Many decades ago, the English author George Orwell published a story on the topic of poverty from the tramp’s perspective in London and Paris. Uncountable years later, similar stark situation continue to come about in many places such as London, Paris and my hometown. Surprisingly, we got used to their presence and stopped thinking about them. How come?
(The ad on the window says: 'Come in: the world is yours'. That is the irony...
Photo by the author)
Yesterday I saw an animal
at the dirty courtyard
looking for food in heaps of trash.
When got something,
it did not examine nor smell the food:
just swallowed with veracity.
The animal was not a dog,
it was not a cat,
it was not a rat,
oh God, the animal was a man.
(The animal - Manuel Bandeira)
The lights in Curitiba flash on and off like fireflies in the meadow as the night drifts on. Crowds of people patrolling the cobbled streets start to dissipate slowly. After a hard day’s work people flock back to their cosy homes in order to enjoy a few well-earned comforts. The once bustling city is now lulled by the peaceful sound of the cold breeze.
But Maurício can not permit himself to relax. There is no reprieve for him until three o’clock in the morning. At the traffic light, in the middle of the street he stands to keep asking for alms and juggling with his four small balls to get some money.
Judging by his appearance, everyone would say he is 10, but he is 16. Streets have been his corner for over 10 fatiguing years. He left home because he got into an argument with his father. “My mother used to be soundly beaten by him. I could not stand that anymore”.
At every question made, the taste of the talk becomes more and more bitter. A day he gets nearly 70 cents. He uses this amount to buy food and drug. Since 9 he is addicted to crack cocaine rocks. He takes bath in park fountains and his mattress is the sidewalk. In the stupor of the drug, the hardness of the streets is not felt anymore.
And about Curitiba’s cold that won fame in Brazil? Well, he simply says that “the cold is cold”. Smiling sweetly, while the flowers are swaying in the breeze, he runs up to the traffic light in the hope that some more cents will come to his hands.
(Photo by the author)
Urban phantoms
On the margin of society, they wandered aimlessly around Curitiba’s bustling streets. Almost without any form or colour, in rags with their sweaty few possessions, urban hermits they are. They seem somewhat invisible for most of us. Our apathy, almost inertia when used to their shades, ends up sealing the prevailing inequality.
My worldwide famous city alone is believed to have over 3 thousand homeless people hanging about like Maurício, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Combat. 88% does not receive any sort of assistance. But, contrary to what most of us may think, the majority of them (72%) practices some sporadic professional activity in order to get some money, like gardening or collecting recyclable materials.
The crashing majority of us tend not to like them. The reason is quite simple to sketch. Their presence does not tire of constantly reminding us of how greedy and selfish our society is (and we are). Besides that, the fault for the ever growing waves of violence in some Brazilian cities falls to them.
But, come on. Homeless people are beaten socially, economically and psychologically. They are got trapped by a routine which makes thought impossible.
Of course, there are the bad guys. That, I can not deny. However, these are few in comparison to the most part of street people. Some are struggling with mental illness, others are alcoholics or addict.
If we lived their lives every single day, with no friends or family, no home to live in and no proper nourishment to keep their brains healthy, perhaps we would drink ourselves in a blissful stupor too.
“Go and get a job!”, some would say pointedly.
Well, I am sorry, but I am afraid it is not that easy. Most of homeless people are defeated by depression, they can not read nor do basic math calculations. So, how to invert this stark reality?
Systematic measures have to be taken, giving access to basic human rights and improving them gradually. Some NGOs and many religious groups are at the head of this struggle here in Brazil. However, what such human rights defenders do will not solve rough sleeping in the long run. It only diminishes the current suffering street people endure.
Eager to listening to these fading urban phantoms, I have hit the streets of Curitiba for TH!NK 3.
In the downtown, another figure that catches my attention amidst the crowd is a middle-aged man. His name, which I would come to know a bit after, is José Oliveira, 32 years old. Surprised for being the focus of someone’s attention, he receives me warmly and invites me to seat beside him on a bench.
“I am from a small town in Piauí [Northeast of Brazil] called Alta Lagoa”, he tells with a sparkle of joy in his eyes for remembering his home. “I had come to Curitiba to get a better life, like many other people from my region”.
In order to come to Curitiba, almost the other side of the country, José sold many of his goods and borrowed money from his relatives. “The only thing I want is a job to pay everyone I owe and to have my wife and my children (3) with me”.
When asked for how long he has been in this situation, he opens a wide grin and tell: “I’m a beginner in this business. If not mistaken, I’m here only a month and a half”.
“May I take a photo of you?”, I ask almost begging. But he does not want it. He is afraid of people recognizing him.
I had the opportunity to dishonestly take the photo, but I could not be that dishonest with a person that received me and answered honestly to all my questions. It was the least I could do.
In the meanwhile, hope for João, Maurício and all the others enduring the same distressing situation is waning rapidly. Day after day they ask themselves what the future reserves to them. That is the only thing left in their total control.
(Photo by Henrique Kugler, a friend of mine)
(Featured image by ScrapeTV)
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Further information: http://development.thinkaboutit.eu/think3/post/squatting_becoming_a_more_attractive_proposition_for_many/
Graphic writing Luan. Congrats on this post.
I love the pictures!
I love how personal and emotional your stories are.
Well, as to the problem in Poland, I have some friends who wanted to help the homeless people out but they always kept rejecting any constructive help like accommodation or providing a job.
It’s just convenient sometimes, it is a way of life.
@Helena,
Such a problem happens in the Philippines, too. You are right. It’s a way of life. That’s why genuine help must be toward something sustainable.
@Iris, thanks so much for your gentle comment.
@Andrea, thank you! I still have to improve a lot. We all will always have to.
@Helena, Thanks for your kind comment. About what you said, it happens here in Brazil as well.
As @Iris mentioned, it is a way of life sometimes. It makes me think if homeless people will always exist, since they’ve been marking presence in almost all the cities over the world for many, many years, decades.
What I wanted to show was the other side. People that have ‘no’ choice. At least in Brazil, many would be out of the streets if there wasn’t the lack of governmental services.
That is just a reflection, I believe.
Well, regarding sustainable help, I reckon that it is quite challenging, although the best solution so far.
Now, the thing is: whose responsibility is it? I wanna hear from you.
Keep such traggering-discussion-comments coming!
Very warmly written story, Luan. It reminded me of my own experience with people who have no home.
I was volunteering for a charity magazine here in the UK, and I met some homeless people from Poland, Romania and Lithuania. They all came here to create a better life, had borrowed money and left families waiting for them to start sending bags of pounds, which never came. There were no jobs, the money soon finished, and these people got trapped in a foreign country, relying on charities to spend a night in and get a meal. My topic was “why don’t they go home?”, back to their countries? Well, the reasons were simple: shame, first. Strong belief that the UK is still better than home, second. Even if you are here in the charity hostel without any chance to get a job anytime soon, I asked. Yes was the answer. Back home, not even a charity hostel would wait for them. So they try again, and try, and try.
very good point, Giedre.
Thank you Helena. To continue the discussion, on the other hand, I was told by a woman who has a coming-back-home (in her case, to Poland) charity that most people who end up homeless have alcohol and other substances abuse problem. She mentioned 80-90%. So these people get stuck completely, and the only way out is to forget your situation while drunk or high. Many see it as a double failure…
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Giedre. Very insightful.
Here in Brazil we have similar situation with Argentinians and Bolivians. Even in poverty, Brazil is considered to be better than home for them. As you mentioned, mostly there is nothing waiting for them in their homeland.
Fantastic writing, and very insightful. Good work, Luan!
There is so much poverty around us, and we do our best not to see it… it is a shame really.
@Giedre Your comments are interesting. I also ask myself the same question sometimes… but maybe it is more shameful to be homeless ‘at home’... being abroad at least offers anonymitiy.
There is a big discussion in Scandinavia right now about how the police should deal with homeless people from Eastern Europe. Some people call for just rounding them up and sending them home… (I do not, I hope you understand
) Other’s say that we are resonsible for all people living here, no matter where they are born. I basically agree witht that,But it is a real problem - in the end someone must pay the social security, and I think that the discussion is really too emotional most of the time. Maybe there should be some kind of European social security covering you within the EU, no matter where you live… A social fund that both Swedes and ROmanians and Bulgarians pay money to, but differnt amounts due to the wealth of their countries…
@Luan, sorry for deviating form your topic, I should write my own blog post about this
@Daniel, yeah you are right, it might be more shameful to be homeless at home. My interviewees all said their families didn’t know their real situation, they were told some lies of “staying at friends” and “having job interviews”. Coming back empty-handed was not an option. One man showed me pictures of his three daughters - imagine how sad was that..
They also hinted at another problem: some “local homeless”, from England, are not very happy that people from Poland or Lithuania take up “their” places at charity homeless hostels. I think that’s similar to some attitudes in Scandinavia you describe. As for solutions… I’m not sure creating new institutions would work, I guess charities take the responsibility. Should they? Donno..
Btw, @gang, have you heard about The Big Issue? This is a great initiative here in the UK. It’s a lifestyle-current affairs kinda magazine, sold in the streets by homeless people. They buy it for 70 or 80p, and sell it for 1.50. They are all certified sellers, and the idea is to help them earn their own money by working and thus this is hoped to lead them back to the other life.
Yes, we have the same kind of newspaper in Sweden, called “Aluma”. I think it is a version of the same idea as the Big Issue. I think it is a really great initiative
Guys, sorry for my delay in joining the discussion.
@Daniel, thanks for your kind comment.
We do not like to see it, to see them, as they remind us of our incompetence dealing with big and quite complex issues like this one. Our (very human) incapacity is like a family heirloom.
Sorry guys, today I’m a bit of a pessimist.
Continuing: Daniel, there is nothing to be sorry about. That is our aim here, discussing things and putting together local perspectives to get a better global one.
@Giedre, thanks for the British perspective. I had no idea about how it is like over there. Impressed to know all about these local homeless people. By any chance do you know if there are some sort of clashes between the two groups?
And great initiative that you mentioned. We definitely do not have it in Brazil. We should.
Hello Luan,
THanks a lot for your article. I’m a french student in journalism and I’ll be in Curitiba from July to December at the journalism university for a student exchange.
Could you tell me more about that city? Could we be penpals so that it would help me prepare my journey?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Friendly.
Edwige Géraldo: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Hi Edwige Géraldo,
Thanks for your comment. I can for sure help you in that.
Let’s talk by email from now on, ok?
Cheers,
Luan