Hope is an Undermined Word

I have been having small chats with the homeless people in streets as I passed by them, and there is one answer that they all had in common to my question:

What is your biggest daily struggle?

"The lack of social interaction, being neglected and feeling lonely. To conform to a norm and fit back into the world."

Not the freezing cold and rainy weather, not discomfort or a ceilinged room, but recognition. The ability to express and engage in a conversation with others.

I have come to realise that rejection is a suppressor to all kinds of manhood.

There is one homeless man that I had the privilege to speak to almost everyday because he crosses my passageway, and I asked him today, "What was your goal this morning to achieve today?", "To survive until the next morning." I was struck by his answer; there is a common goal amongst us all human beings, and we are being supported by each other without realising that we are spreading hope. However, those who live each day without a companion must suffer from the most daunting task, in which by no means their lone voices to help them psychologically hold on and never give up – Hope is an undermined word.

Copyright © 2021 Yara Aljefri