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Greenwich's Millennium
Dome | |
Scene of pomp, ceremony and great controversy in
2000, Greenwich's Millennium Dome is back in use - as Crisis' main
Christmas shelter for the homeless.
"I name this the Dome Hotel," says John Cohen, 72, as he makes his way
through the vast Millennium Dome in Greenwich.
"It beats the Ritz, Claridges or the Dorchester. It's absolutely
marvellous."
This is John's 20th year at the homeless charity's London Christmas
project.
He no longer sleeps rough,
having found a flat 10 years ago, but still comes along "to show my
respect for those who looked after me.
"And," he says, "because otherwise I'd be sat at home looking at four
walls. I love to come here because of the wonderful warm welcome."
Of six homeless shelters open across London from 23-30 December, the
Dome is the main one.
Under greying roof fabric the charity has set up a place to sleep for
about 1,200 people.
And along one side of the huge structure, volunteers staff a
comprehensive health centre - with dentists, opticians, podiatrists and dependency
counsellors.
There are also housing advisers, TV rooms, a hairdresser and a clothing
pick-up stall.
Crisis found out the Dome was available to use less than a month ago
and the set up took just five days. It replaces a more-compact warehouse
used in previous years.
The charity's boss, Shaks Ghosh, breaks off from pointing one homeless
lady in the direction of where she can get shoes, and says the place looks
"stunning".
"I hope for a lot of people it will be that moment when they think 'I
am on my upward spiral'," she says.
"If you take people to a grungy warehouse, it doesn't give them the
confidence or enthusiasm to start the rest of their life.
"This is inspirational."
(Agencies) |
倫敦格林威治半島的千禧穹頂曾是2000年的一大爭論焦點。今天，這座為千禧盛典而建的雄偉建筑重新投入使用，成為Crisis慈善機構為倫敦的無家可歸者提供的最主要的圣誕庇護所。
72歲的約翰·科恩在前往宏偉的格林威治千禧穹頂時說：“我叫它‘穹頂旅館’。”
“它超越了里茲大飯店、克拉瑞芝酒店和多切斯特飯店。它絕對是一個奇跡。”
至今，約翰已經在這個露宿者慈善機構的倫敦圣誕節收容機構里呆了20個年頭了。
他在10年前就找到了一間公寓，從此不必再在公園過夜了，但他仍然會來這兒過圣誕，“以示對那些照顧過我的人的敬意”。
“況且，如果我不來，那只能坐在家里空對著四面墻壁。我喜歡來這兒，因為這里的工作人員會很熱情地歡迎你。”
從12月23日到30日，倫敦共開設了六家露宿者臨時收容所，千禧穹頂是其中最主要的一個。
該慈善組織在灰白色的穹頂下建立了一個“據點”，一共可以容納1200個人在此過夜。
在這座巨大建筑物的一側，志愿者們正在一個健康綜合中心忙碌，他們中有牙醫、眼鏡商、足科醫生和咨詢顧問。
除此以外，這里還設有住宿咨詢處、電視室、理發室和賣衣服的貨攤等。
就在不到一個月前，Crisis才發現了千禧穹頂的利用價值，整個布置工作只用了五天時間。千禧穹頂取代了前幾年一直用的一個更為擁擠的大倉庫。
Crisis慈善機構的領導人Shaks Ghosh正在指點一位無家可歸的女士去哪兒領取鞋子，他中斷手中的工作說：這個地方看上去“真不錯”。
她說：“我希望在那一刻，很多人能感到‘我的生活狀態是不斷向上的’。”
“如果你把人們帶到一個又臟又舊的倉庫，那不會激起他們開始新生活的信心或熱情。”
“這里會賦予人們靈感和啟示。”
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-12-27 09:57