Night of the Homeless

(Baonghean.vn) - No roof, no bed, only dust, cold dew, but they still huddled in a tired sleep after a hard day's work.

After 10pm, when the traffic on the road becomes deserted, the hustle and bustle of the day seems to fade away, Mr. Huong (64 years old) begins to find his familiar place to sleep on the sidewalk. For more than a year now, his place to rest every night is in front of the porch of a sports equipment store on Dao Tan Street.

After a day of making a living, the homeless people start looking for a place to sleep. Photo: Thanh Cuong

More than 10 years ago, he left his hometown Duc Tho (Ha Tinh) and followed his fellow countrymen to Vinh City to make a living. Every day he collected scrap to sell for money to buy food, and at night he cleaned up the store in exchange for a place to sleep. Mr. Huong said that before, he was chased away wherever he went, but after coming here, he asked to help clean up the store and was able to sleep in front of this house.

Mr. Huong huddled on the porch of a sports goods store. Photo: Thanh Cuong

This year, nearly 66 years old, several decades ago, Mrs. Vu Thi Ha (Kim Bang, Ha Nam) left her hometown to wander around in search of food and then stopped in Vinh City. With no home, she lived by begging. Every day, she carried her hat and a cane and "worked" around Vinh market or at intersections in the city, returning to Cua Tien Bridge at night.

The homeless are also familiar with names like Mr. Thin, who sells cotton swabs and lives in front of a store on Cao Thang Street; Mr. Trung, 58 years old, paralyzed in one leg, begs during the day and sleeps on the sidewalk on Le Hong Son Street at night; Mr. Minh, a "scraper" who often sleeps on the sidewalk near the Shanghai Hotel... This group of homeless people, considered "neighbors", have lived on the sidewalks in Vinh City for decades.

They mainly make a living by begging or collecting scrap metal. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition to Mr. Huong and Mrs. Ha, who have had fixed sleeping places for a long time because the owner loves them, there are also people who move here and there. The fight over sleeping places and areas of activity also happens frequently. "Finding a place to sleep is difficult, keeping it for a long time is even more difficult. Sometimes when children or old women come to ask for a place to sleep, I feel so sorry that I have to give it up, but 2 or 3 people can't sleep here, it's too cramped, so I volunteer to find another place," said Mr. Thin, who sells cotton swabs. According to him, there are also healthy people who initially come to ask for a place to sleep, then later try to invite friends to take over the sleeping place, so fights also happen frequently.

He continued, although in the homeless community there are unwritten rules such as not trespassing on each other's "business" territory, not fighting over sleeping places, and rarely asking about the past, if one wants to live in peace, everyone must tacitly comply. "However, there are still people who break the law, so it is difficult for many people to live in peace," said Mr. Thin.

Each person has a story and a difficult situation, most of them have decided to live a life of wandering, sleeping on the ground. During the day, they wander around begging, working for hire, collecting scrap... at night they wander around looking for a place to sleep. When asked about the origin of this wandering life, most of them shook their heads and did not say anything, and for them, it is a story that must be buried and "anywhere is home" is what they have determined for a long time, "when I am sick and cannot go anymore, I will find a way back to my hometown" said Mr. Thin.

Using a nylon jacket to block the wind, Mr. Minh "scrap collector" fell into a fitful sleep. Photo: Thanh Cuong

For young homeless women, life on the streets is much more difficult. They often face danger and abuse.

Although life wandering the streets and markets is full of uncertainties, and many of them have been admitted to social welfare centers or transferred back to their hometowns, after a short time they still escape and wander around doing all kinds of jobs to make a living.

Thanh Cuong