|
|
|
|
| View of one of the public shelters for homeless people in Bremen
|
I recently saw a man sitting at a crooked camping desk in a fenced-in fallow in a no-man's-land between a commercial area and a middle-class residential area.. I was able to get to his place through a gap in the fence. Friendly eyes looked out from under a quite new baseball cap. His face was furrowed and framed by a thick grey beard which had barely been brought to shape. His substantial body had been tucked into warming 'onionskin clothes', his feet into massive shoes. He wore silver rings on several fingers of his swollen hands. A wrist was decorated with bracelets. Besides a opened bottle of cheep beer, a packet of tobacco and an empty soda can there was a street newspaper on the desk. There were probably more copies of the paper in a satchel which was lying on the ground with a wine tetrapack.
I asked the man 'Do you make yourself at home at this place?' He thoughtfully answered 'I would love to learn who the owner of this land is. One might then perhaps seize it. I only know that the XYZ company planed to build a supermarket at this location, but the plan failed.'
|
|
Little by little, I got to know more details about the man's life. He lives in a house which he called transit hostel for sailors. But from his description, it is rather one of the public shelters for homeless people. But he doesn't feel well there in his quad room. And that's why he once before spent a winter night at the fallow, warmly enveloped in a greatcoat. His personal effects had been stored away somewhere inaccessibly for him. Most of all he misses his world atlas which he would love to have in his hands once again. He derives some comfort from good books which he now and then snatches for free, e.g. at a stall of donated books at an office he has to visit sometimes. He complained that people rushed from one appointment to another and really had no time for each other. I told him about Tigger, a character from 'Winnie-the-Pooh', who said, that he wanted to get punctually to the place, where he wanted to get punctually to. And I told him about my wife who sometimes stands with her feet on the door sill while her head is already in the tram.
He laughed. I said goodbye to him with a handshake. And he said 'Give my compliments to your wife.'
|
Please also read -
Charlie Dittmeier's report on 20.000 burned out and homeless squatters who were moved to a new area outside the city of Phnom Penh without even the most basic infrastructure by the government. The report is dated 7 April 2002. The link leads to the latest entry of the diary. Please scroll down..
Cats Talk (49)
|
|
Almost OK, a video portray of a homeless(?) man, by Jermiah Stanley
Next issue 'The Daily Groove'
Friday, April 22 2011.
< previous issue next issue >
We would like to point out that we translated articles from German into English for the purpose of service. We would like to make it clear that the German translations are deciding, because the articles are directed to users who live in Germany.
Wir möchten darauf hinweisen, dass wir zu Servicezwecken englische Übersetzungen vorgenommen haben. Klarstellen möchten wir, dass maßgeblich die deutsche Übersetzung ist. Grund dessen ist, dass wir uns an in Deutschland ansässige Nutzer wenden.
|
|
|
|
|
place marker for advertisement
|
|
