When I think of loneliness, I think of that song "Eleanor Rigby". I grew up listening to the Beatles and as a kid, this particular song would fill me with sadness, even though I couldn't quite grasp all the words and meanings. I did begin to notice lonely people in the world around me -- from ordinary "respectable-looking" folks to street people wandering from place to place.
Like this man sleeping on a thin mat on Quiapo bridge, with a sign about a missing woman named Tomasita Chin posted above him. Where do they all come from and where do they belong?
Jo
110410
thumbs up
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Jo. I am reminded of the time when I was in Japan and there were elderly people, who were very well dressed and looked very decent, milling about in the streets so late at night. I asked my sensei about it and he told me that these are the faces of Japan's homeless. It's very sad that in major cities all over the world, its the elderly that are being pushed out into the streets in increasing numbers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Luis and inlee!
ReplyDelete@inlee: Indeed, this is a terribly sad phenomenon. Your story about Japan's elderly homeless is very telling -- the most vulnerable in society are suffering under these increasingly hard economic times. In Metro Manila, I see many elderly men and women in the streets, seemingly without family to help them. And this is in a society that prides itself for being caring towards its elders.
Sealdi, ikaw pala yun. :) Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteSealdi, have you seen Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers? It sounds like a gangster movie, but in the end, you'll find out why it was titled so. Not just great anime, it was a great film about the homeless in Japan.
ReplyDeletepart ng exposure na nasamahan ko nang pumunta ako sa osaka ang mga homeless. bukod sa mga PWD. isa lang ang paulit-ulit na tinatanong ko sa sarili ko, dahil sabi sa akin most sa kanila sa park nag-stay: paano kung winter at matindi ang snow? :(
ReplyDeleteTrue, Rose... and the harsh cold of the winters can be merciless.
ReplyDelete