The Street

I was at the bank last night wanting to withdraw some money. There i saw a man, sleeping on the five-foot way, faced down to the floor. Packets of tissue were in front of him, little plastic bag of belongings beside him, prosthetic leg stood at the side, crutches proped to the wall, and packet of rice at the side. I looked at him.....

Have you ever wonder why are there people living in the streets?

When i was younger, once in a while, i would drop some coins or notes into a begger's cup. Be it old, crippled, blind, mother and child and so on.... that was out of sympathy that i did it. Sympathy.

Then came a time, where i had empathy. Trying to think what it'd be like to be in their shoes.

Few years ago i joined some friends to street feeding programme in the city. The people that i saw there were of varied kinds. Some were like my grandma's age, some middle age, and some young ones, prolly around my age. They would come every saturday for the free food given out, medical care and the fellowship. As i helped to hand out the food, i remember feeling sad. I was sad at the young people that i saw. I was thinking what in the world were the young people living in street?! Don't they feel ashamed that i had to hand out food to them?! They have hands and feets which could work!

Few years ago, the media started covering stories on 'beggers' living in the streets. One reporter even went undercover, pretended to be a begger. If i remembered correctly, he collected quite a sum of money from begging generous Malaysians. Then there were stories where they were controlled by syndicates who forced them into begging. There were also real stories where these people are drug addicts.

Few years ago, i would have easily sympathize and empathize. Yesterday, i was angry.....i was angry seeing a man sleeping in the streets of Subang!

While withdrawing money, i was thinking and asking God what should i do. I could have harden my heart and think that that guy sleeping in the street prolly earned more than me milking money out of generous Malaysians. I got into the car, still asking God if i should do anything. I really wanted to have driven home.

Jesus said when you do unto the least of these, you are doing unto me. Sometimes its hard to wrestle with convictions so i made a turn back to the man.

I went to him. He was asleep, i had to wake him up. He jumped and sat up straight when i said i wanted to buy tissue. I asked him why was he sleeping in the street. I asked him to go home. I asked him if he has eaten. I asked him to go home. I asked him to get help from welfare department. I asked him to go home. I asked him not to sleep on the five-foot way. I asked him to go home.

He told me he hasn't been home in 10 years. Used to stay in Sunway, brother kicked him out of house. Have been living in the street for 10 years. People shoos him away and scolds him. He has eaten dinner. He hasn't been home for 10 years.

Throughout that few minutes, i dunno what went through his head. I told him i've seen him before few years ealier sleeping on the street. Never had the guts then to confront, yesterday i was just angry to see him still sleeping in the street. I told him to go home. I told him to go home. I just told him to go home. Sigh! He had alcohol breathe.

I find it really ironic, Subang a highly developed residential and commercial area, also an education hub. People here are mostly educated, living in the middle income bracket. And yet, there are still people living in the street!

When he realized that i wasn't sympathizing with his sob story, and that i was serious about him going back home, he wanted to give me change for the purchase of the tissue paper. I told him to go home.

As i was driving home, i was just thinking and asking what would Jesus do?