Government priorities on display

Hero mistreated

A young man loses both legs and his left arm in Afghanistan and comes home to Britain in a wheelchair — after 30 operations. Obviously, he needs public assistance for him and his family. So what do authorities do? They put Private Alex Stringer, his 19-year-old fiancee and their two little girls, ages 3 and 1, in a tiny apartment on the 6th floor of a high-rise. Authorities told the disabled veteran that there is a 5-year waiting list for better housing for him — but the London Daily Mail pointed out “£1 million homes go to asylum seekers.”

Outrageous. If I were British, I would throw in a bloody or two.

First, the picture of Private Alex Stringer and his family:

I know, there is more to the story. Funds are scarce but it seems to me that if we are so willing to send young men and women into war — and the Afghanistan campaign had nearly unanimous support in the United States 10 years ago — then we ought to be willing to spend the extra money to make sure that they are taken care of should they be wounded as Private Alex Stringer. This is not just a British problem but a NATO one. It is difficult to make the case that Western ways are better than the Taliban when we mistreat our own like this. The Sunday Mirror pointed out that in July, Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: “When you’ve put your life on the line you should receive a hero’s welcome when you return home. We are determined to put these people at the front of the housing queue.”

Front of the queue turned out to be at the tail end of a five-year waiting list.

Private Alex Stringer is no whiner. He told the Sunday Mirror: “I knew the risks when I signed up and I have no complaints about what happened to me or the Army, who have been brilliant. But our flat is unsuitable for a triple amputee. The corridor is so narrow I bash into electric sockets, while I can’t even get into Millie’s bedroom or the kitchen. When I first woke up in hospital and realized I had lost three of my limbs I wasn’t fazed by it, I just felt, ‘Ah, well this is just a new stage in life’. But I want to be independent again. I rely on Danielle and friends for everything. It’s demoralizing.”

Not only is the apartment small and on the 6th floor, but the building’s elevator keeps breaking down.

The London Daily Mail went for the jugular: “As some families living solely on benefits are housed in multi-million-pound properties, the 20-year-old struggles in a flat so small he says he is unable to use his wheelchair indoors. He cannot get into the kitchen or his daughter’s bedroom, and when the lifts for the building break down, he has no way of entering or leaving his home in Chadwell St Mary, Essex. He said the council had installed a wet room but his injuries made sitting on a chair under the shower uncomfortable. The tiny apartment appears entirely unsuited to the soldier’s needs. In contrast, a family of refugees from Afghanistan lived in a £1.2 million, seven-bedroom London mansion paid for by an astonishing £3,000 a week in housing benefits.”

In my fantasy world, the Queen reads this and Private Alex Stringer and his family move in to Buckingham Palace for a few weeks while heads roll at the housing council. And by roll, I mean mean real old school. 16th century.