The homeless in Miri

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The belongings of a homeless person stashed under the table at a public eatery.

 

THERE seem to be more homeless people in Miri.

Although they’re most conspicuous at night, some can be seen during the day, sitting at a corner or sleeping in the corridor of a shop along Old Man’s Street.

To most Mirians, the homeless are part of town life and as long as they do not cause any disturbance, they are left alone. But many concerned citizens have expressed misgivings about the presence of these street people in the Resort City.

Retired nurse M Soo (name has been changed) told thesundaypost, “I started working in Miri 30 years ago. I used to meet a big-sized woman coming around to sell lottery tickets. If you didn’t give her a ringgit, she would show her displeasure. I was told she was homeless.

“On Sundays, when my family and I went for breakfast after Mass, I would ask my children to drop some money into her tin. She would go away happy. I never saw her spending her money in coffee shops.”

Soo said homelessness in Miri has always been a community issue.

“The public would hand out some alms or tokens and feel good. The public expects families to come out and take their ‘homeless’ family members home but this seldom happens.”

Referring to one of the oldest homeless men in Miri, nicknamed ‘The Smiling Sun’, she said he would sleep at the Central Market at night, adding that he’s like a night watchman — never saying anything and never violent.

“People have been watching him and he is ageing very fast. At times, he would stand beside the rubbish bins, maybe looking for food. But usually, some kind persons would pass him an RM5 note.”

It is learnt that if these homeless people have mental health issues, the Welfare Department and the Health Department would do something to help them.

Tiong, an eatery owner, said obviously, there is something wrong with them otherwise they would not be roaming the streets.

“Some of them look strong. Why can’t they work or do something?”

However, she pointed out that those sleeping rough along Old Man’s Street did not disturb her customers.

 

Homeless young girls

Flora, head waitress in a local restaurant, lives with her family in Kampung Delight.

According to her, there was one girl who had worked for some time — about three years — with her.

This is the place where the homeless in Miri usually go to look for food and shelter at night.

She was a bit slow mentally and didn’t complete Primary 6. Her father made her work at the restaurant and would ask for the salary even before the middle of the month, Flora said.

“Before she came to work with us, the poor girl was supposed to be trained by a group of people to learn a skill but her father refused to let her continue after she spent a few months at a learning centre.

“She told me the teachers were good to her and she had proper meals. But her father took her away and forced her to work.

“After working with us, she disappeared. Last year, we saw her one night in Miri, looking lost. Another former waitress told me she became homeless.

“Someone said she was sent to Kuching by the police. That was the last time I heard about her,” Flora related. Her account could not be verified.

She said before Covid-19, many girls in Miri had asked to become waitresses and they could easily become homeless if the towkays did not take them in.

“With the pandemic now, they must be suffering if they have nowhere to go and no money. Most of them who have been working in Miri coffeeshops are from kampungs in the Baram or even as far as Bintulu.”

What Flora fears most is that they might fall victim to ill-treatment and abuse.

In Miri, these damsels in distress are usually seen around hotel areas, behind fruit hawker stalls near a nasi lemak shop, taxi bays, and even at the Central Market. They avoid places with night watchmen.

 

Finding shelters

Some of the homeless find shelter in suraus and mosques. A few have tried sleeping behind the old Resident’s Office.

Before Chinese New Year, an apparent homeless couple, with the wife in a wheelchair, would move around at the Central Market, High Street, and China Street.

A man sleeps along a corridor in front of a shop.

Mirians are generally kind-hearted and have given them donations and they seem to come to the city every day.

One High Street shopkeeper told thesundaypost, “We’re used to seeing homeless people. We give them a few ringgit but less to those who look stronger.”

Liu, who lives near the Central Market, said during the pandemic she and her sister would lock their staircase grille gate as early as possible.

Cardboard has been found on many of the open staircases, especially those leading to the first floor — apparently left by people who spent the night there.

“After we put up the grille gate, we feel safer and our staircase also becomes very clean,” Liu said. She recalled meeting one or two young homeless persons before Chinese New Year in the evening while sweeping her staircase.

She asked them what they were doing for Chinese New Year and they replied that they might stay at the bus terminal.

Liu was worried for them because they were not wearing any masks and only had a large backpack each.

 

Possible help

A Miri resident told thesundaypost many of his friends were thinking of setting up a centre for the homeless.

“A house can be rented from among the many which have been abandoned in the town centre. The house can be repurposed, fitted with bathrooms, a living room upstairs, and maybe even a dormitory where the homeless can sleep.

“They can register each time they come. They need some dignity even though they are homeless.

“Food and clothing should be no problem as we can foresee many well-wishers helping out, even by giving hygiene packs.”

On meals, he said a food programme could be easily set up, suggesting two persons could help to distribute at night.

Another resident observed, “Presently, many homeless people are found in Permyjaya and most are into drugs. So what they need is not only food but also counselling.

“A good daycare centre can provide counselling but if these homeless people hang out in the streets, the counsellors cannot do much and we don’t expect volunteers to go round hunting for the homeless.

“The homeless must be able to come to the centre for counselling. This is not easy for them, knowing their mindset, but if there’s a centre and they don’t feel threatened, they might come for help.”

Leadership and simple skills could also be taught at the centre to help younger homeless people stand on their feet.

 

Free of homelessness?

A city cannot be completely free of the homeless. In Kuala Lumpur, for example, people without a place to stay are found under bridges, along railway tracks, in nooks and crannies, old houses, and even rundown shops in the older parts of the city.

The city planners have tried their best and NGOs have also done a lot to help these people.

 

Programme for the homeless

A friend gave an example from Austin, Texas, USA, which has a programme to help the homeless.

Citing an NBC news report, she said Community First of Austin provides around 250 homeless people with a small home on a compact 27-acre lot, where one resident referred to her new home as 33.5 feet of linear bliss.

“The tiny neighbourhood also has a church, a garden, chicken coops, a theatre, and a medical centre. Residents must be able to prove they are homeless and submit to a criminal background check.

Some of the homeless stay at the Central Market, sleeping on top of canvas-covered stalls.

“Having a record, however, won’t disqualify a possible resident. The most expensive property rental on the lot is less than US$400 a month,” she added.

Two years ago, I visited San Francisco and saw many homeless people — men, women, and children — coming out to enjoy the sun in the park.

In the past, the city had tried a few methods to tackle the homeless problem, including a shelter-bed-and-a-sandwich approach and permanent housing options, but neither had been able to fix any of the mental health problems and also, there simply hadn’t been enough space.

According to a report, “Possible solutions could be found in private-public funding models, cheaper forms of modular housing, and streamlining techniques to help people move out of supportive housing after they’ve been stabilised.”

 

Future trends

Homelessness may bring a lot of gloom to Miri as more people become jobless and landless.

A teacher who lives in a residential area said, “We must house the homeless and help those too poor to live in a home so that they don’t steal food and take things which do not belong to them. It is one of the burdens being a city.”

Can the Miri City Council bear the burden? Can city folks sleep at night without fearing break-ins and even street fights during the day?

The Old Man’s Street in Miri where the homeless find shelter.

Pope Francis has set a great example by starting the Palace of the Poor in a palazzo in the Vatican for the Homeless in November 2019.

The director Carlo Santoro said, “Every human being has the right to be respected, the right to have a good life, good health, and a house with the family around. So in many cases, we feel like the family they have been missing for a long time.”