踫著釘子走
Hitting nails
從美荷樓走到九龍殯儀館
From the Mei Ho House to the
Kowloon Funeral Parlor
Rachel Chak & Gabriele de Seta, 18–08–2015, Interview Story
陽光把通洲街公園中央的荷塘曬得閃閃發亮，光影映射在荷塘旁掛晾著的衣物，一個赤著上身的大漢坐在一旁，一邊捧著飯盒吃飯，一邊悠閒的看著池塘上方，身旁放著一罐啤酒。他身後的那亭子旁放著一堆像屬於露宿者的雜物，走到他前面，發現原來他看起來只有四十歲左右，樣貌神氣得有點像江湖中人。
盧先生在深水埗露宿已經有兩三年，他很滿意這樣的生活。他露宿者很多時背後都有一些問題，例如是吸毒問題，有些則是家庭問題，還有租金昂貴等等其他客觀問題都會令他們住在街上。他再解釋，因為現時香港的租金太貴，他們跟本應付不來，就算是租一個床位或一個小梗房，因為空間有限，也不可能經常待在那麼小的空間，最後也要經常走到街上。
從美荷樓到九龍殯儀館
從小盧先生已經在深水埗區長大，小時候就在美荷樓居住，「我一直都在深水埗，住到周圍什麼都要重建，我都不能離開這一區。」他也解釋一直留在這裏也是基於附近每天都有不同的社會福利機構免費派發飯盒，有巴基斯坦的，也有基督教的。
他認為通常露宿者都是喜歡獨處，所以他也不喜歡和其他的露宿者擠在同一個地方居住。雖然他很滿意這個公園的一切，但因為有「一些意料之外的事情發生」而無奈被迫離開，現在唯有搬到九龍殯儀館外的街道居住。
只剩下一條命
「我的家人全都已經走掉了，在我看來沒有什麼感覺，剩下自己一個有什麼所謂？我只剩下一條命，住在那兒都沒什麼問題，只要留在深水埗便可以了。」盧先生認為露宿者在所難免會遇到些麻煩事，例如是冬天的時候一定要蓋棉被，但棉被太重又不易搬動，若然有突發事情必需要執拾一番才可以逃離。夏天便最舒服，一兩件衫便可以過日子，但又常常下雨，睡覺又驚會被沾濕，不過這些對盧先生來說也是少問題，因為平常也會常常洗衫晾曬。
香港一直都在變
街坊與自己的感情也不錯，有些公公婆婆也會到來探望自己，但有些住在新發展區域的居民都會常常投訴公園內的露宿者，也會和他們直接發生口角，通常投訴者都是內地人，盧先生形容他們為怪人，更激動地重覆的說了幾遍。他又稱雖然大家也是中國人，但存在著一定差異，又形容他們是民工，而民工們都只付出體力，無論工作有多認真，工作表現有多好，在香港都似乎沒有用。他又重覆著說「我就是不停的踫釘」。在交談其間，他說那些內地人只會擺佔我們的地方，就算現在坐著的公園，最後也會給蠺食掉。
唯一沒變的
他形容這區的毒品使用情況都一直是這樣，從小到大，並沒有改變，小時候已經看著別人吸毒。現在也是週而復始，而這個社會問題好像從來也在。環境不停的變，社會不停的發展，那為什麼毒品使用的情況卻從未改變？
From the Mei Ho House to the Kowloon Funeral Parlor
It’s a sunny August afternoon, and the reflection of some clothes hung to dry shines on the surface of the artificial lake. I see a shirtless man holding a lunch box sitting on a bench near the t-shirts and towels hung on the railing of the bridge: he looks very relaxed, enjoying his lunch with a can of beer. The piles of bags and boxes orderly arranged in a pavilion behind him look like the property of a homeless person, so we approach him to have a talk. He might be in his mid-forties, and his face has something of a gangster look.
Mr. Ng has been living on the streets of Sham Shui Po for two or three years and he’s quite satisfied about his current situation. He thinks that the main issue behind homelessness is drug addiction; sometimes, family conflicts and the inflation of rents are also problems that drive people to a life on the streets. The rent is so high, he explains, that he cannot even afford a single caged bed or a small room in a subdivided flat; since these accommodations are so small, anyway, people can’t live there for long, and eventually they end up on the streets again.
Mr. Ng grew up in the area, spending his youth in the Mei Ho House until his building was demolished: “I have always been in Sham Shui Po, I stayed in my house until it had to be rebuilt and then I couldn’t live there anymore”. He explains that the reason why he stays around Sham Shui Po is because of the welfare organizations that distribute lunch boxes and other goods around here. Mr. Ng likes to live by himself, and he prefers not to stay with other homeless people packed together in the same place. He is satisfied with all the facilities available in the park, although recently “something unexpected happened”, but he doesn’t explain what happened exactly that forced him to move out of the park and find a place to sleep somewhere near the Kowloon Funeral Parlor.
All that I have is my own life
“My family members are all gone, and I don’t think that’s a big deal, I don’t care about what I have left, I don’t care about anything else. All that I have is my own life, nothing else, and I don’t care about where I end up living: as long as I can stay in Sham Shui Po, that’s ok”. Mr. Ng thinks that homeless people will always face some trouble, for example during the winter they have to carry very heavy quilts that are not easy to move around, and if something happens there’s not enough time to pack everything and move away. Summer is the most comfortable season for him, since he just needs one or two pieces of clothing, although it rains quite often and he’s afraid of getting wet while he’s sleeping. But this is not a big deal since he can always come dry his clothes on the bridge railing, and sit here while keeping watch on them.
Hong Kong is always changing
Mr. Ng has a good relation with his neighbors, and elderly people from the area sometimes visit him, although some of the residents from the newly developed area next to the public housing estate only come to the park to complain about the homeless, and he will occasionally have arguments with them. Most of the people who come to complain are new residents from Mainland China, and Mr. Ng thinks that they are weird — keigwaai, keigwaai, keigwaai, he repeats — “even though we are all Chinese, there are some differences between us”. He thinks that Mainland mingong [migrant workers] who come to Hong Kong to do construction work are also the cause of his employment problems: no matter how good or bad his work performance is, he cannot make any return. Especially in Hong Kong, he tells us, it’s no use to be serious at work. “I just keep pungding [literally ‘hitting nails’, being rejected]. Mainland people will take over Hong Kong and eventually even this park will be gone because of them”.
The only thing that doesn’t change
As our conversation winds down, Mr. Ng recalls how drug use in Sham Shui Po has remained the same since he was a kid. “The situation hasn’t changed”, he reflects, “people keep taking drugs, jau yi fuk chi [keep moving in circles], and this social problem is always around here. The environment keeps changing and society keeps developing, but why hasn’t the drug use situation changed for so long?”
