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Riverside Car park, Port of Spain |
They can be found around every corner of the city streets much like the number of bars or doubles stands.
They find comfort almost anywhere, I have even spotted some living in trees and within river canals. Most of them however prefer to lay back on the cold, rough, concrete pavements. Parks or squares are also quite famous destinations.
On my way to school I most often come across the car park in the above photo. It is the "Riverside car park" which I refer to as the vagrant hotel. It's a large old car park occupied by the homeless, who have made such a place into a home.
Some vagrants are more on the subtle side while others are quite unpleasant and dangerous.They are a major concern and threat to the safety of the public and something needs to be done to reduce their increasing numbers. Although there have been many attempts to rid them from the city streets and such a task may be difficult, I don't' believe much is being done at present.
There are so many homeless people all over the country who have been living on the streets for so many years, it is not uncommon to see a familiar face or to not know the name or nick name of some. Some vagrants are even famously known for their outlandish and sometimes comical behavior. They have become part of our everyday lives and we are forced to deal with their presence.
They are becoming accepted as part of the city's environment and this is one characteristic I am not proud of and hope to see be reduced in the future.
Michael Wolf photography of the homeless in Shinjuku Station
http://photomichaelwolf.com/#the-box-men-of-shinjuku-station/12
Its very interesting that the name of your post is "acceptance of vagrants", I'm not sure if you really accept them or if you consider them an outcast to society....Or is this post reflective of the view from the public? Your picture says so much , I've never seen this place before but with your description I can only imagine it.
ReplyDeleteAlso I thought the government was addressing this issue of vagrancy according to http://guardian.co.tt/news/2012-12-22/vagrant-removal-programme-%E2%80%98stutters%E2%80%99 but perhaps they aren't doing enough! Looking forward to more!
Thanks for commenting, I don't accept them but I said acceptance because the public, like you said, don't really seem to be doing much about it. You don't see anyone protesting for example, only when someone gets hurt then you hear something on the news. We kind of just let this slide by like it's a norm. The government did try to address the issue, but yes they aren't doing enough.It is a difficult issue to control though.
ReplyDeleteIt's really the social characteristic of the country given that many people do gravitate to larger cities for survival when they lose their stability, eh.
ReplyDeleteTheory? Any links to let us learn more about homelessness in TT?
Nice entry -- food for thought -- nice photo too.