HOW BECKETT WAS PERCEPTIVE ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF THE HOMELESS
'There is a man over you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet, 'chides the homeless Vladimir to his boon companion Estragon, who warns him that 'Boots must be taken off everyday' when he complains of the pain in his feet. Estragon had been complaining of the pain in his feet and how he could not take off his boots. Vladimir advises Estragon to 'Never neglect the little things of life'. The quotes are from Samuel Beckett's play 'Waiting for Godot.' Of all writers Beckett sharply grasped the predicament of the homeless with a dark humor that was bleak but lyrical. One of the dilemmas Beckett addresses is how the homeless struggle to maintain their dignity and relate to all kinds of every day items such as how to best wear boots. Beckett often goes into meticulous detail about how items of clothes are either unsuitable or don't fit. For example, a pair of boots might be too tight or big and lead to excessive swelling or pain. If you are on your feet all day ,where can you find a comfortable and convenient spot to take off your boots? And all kinds of things get into them such as stones or pellets. In Moscow sharp black ice can pierce your boots rendering them obsolete and beyond repair.
In the short story 'The End ' we read 'They clothed me and gave me money .I knew what the money was for, it was to get me started. When it was gone I would have to get more if I wanted to go on. The same for the shoes. When they were worn out I would have to get them mended, or get myself another pair, or go on barefoot, if I wanted to go on.' The discharged person from a hostel doesn't like his new clothes and asks for his old clothes back but they have already burnt them. Now he is forced to wear the clothes of a deceased person. {Was Beckett aware of a superstition that it can be fatal for a person to wear the clothes of a person who has recently died ?} The character is cheated out of his money by a rogue landlord and left destitute again. In Beckett's works clothes assume a life of their own. Instead of the person getting used to clothes 'The hat got used to me'.
CHOOSING BOOTS IS NOT SO STRAIGHTFORWARD
Well is Vladimir right ? You should not blame the boots but the person who wears them for being careless? In other words, people make the clothes rather than the clothes make the man! That is a person must dutifully take off their boots ,change their socks and wash their feet and observe basic measures of hygiene! If only life was so simple ! For a start , if it can be highly problematic for a person with a home to find affordable and good quality boots then it can remain an ordeal for the homeless. Let me suggest anecdotes. Just a few years ago my wife was over the moon because she believed she had purchased a brilliant pair of boots from a second hand shop. She had found a bargain. She told me "It is great ! Now I can relax and be relieved you won't have any problems with getting your feet wet in those winter conditions.” She assumed the boots were unbreakable and as shock resistant as the Titanic.But just after three days while I was dropping into teach a young school student I tried hard to take off those tight boots.While doing this I heard an unpleasant loud crack .The heel had almost been wrenched off .The boy told me "I think you have broken your boot". "Yes, well never mind.Let us get down to this lesson". After the lesson ,the heel of the boot was flip-flapping all the way back home. I was worried I might draw the unwanted attention of the police.But nothing happened. The sole of the boot came off just before I got home.I did not tell the wife. She didn't need to know.Like Vladimir she might say "O it's typical.How come I can make a pair of boots last 7 years or more but you break them just after a few days.You don't walk properly.You walk into puddles rather than avoiding them. Don't blame your boots."
But we can often blame the boots. Firstly, there are a lot of counterfeit boots on the market, secondly the price of decent quality boots is beyond the income of many people never mind the homeless and some people wear out their boots quicker than others. An army marches on it's boots rather than stomach.
I recall an incident from the late 1990's when a company supplied the homeless charity with a supply of cheap and shoddy boots which broke down after a few days. I received a pair of 'wooden clogs'. Those clogs would make a loud clapping noise every time you walked in them.They were good for tap -dancing ! After one week I broke them. All the other people who had also tried the clogs complained of the same thing. They told me I had set a record.Their boots broke after a day or two.
THE IMPACT OF INADEQUATE FOOTWEAR
What is the impact of wearing poor quality and ill fitting boots and shoes? Here the anecdotes end.The feet of homeless people are often exposed to wet and moist conditions where they can suffer all kinds of ailments .In recent years medical investigators have found extreme cases of what it called 'trench foot'. When we think of trench foot we usually tend to think of an affliction affecting only the army during the wartime. But this is misleading. It now currently affects some of the homeless in Wales as well as Canada.Trench foot is a condition where a pathogens can get into the feet via lice carrying bacteria and severely damage the skins well as other organs. It is mainly caused by prolonged exposure to cold and moist conditions.Soldiers were vulnerable to it because they remained in water-logged fox holes and trenches for long periods of time. They would forget to take off their boots,change their socks and wash their feet. They were also exposed to deadly lice which could bite and infect them with a pathogen. As many as 75,000 soldiers died in World War One from this affliction. In order to get to grips with this condition, British soldiers were divided into pairs and asked to remind each other to have three pairs of socks each, to change them at least twice a day, to wash their feet and dry out their feet.
A recent medical study by the Canadian Medical Association found that four homeless people from a shelter had caught trench foot .The study had found that four patients admitted for treatment had shared the same homeless shelter in Winnipeg over a 6 month period.In one study carried out in 2016, by Mathew J,Thomas D and Colin Van Zoost, they found that skin and foot problems are a frequent problem among the homeless.One study found that corn,callouses and immersion foot were the result of inadequate footwear,prolonged exposure to moisture,long periods of walking and standing'.The average homeless person can walk for five hours a day or more.
VOLUNTEERS HELP THE FEET OF THE HOMELESS
A charity group in Wales, called 'Homeless Hope', who offer medical care to the homeless, has come across cases of trench foot. Set up in 2018,the organization was the brainchild of a 47 year old nurse, Donna Marie Thomas, who herself was once homeless.She can count on 160 volunteers.The society is devoted to treating and healing the feet of the homeless.She stated "When someone is on drugs their hygiene isn't a priority.Their feet are forgotten.They will walk around in wet socks so their feet get macerated -which is where they are absolutely drenched in water and sodden like trench foot.. And many get embarrassed with their feet because when you take their shoes off they generally smell.You need to build trust with them. Normally the second or third time we meet them they take off their shoes and talk about their past.It helps break down their barriers to see what they need".The volunteers come across ingrown toe nails, foot ulcers ,athlete's foot and fungus. They help to cut toe nails, dress ulcers and apply bandages.
DON"T PLAY THE BLAME GAME
It would highly misleading to claim that foot infection arises from simple self negligence. Some studies have found that the homeless make a great effort to observe basic rules of hygiene.For example, in one study, 61% of the homeless changed their socks daily,72% washed their feet daily and 76% attempted to keep their feet dry.And as many as 92% of the homeless want to learn how to take better care of their feet.However, the homeless don't always have access to decent washing facilities and launderettes. The problems are also compounded by lack of access to clean socks and properly fitting shoes.And many homeless are embarrassed about seeking help related to their feet. And of course, the homeless often don't have access to basic things for maintaining hygiene. One study found that only 68% of the homeless had access to clean water,70% to soap, 56% to towels, 44% to nail clippers.
Another study found that 58% of the homeless observed good foot hygiene, 38% observed average foot hygiene and 4% had poor hygiene.
As in World war one ,working in pairs certainly helped prevent potential trench foot. It can be easy to forget things.Returning to Beckett's play 'Waiting for Godot', Vladimir is right to remind Estragon to take off his boots and not sleep in them. Although Vladimir might be reproached for not being tactful.But maybe at times the boots are really to blame or at least the manufacturers of boots.After all they often mass produce poor quality and breakable boots.They are often not even waterproof.So Yes, blame the boots but try to take the maximum possible precautions to lessen the pain.