Homeless

This post is a translation of my other post in Chinese.  I wrote that to share my personal reaction toward a recent incident in Taiwan: the municipal administration used water jets to drive away homeless people in the park in a cold evening.

Please note that since this is a direct translation from the original Chinese post, the composition flow may not be as natural to English readers. Please bear with me and hear out what I have to say, if you are interested in reading this anyway.

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When I moved from Southern California to Philadelphia for my graduate study in 1998, I was shocked to see so many homeless people. I witnessed a country in which the rich can personally own a hill, while the poor would seek food in the garbage can.  While some spend their afternoons watching seagulls with their beer on the beach, some others try to survive a cold night by staying close to the external vent of a building's heater.

街友

(English readers, you may be interested in my English translation of this post.)

記得1998年從美國西岸加州到美國東岸費城讀書時，第一次見到眾多的遊民，大為震憾。美國這個國家，有人富有到坐擁山頭，有人窮到得從垃圾筒翻出別人吃剩的便當出來填肚子；有人每天下午到海灘看沙鷗喝啤酒，有人每天晚上得縮在高樓旁的暖氣通風口取暖度冬夜。

那時候我很幸運，獎學金夠我過日子，也夠幫一兩位社區內的街友多買個便當。日子久了，和他們聊起來，才知道他們幫國家打仗受傷，戰後政府沒有好好照顧他們，他們寶貴的年輕時間都在戰場上耗掉了，退伍後年紀大要再回學校已是很困難。付擔不起房租，所以居無定所；想要好好老實找份工作，大部份的業主看到他們沒有個固定的住址，都不願意給他們機會。收容所的環境很不好，通風不良，傳染病問題嚴重，生了病很難好，再加上收容所的工作人員對待這些遊民的人態度極度不佳，讓他們寧可餐風露宿，也不願自尊被人踐踏。