I have had the opportunity (or is it misfortune) of having met this lady twice now. No, she’s not Gisele nor is she Natalie. She’s not pretty or sexy or even remotely famous (at least not that I know of). I will call her Y.
Y is a typical person you would see walking around trying to sell trinkets from her bag or sometimes to preach (on various issues, not just religious) and sometimes to beg for money. She is what you would politically-incorrect to call a hobo. But she isn’t a hobo it the usual sense of the word. She seems to be clothed very adequately and she does not smell. She is very lucid and to a substantial extent a very eloquent person. She speaks fantastic English and sometimes she throws in very passable Malay sentences. She seems to me pretty intelligent.
However, she is afflicted with the thoughts that there are “wolves with fangs” around us. According to her, it is because of these “creatures” she has been unable to return to her usual accommodation (which I gathered is a hostel/dorm of some kind) nor has she been able to put up with her friends/people who sympathise with her. What about her family, you ask? Apparently some of them do not want anything to do with her and as for the rest, she does not want to trouble them. I suspect that they are exasperated with her. She said that they have tried to advice her but she said these family members were already poisoned in the mind by the “creatures”. She cannot possible return to them, because it will then be a trap.
From her stories, it seems that she has traveled far and wide..at least in the Selangor/KL area. For a “homeless” person, that is. She apparently goes to visit her contacts back from her working days and also to just meet people. (I think this is also where she hawks her stuff or begs though she hates the use of the word) Before she was in her current predicament, she said she used to work in the corporate sector. Her mother is a staunch Christian and her father is something I’ve forgotten. I do not know if she got fired or retrenched or if she just left. Whatever the reason, I think it may have had something to do with her mental breakdown or it could be vice versa.
Nonetheless…it bothers me that our welfare structure though is in existence, lacks clear structure and the entire welfare system of our country still needs much work. I do not condone hobo-ing nor do I support leeching off the welfare/support system, but I do believe that for the genuine cases, they deserve all the help available. I have seen how the welfare system can be abused and “fixed” in the UK and I am sure if we are ever to become a welfare state, our entire nation will collapse from such abuse. The mentality and attitude is still lagging but we are getting somewhere. I hope.
As for the Y, no, I did not seek her out nor did we specifically sat on a table over drinks when she shared all her stories with me. I was just minding my own business surfing my Net when she tried to “beg” money from me. And it was on 2 different occasions. She did not specifically “asked” for money…she beats around the bush, but you get the idea. So there I am facebooking, or googling or blogging and she would pour out her life grievances and views.
Don’t get me wrong. I no good Samaritan nor am I the model citizen. I am not preaching nor am I condemning. I’m just telling a story. I hope she finds a place to sleep tonight.
