Urban homeless reveal loose ends of China's urbanization
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E-mail Xinhua, October 3, 2013
Xiaoxiao dashed around his mother, twisting through the crowd for recyclable bottles and hovering expectantly as people nearby drank the last drops of their beverages.
At seven, the tanned, skinny boy is already the right hand of his mother, Yan Chunhua, a bottle collector outside the Beijing West Railway Station.
The duo scavenge around the station every day and sleep in the square outside at night. They are among the station's sizable group of homeless dwellers who grind out a meager living by begging and scavenging.
Xiaoxiao has no family name -- his father disappeared after raping his mother, who was at that time roaming the Beijing streets after her sister-in-law drove her out of her home in rural Hebei Province.
Upon arrival, Yan believed the glitzy metropolis was a land of opportunity, but she soon realized the city, known for its exorbitant house prices and living costs, had no room for a penniless single mother.
"We are not even welcomed at the square. Some scrap collectors threatened they would hurt us if we stepped into their turf," said the 45-year-old woman.
The mother and son make a living by collecting empty bottles and selling them to salvage stations. On their best day, they collected 80 bottles, which brought in an income of roughly six yuan (98 U.S. cents).
"Some people told me begging would bring me more money, but I just can't kneel at the roadside with my son begging for mercy. I don't want him to become a beggar," the mother said.
Yan had considered schooling for Xiaoxiao, but eventually gave up the idea as Beijing's public schools only enroll children with residential status, and tuition at private institutions is far beyond their means.
"I heard even many children of white-collar parents can't go to school, let alone Xiaoxiao."
Like Yan, many homeless here are former farmers who have failed to find jobs in the city. Lacking a Beijing "hukou," or residential status, they do not qualify for the basic living subsidies or other welfare benefits provided by the city.
Sociologists said the increasing urban homeless population has become a prominent issue as China experiences rapid urbanization, which has sent massive waves of rural people into cities.
"Many rural residents who flock to cities are unskilled or unable to adapt to urban life. They can't find jobs like other migrant workers and thus become homeless," said Xia Xueluan, sociology professor with Peking University.
"Meanwhile, many cities are not well-prepared. Their governments lack effective measures, like job training, to properly handle this group of people," Xia said.
FORLORN AND UNATTENDED
Many homeless at the railway station come from broken families and have not been covered by any social security programs. They have no savings to tide them over when old age or disease prevent them from employment.
Zhou Lianjia, a 69-year-old scavenger at the station, was left with no income or pension when his two sons sold his village house 20 years ago but refused to provide for him.
The farmer from Hebei has roamed in several cities, including Beijing, fending for himself by scavenging. But his old age and worsening health have taken their toll recently. He has only been able to earn one yuan per day by collecting bottles and has survived by eating others' leftovers.
"I wish to go home, but I don't know if my children are willing to provide for me," he said.
Liu Huaide, who was found at a filthy, fetid corner behind the station's notice board, is a reminder that bad luck can also wreak havoc on urban poor who are unprotected by the social safety net.
The 55-year-old man, suffering a tumor in his throat, could only murmur vague details about his life. His swollen hands cannot move and his legs ache with arthritis when walking.
The former lathe operator at a state-owned factory in Liaoning Province was laid off after a cerebral thrombosis made him too sick to work. He visited Beijing for better treatment in 2009, but the hefty medical bills dried up his savings in just a few months.
The man ended up on the street, having no relatives to turn to.
"I miss Liaoning. I miss my home, but I'm afraid I could never return home in this life," he said.
SEEKING HELPING HANDS
According to a Ministry of Civil Affairs report, China provided about 2.77 million times of aids to urban homeless and beggars in 2012. But experts said many homeless were still beyond the reach of official aid.
Zhou and many other homeless said they have never been approached by the city's homeless shelters, and some remain skeptical about the facilities.
"Perhaps the government can't take all the people like me into care because there are so many. Besides, the facility can't offer medical treatment, so it's pointless for me to go there," Zhou said.
Wang Changlun, director of the administrative authority of the city's homeless shelters, said Beijing has established institutions in every district and county to provide board and lodging for the homeless.
However, the homeless can only receive aid for up to ten days and will be persuaded to leave the city and return to their hometowns, Wang said, citing a State Council guideline on aid for urban homeless and beggars.
"There are indeed some homeless who resent our aid. They make a living by begging and don't want to be sent back to their rural homes," Wang said.
But despite the lack of access to sustainable government aid, the homeless at the station said they nevertheless have been supported by the city's many "kind-hearted people."
Some strangers routinely visit the station's square to deliver food to the homeless, and sympathetic local business owners give them goods and services free of charge, according to Zhou and Yan.
As Xinhua reporters followed Xiaoxiao as the boy searched for bottles, a man on a scooter tucked over a dozen yuan into his hand and left without a word.
"I know him. He often gives us money, but we don't know his name," Xiaoxiao said.
Liu Ming, a laid-off taxi driver, routinely sends food to Lei Kuidian, a 92-year-old veteran soldier who begs outside the railway station.
The old man refused to make any criticism against the government. He said he was satisfied with his current life, but cried when a man robbed him of his coin pot last year. A young stall owner chased half a block to retrieve the pot for him.
"It's hard for me not to help when I see his hardship, but what folks like me can do is really of little help," Liu said.
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