Over the years the Viharamahadevi Park and its environs have become a safe haven for Colombo’s ageing homeless. While elderly men and women, seated under trees or sleeping on park benches are now a common sight amidst the hustle and bustle of a developing Colombo city, it is also perhaps a sign of the increasing numbers of homeless among the country’s ageing population.
Kadiresan (75) sits under a tree in the Viharamahadevi Park. He spends his days in the park, waiting for any handouts by generous people passing by. Kadiresan said he had trekked from his hometown of Nawalapitiya to Colombo at the age of 16 in search of employment.
“I was the only boy in the family and I wanted to earn and look after my family,” he said. He later found work as a waiter in a Colombo restaurant. While his earnings were too little to escape the clutches of poverty, he is now unable to work due to his advanced age, leaving him no option but to live on the streets. Though he and his late wife were blessed with two children, Kadiresan says he cannot be a burden on his children now.
“They are estate workers and do not earn enough even for themselves,” he said. Therefore, he decided to live out his last days on the streets and depend on the kindness of strangers.
“The people who pass by give me money or a packet of lunch and that is enough to get by,” he said.
Kadiresan’s story is the unheard, unseen misery of a marginalised and ageing community in Sri Lanka. While homelessness has become a modern-day universal issue it tells the story of their daily struggle to survive. Homeless people are often stigmatised as dangerous who as aresult go unheard and unnoticed.
Speaking to the Sunday Observer Prof. Siri Hettige from the Department of Sociology of the University of Colombo said, “Sri Lanka has been talking about ‘Poverty Eliminating Programs’ since 1987 and ‘Housing Development Projects’ are popular now. There would be no reason to talk about homelessness if there had been action.
“People in Sri Lanka should not necessarily be homeless. Their circumstances have made them homeless,” he said, adding that among them are those who became homeless because they were unable to pay rent, others were driven away by their children as they became aged and infirm. He said that it is the government’s responsibility to meet their requirements.
Hettige believes that Sri Lanka has the capacity to solve this problem.“Unlike India, we have fewer numbers of homeless people. If you observe the high-riseing skyscrapers in the country, clearly we have more than enough money to invest in resolving this issue,” he said.
He said that ‘Social Housing Programs’ be launched for people who cannot help themselves as homelessness of the aged is a growing issue that needs immediate solutions.
The lack of a permanent dwelling and adequate houses leads to a host of other issues such as alcoholism, mental illness, health problems, relationship breakdowns, and violence. But what must be noted is that homelessness is not a willing choice made by those living on the streets.
Antony (67) is another homeless person who whiles away his days at the park. Once employed as a Security Guard, he had spent his life in rented homes. Hit by paralysis he was admitted to the hospital by his children only to be abandoned thereafter. “My wife also left me 10 years ago. I can’t work now as I am weak after my illness,” he said.
On most days Antony spends his day at the park. At night he finds shelter at the bus halt nearby. “At the beginning, the police would ask me to leave, but now they don’t as I’ve continued staying there for a long time,” he said.
Many elders become homeless because they can no longer afford paying rent and also because their children refuse to take care of them. According to government sources, many older patients in hospitals, despite recovery,(like Antony) are not taken back by their families.
Kumarasiri suffers from a limb fracture. “Six months ago I was injured while fixing a roof. My children are not aware that this happened to me. And I can’t remember where they are,” said, he as tears welled up in his eyes.
According to Director, Provincial Social Service, Western Province, A. Thamarika Harshani many community organisations have been set up to help the homeless. “Volunteers, donors and government departments provide provisions for food, shelter and clothing,” she said adding that however fulfilling these basic needs aren’t sufficient to combat homelessness.
“There are other ways to change the lives of the homeless,” she said. According to her the most practical method in clearing the city of its beggars is by having them arrested by the police under the Vagrants‘Ordinance and handing them to nearby rehabilitation centres under a court order.
“We rehabilitate the able-bodied homeless men by engaging them in agriculture, while the women are trained to make handicrafts and handloom items,” she explained.
However, she claimed certain areas in Sri Lanka lack facilities and the resources to rehabilitate the homeless. “This issue can be resolved very easily if this operation is initiated island wide,” she said.
Harshani believes that providing skills development and work opportunities is the main solution in reducing homelessness. She also suggests that these persons can collect and sell returnable bottles and cans to recycling centres, which is also a good way to reduce environmental pollution while helping them earn an income in the process.
“Starting programs such as these will help them feel like members of the community and will also change society’s point of view on them,” she said. It will also stop homeless people from being vulnerable to criminal activities and protect their rights as human beings, she said.
Pix Ranjith Asanka