been proven that these individuals are often afflicted with various diseases. And finally, proper education

Sources:

• Social Security Organization website

• Heydari, Ali, “Social Holocaust in Multilayer Graves”, Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare website, December 29, 2016.