Extreme poverty in Hong Kong: homeless life on a footbridge

Tiffan my dear daddy thumbs on the jamuna mean the physical ailment yeah - Herrera Topanga lemare momentum and I this has been home to 63 year old when Vance on for more than a year he is among the 17 homeless people who live on this bridge along Yin Chao Street in sham Shui PO Hong Kong's poorest district he's an engineer he's an just so called empathy for lambda far there's at some some GD door they're teeny or totally shook on a big power container they follow me a dozen moves animals away young-ran mulazim prophecy they take on an important but the beginning but in a lava charcoal in the 2000s when began having trouble finding the sort of physical labor he did when he was younger he then started selling smuggled cigarettes and was jailed five times for repeat offenses straining his relationship with his wife and two daughters take a mojo mojo Hong Kong property is the most expensive in the world the monthly rent for low-quality subdivided flats even smaller than a car park space can cost more than four thousand Hong Kong dollars or 509 US dollars while public housing has a five and a half year long waiting list the majority of the homeless community is made up of men but government data has shown an increase in the number of female homeless people in past four years Eppie Yip is one of them Okeanos I mean but you know Joseph's Care some channels and a bunny [Music] yeah well yeah oh yeah come on Nigel hold her get something going standing there goes your on a more okay she did that Jack jumped oh you know yeah do you make sunshine on oh yeah oh no spin it of Allah yeah your man come on the only thing gonna head to you you know nothing move - are you like a default you got coming to you and my mom alone yeah bro you gotta have I knew that Jojo real from yeah my name often walks I mean you thought I would say yeah the footbridge is one of the 11 underutilized foot bridges in Hong Kong pedestrians can cross the road at the zebra crossing right beside it the area's district office routinely conduct screening and rubbish removal when the homeless violate laws and elicit complaints from the local community they were ordered to leave the bridge by mid-july okay you Yip has been waiting for public housing for more than 10 years in that time he's tried living in subdivided flats but prefers sleeping on the street or the moxa from tomorrow SoCo finito may you gotta jump in while you enjoy an amateur for more than maybe five funny so to my little friend come Lord Jim my moto choco sangria Tommy Santorelli pay to see you ama are they talking except for a young man it took piace Lavanya or you know tell about your mother we're gonna pay ya hemos afternoon that's all right darling they dumb ugly ones I don't want a year there were 1127 homeless people in Hong Kong in 2017 according to the Social Welfare Department but independent studies suggest that the population might be double that figure many can't afford to rent a home because of the lack of affordable housing in Hong Kong they are unemployed or have difficulties finding long-term work because of mental or physical illness drug addiction or criminal records being homeless in over 60 when receives just 3485 Hong Kong dollars or 444 u.s. dollars a month in public assistance handy I knew you were you hunting what is your water source implicant of owner there you go get more who sound Oliver Stone told you know anyone the accounting gimmick simple human who donate or EMT say cotton defin where I am the llama de catalunya mawlana now he too much oil is it without it almost ideal [Music] social workers and volunteers from different organizations deliver food and daily necessities to the homeless people from time to time for Jason Aldean a faculty sample like Madonna Pena young by Ian one somewhere I may be home later women who may consider Romana a little movement around a man and own little solomon and also some of the one oh I would even know I think I think a corner for your I feel for you all 17 people who were living on the footbridge have now gone the entrance is sealed many of them moved to a nearby park when left the bridge and we haven't been able to find him before the clearance he told us his life would continue just the way it is epi is now off the streets living with a friend and doing some temporary cleaning jobs she considered the clearance of the bridge as a new start I tell them and I gotta say all the rooms are out you can go down now you actually do a modern way bigger now don't freaking come come to each other now all right yeah I won't get more imaginable oh darling don't you get an or they were step by step get me a hollow heart take no until my life and you my lifetime [Music] you

Channel: South China Morning Post

Views: 1,420,228

Rating: 4.838129 out of 5

Keywords: Homeless, Hong Kong, footbridge, Sham Shui Po, neighbourhood, Hong Kong property, flats, subdivided flat, most expensive in the world, public housing, homeless in hong kong, life on a footbridge, hong kong homeless, hong kong homeless problem

Id: EBE2gMvzjzI

Length: 10min 0sec (600 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 05 2018