Hey everybody:
Here is an essay I wrote in Spanish for an online university course I am taking through Coursera (look them up) courtesy of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. I have provided at the bottom an English translation. Hope you like it.
Antes comenzar el ensayo debo advertirles que el espanol es mi segundo idioma despues del ingles y lo hablo de la forma latinoamericana y por eso les pido a ustedes que me ensenen algo de clemencia. Ademas mis tecleas no corresponden de la ortografia espanola sino de ingles y por eso van a aparecen algunos faltas de ortografia.
Y ahora, adelante del tema:
En mi ciudad canadiense de Vancouver contamos con un crisis de gente que vive en la calle sin techo. Hay muchas causas por tales condiciones de urgencia. En los anos noventa nuestro gobierno federal cancelo nuestro programa nacional de vivienda nacional, poniendo limites de la proporcion de los apartamentos accesibles para los pobres y los desamparados. Ademas, las "reformas" economicas gracias a la globalizacion y el capitalismo disenfrenado introducieron en la sociedad canadiense un entorno de competencia muy feroz para los empleos y tambien los valores de los bienes inmuebles han subido de remate, sobre todo en Vancouver porque es una ciudad muy bonita y bien codiciada a la gente adinerada, en Canada y por todo el mundo.
Los politicos de nuestros gobiernos se volvieron derichistas y eliminaron muchos abonos y programas de ayuda para la gente pobre, sobre todo en los cambios drasticos de nuestros programas de asistencia social (welfare). En mi provinicia, Columbia Britanica, en 2001 se eleccionaron un tal gobierno que ponia enfasis de hacer nuestra provincia como muy atractiva para ingresiones extranjeras mientras reducir muchos de los servicios publicos. Por ende, despues de los comicios de 2001 en nuestra provincia y sobre todo en Vancouver de repente tuvieramos mas de tres veces la poblacion como antes de personas sin techo.
En 2008 se elegieron en Vancouver un alcalde izquierdista que nos prometio que se eliminaron el sin techo hasta 2015. Mientras tanto el acepto abonos financieros de las corporaciones de construccion y las agentes de bienes raices. Mas, construyeron nuevos torres de condominios elevaron repentinamente los valores de los bienes inmuebles, y mucho mas gente media clase apenas podrian accesar los nuevos apartamentos. Por eso mucho gente, sobre todo las familias jovenes, han abandonado a Vancouver y mucha gente rica y de otros paises compran casas, tierras, y apartamentos de lujo para paralizar el movimiento de los bienes terranales.
Correspondente a su promesa nuestro alcalde, Gregor Robertson, ha tratado mucho con el gobierno provincial para ayudarle de establecer catorce edificios nuevos para domiciliar a las personas que viven en la calle y tambien los pobres que sufren del riesgo de desamparo, ademas personas con adicciones y padecimientos de la salud mental. Asimiso hay varios hoteles y apartamentos de habitaciones singulares que se compraron para renovarlos y hacerlos adecuados para domiciliar a tales personas. Mientras tanto muchos de los adinerados y otra gente que viven bien(NIMBYs o not in my back yard) estan de mala leche en contra de estes programas porque no quieren topar en su propio vecindario con personas desamporadas. Reclaman que no tienen ganas de soportar con acciones criminales en su barrio pero realmente no aguantan de la apariencia de la pobreza porque se bajan los valores de los bienes inmuebles ademas de no se apeticen la vista tampoco los olores de la pobreza.
Por eso es muy dificil implementar politicos que salen bien por todo el mundo. La misma gente adinerada que se quejan de la vista de la pobreza es la misma gente que elegen los gobiernos que castigan a los pobres y los corren por la calle, pero se pierden de la ironia. Tambien la ciudad es en lios para luchar a traves de dialogos publicos para convencer a la gente que hacer apartamentos accesibles a los pobres es la medida mas efectiva y mas economica para solucionar los problemas visibles de la pobreza. Mucha gente todavia esta muy ciega por su egoismo, codicia y indiferencia para las personas marginalizadas para cuidar un comino a ellos si bien su probio bienestar va a ser enredado con los suyos.
Mientras tanto siguen en adelante nuestro alcalde en el defenso de los pobres aunque el queda un rehen de los intereses de las agentes de bienes raices.
And now, here it is in English:
Before I begin this essay I should warn you that Spanish is my second language after English, and I speak it in the Latin American form and therefore I ask you that you show me a bit of mercy. Moreover my keyboard doesn't contain Spanish punctuation marks and for this reason there are going to be some errors.
And now, on with the show:
Where I live in Vancouver Canada we have a crisis of homelessness. There are many causes. During the nineties our federal government cancelled our national housing program, limiting the supply of affordable housing for the poor and vulnerable. Moreover, economic reforms thanks to globalization and unfettered capitalism introduced into Canadian society an incredibly vicious environment of competition in the job market as well as the price of real estate skyrocketing, especially in Vancouver since this is a very beautiful city, especially attractive for the well-heeled, those here in Canada and in the rest of the world.
The policies of our governments have turned to the right and slashed a lot of the programs and services for the poor, especially creating some very drastic changes in our social assistance programs. In my province, BC, in 2001, a government was elected that has been emphasising making our province very attractive for foreign investment at the expense of reducing many public services. Therefore, after the elections of 2001 in our province and especially in Vancouver we had suddenly more than three times as many homeless people than before.
In 2008 in Vancouver a leftist mayor was elected who promised that he would eliminate homelessness by 2015. Meanwhile he accepted donations from construction and development corporations. Moreover they built new condominium towers suddenly raising the price of real estate and more middle class people were hardly able to afford the new apartments. Therefore a lot of people, especially young families, have left Vancouver and a lot of rich people from all over the world are buying houses, land and luxury apartments here, further paralyzing the movement of real estate.
True to his promise our mayor, Gregor Robertson, has been dealing a lot with the provincial government to help establish fourteen new buildings for housing people living on the street as well as for those poor who are at risk and vulnerable and also people with addictions and mental illness. Moreover there are various hotels and apartment sro's (single room occupancy) that have been bought for renovations to make them appropriate for housing. Meanwhile a lot of wealthy and other people who live well (NIMBY's or not in my back yard) are against these programs because they don't want to have to encounter in their own neighbourhood people who are marginalized. They claim that they have no desire of putting up with criminal acts in their neighbourhood when really want they can't stand is the sight of poverty because these people lower property values as well as not liking the sight, neither the odours of poverty.
It is therefore very difficult to implement policies that are agreeable to everyone. The same wealthy people who complained about the visible presence of poverty are the same people who elect the governments who punish the poor and run them out onto the street, but the irony is lost on them. The city is also having a hard time struggling with public dialogue in order to convince people that to provide affordable housing to the poor is the most effective and economic way of solving the visible problems of poverty. Many people are still blinded by their selfishness, greed and indifference towards marginalized people in order to care a damn about them although their own wellbeing is going to be wound up with theirs.
Mean while our mayor continues to defend the poor although he remains held hostage by the interests of the property developers.
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