Homeless people wandering through the streets of Bangkok

Blog Disaster Living

When I was doing my relief work in a partially flooded-Bangkok, I met a homeless elderly woman sitting on a bench at 4:17 am. Her two heavy sacks was filled with dirty clothes, her face was masked with pure exhaustion, and she fiddled with an empty bottle. I offered her my flask, but she graciously declined with a smile, and in English, said she had to walk the path Fate had set for her.

Within her eyes burned a desire to survive. She did not lose her home due to the enraged flood, she lost it because of society’s prejudice and ignorance. Apathy has forced her into homelessness for two years. The heavy flood was merely an eye-opener for people living in Bangkok and many provinces in Thailand; but did anyone see those without a home before the flood? Has society changed its behaviour towards homeless people?

This woman had fought horrors that would have crushed the elites of the city and the spirit of any common man.

Zashnain

An avid blogger, twitterer and photojournalist, Zashnain Zainal suffers from an incurable addiction to social work, helping marginalised communities since 1989. Nowadays he travels from the plantations of Malaysia to the slums of Thailand. He can be found at zashnain.com and @bedlamfury

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