Public shelter agrees to take in homeless Bahraini

Manama: A homeless Bahraini man is living in misery, as he’s living on the asphalt of the alleys of old Manama area, which is his only shelter for months now. However, a government shelter has pledged to take him in, even if he refuses to cooperate.

Mohammed (name changed), who furnishes an alley in Al Fadhel area in old Manama, has been sitting in the same spot for many months, unable to walk or move to make a living.

Notified by a concerned reader, this reporter went to the spot and met the old man.

“A free soul hates to be alone, that’s why I love to stay here on the streets,” that’s the first thing he told this newspaper around 10 days ago.

Meeting him for the second time, he said his name is Mohammed and that he’s not holding any valid identity proof.

“I’m over ninety years old and for someone of my age, such details are just useless fragments of life,” the man said.

Suffering from diabetes, as he claimed, unable to walk, the man said he’s happy to be sitting day and night in one of the old city’s alleys.

Despite rickety limbs and joints, the sickened man refused to move an inch from the old piece of rug he’s using as a bed, sofa and a “home.”

When DT News suggested to take him to hospital, the man strongly refused, saying, “After living all this time as an effective person in the city, I’d rather spend the rest of my life watching how life rapidly develops within the behaviours of the people.”

Soaked in his urine, the status of the one-eyed old man forced us to contact the only government-supported shelter for homeless people in the country, Dar Al Karama Centre in East Riffa.

Representative and social specialist at the centre told us that “no homeless Bahraini is left stranded without the centre’s help.”

“Even if he’s not cooperating, we will send a police patrol to pick him up and bring him to the shelter, especially that he isn’t moving due to an apparent disability,” the spokesperson said.

However, until this report was written, the man remained in the same spot, living off passersby’s donations.

While speaking to DT News, he said that he worked in the constructions field and that he’s originally from East Riffa.