KEY POINTS:
Home is where the heart is, they say. But at a time like this, how can we help but think of the fear and destruction that inhabit numberless homes in our deeply flawed world?
The hearts of those who are being bombed, who are going to bed hungry,
who fear rape and dread tomorrow, must suffer and harden with anger. But war is too vast a concept for my mind to encompass, so I think, how sad, and put the thoughts in a section of my mind that we all must keep for the knowledge of atrocities we are absolutely helpless to influence. I concentrate on matters closer to home where there is suffering enough.
A biblical admonition comes to mind: we must first keep our own house in order. Within our own society, we might be able to mitigate the terror felt by young children in violent homes, the harm being done to the brains, bodies and hearts of the helpless by those near them.
How will they ever be able to learn ways of wisdom and gentleness, or of the wonderful rewards that children can bring if they are misunderstood and unloved?
Most of us are lucky enough to have a home for the heart, a place where we learned our culture, to love, to feed ourselves and others, to cook, to garden. A secure place from which to reach out to the world, to travel, study, to create a life and a home of our own.
But for too many, home has been a shell for living, where they learned insecurity, isolation and helplessness. Removed from the sources of culture and friendship, they have had no peace or guidance. If we are to create good homes, the cornerstone must be good housing, healthy, convenient abodes, safe inside, and opening out on to a larger world rich in possibility, pleasure and promise. And secure homes where people can look into the future without hostility and fear.
No moral government can avoid this responsibility, and a good government will house its people well. A good government will step in when private ownership is not an option, as for many it is not, and never will be. A good home gives so much more than a roof, not just to the individual, but to society. A home is much more than sufficient shelter; it provides opportunity for safety, culture, security, sanity, mental and physical health, education, pleasure, belonging, pride, work, involvement in wider society; the list is endless.
Indeed one could say that housing is the prerequisite for the health and sanity of a whole people.
There have been, and are, housing designers who understand that merely to provide adequate living space is not enough.
If they are to build rich and fulfilling lives, people need the security that can lead to friendships and the transmission and cross-fertilisation of cultures, and for this they need places other than pubs and shopping malls to be together. Good urban design can provide such places.
But how often do such enlightened designs fail to become reality, through lack of vision as much as lack of money? We have historical models of places where people lived, knowing each other and watching and helping the young and the old in the marae of New Zealand and the villages and terrace housing of Britain.
In both countries their replacement by inhumane dwellings, cheap and efficient to build but lacking the human factor, has led to major dissociation with land and family, and we all know the toll in mental health and crime that this brings.
For how many of our troubles can be traced back to the insecurity of those who live isolated lives, or who move so often they can't make connection with those they live amongst: people who can't or don't make friends with neighbours so they can call on them when their kids are driving them crazy? Are they tempted to bash the babies instead?
Too many children move from school to school, becoming disheartened and angry because it is impossible to learn, create and find a place. We all know where such dislocation leads, and the sad heritage it brings.
Insecure, overcrowded, often cold and uncomfortable, a family might move again and again, looking for space, access to work, reasonable rent, or even just to escape a hostile landlord.
In search of security, they might try to buy a house they can't afford and live with the hardship and fear for the possible loss of their asset.
This is where the government must step in. People deserve housing they can afford and a context in which they may flourish.
It is up to the government. It must take responsibility to guide housing design towards creating homes and neighbourhoods that can allow people to live in comfort and security and move into the world with pride and confidence.
Home is where the heart is, and good homes are the cornerstones of a happy and creative society.
Diane Percy is a teacher, mother and grandmother.
