Homeless

Throughout cities in the far east I have seen a common sight…the homeless. I’ve been in many major US cities like New York, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans (before Katrina), San Diego, Seattle, and Portland. My impression of the US urban homeless is that they are either in a transitory state, addicts or mentally ill.

When I was at The Evergreen State College I wrote a short narrative non-fiction piece about the homeless in Olympia, Wa. About five times a week for a month I went to the local soup kitchen and tried to pose as a homeless person. I don’t think I fooled anyone but almost everyone was willing to talk to me. After all, they had a lot of time on their hands. Some were convicts that just became freed men not really knowing the next step. A lot of them were hard on their luck, coming from bad families, or general outcasts.

Here in Asia the homeless scene seems to be very different. You don’t see as many but when you do it’s painful. About 80% of the homeless beggars I’ve seen have missing limbs and they want you to see it. It hurts to walk by them without helping. But as I learned from my oldest sister, Angela, never give a homeless person money. Give them food or clothing or a helping hand. Angela worked one year for a Catholic Worker House in San Antonio TX. I visited her for 3 weeks and she gave me a first hand look at how the homeless operate.

But are the homeless in the US that much different from those in Asia? That question is going to take a lot more research than I have done. An article from China Daily stated that there is usually aid in urban settings for the homeless. However, most homeless are from rural areas and they are unaware of any relief organizations. A report written by a graduate student from Osaka City University said that urban homelessness is increasing because of the recent migrant movement in China.

Through my narrow research, it was difficult to find statistics or case studies on certain types of homeless. Maybe this research isn’t available because it’s a newer issue. I’ve always considered the Chinese to be very good at taking care of their own. It’s hard to find nursing homes in Asia. But modern China is on the move. For a young person to stay in the same place for a lifetime with a close social network is becoming a thing of the past.

Even though I’m uncertain about the homeless situation in Asia, I’m still reluctant to give out monetary handouts. I’ll be reverting back to my days in the US with food handouts. But the big difference is that in the US I haven’t run into many disabled beggars, and if they were handicap it wasn’t in my face. I’ll have to address my fears and remember that whatever the circumstance, we are all merely human.