As the World Cup approaches, numerous homeless individuals in Atlanta are expressing significant discontent regarding their treatment during this high-profile event. One resident shared, “A lot of our community has been pushed out by the World Cup. We’re not just dollar signs, we’re more than that. We’re people and we’re frustrated that they’ve chosen to treat us less than human.”
Another man recounted a troubling experience, stating, “They dropped me off there in the middle of the night. They call them Mormon centres or whatever, but it ain’t nothing but a warehouse of cops. It looked like a Fema camp. When I saw it, I left, I walked all the way back here. It’s because of the World Cup. They’re trying to make it look good for tourists. They don’t want the eyesores around.”
On the same day that FIFA President Gianni Infantino traveled to Qatar for the funeral of the former Emir, Donald Trump was at his golf resort in Virginia. Reports surfaced about a homeless encampment being cleared at Freedom Park, situated near one of Atlanta’s World Cup fan zones. City workers arrived unexpectedly to remove tents and belongings from those living there.
A city official remarked that Freedom Park was not an officially designated encampment, which led to the bypassing of usual procedures. This clearance was described as
