Homelessness in China is a new phenomenon to have hit the country that is first emerging as an economic powerhouse. Homelessness in China is therefore real and it exists. As one the most developed countries in the world one would least expect China to have the homelessness issue. China is an economic powerhouse and the resources it has can quickly be mobilized to help solve the problem. One would therefore pose the question, why homelessness in China? Many have argued that the problem has been as a result of the Hukou kind of a system. Others on the other hand have blamed it on rapid economic development (Ravenhill, 30).
The issue of homelessness is not openly discussed in China. When people open up on the issue, it is always on the basis of some news item that sparks a row or photos in the newspapers that elicit some reactions. In the recent past, there have been cemented shields put up under an overpass pass in the city of Guangzhou. This was done to prevent people from making the place their home. Many people were reported to be spending the nights under the overpass. Authorities thus decided to make the place a no go zone by having the cement structures constructed there. The newspapers produced a photo of a one time homeless man become a fashion star. The man spent his nights on the streets of Ningbo. This is just but a testimony that the issue of homelessness is real in China.
The global times, a state owned agency has recently reported that the officials evict the people who have no shelters. They make it look normal and do that without taking into considerations the plight of the people whom they evict. None of them take an initiative to address the issues of those who have nowhere to call home (Zhang, 5). Many people have divergent views about the state of the homeless people in china. Many think that the homeless are just but beggars, who are a nuisance with no agenda to be productive. On the contrary, some people are of the opinion that the rights of the homeless must be respected. Further, they argue that the dignity of the people is paramount and thus, the authorities have to find a solution to solve the problem.
The concept of communism is one that directly affects the welfare of the people. The communist ideals are that for the brother’s keeper kind of approach. It would therefore be outside the principles of communism to have homeless people in a communist society like China. One of the major causes of the problem of homelessness is the problem of rural to urban migration. Growth and development in China have made people sought for greener pastures in highly developed urban localities. The government in most cases has to give an approval for one to move from one area to another. The government keeps track of individuals and their localities. For one to move from one area to another in search of employment, one has to notify the government for the sake of approval. On the contrary, people move in mass to the urban settings to look for better opportunities (Bill, Doherty, and Henk, 40).
The realities that welcome the people who move into the urban centers is that it is not possible to have a positive start all at once. Finding a job is not always a rosy thing thus, the people end up being homeless as they continue to search for opportunities. This makes them spend nights under huge buildings, under bridges and even at the railway stations. In the year 2011, the statistics were very absurd. About 2.4 million people had nowhere to call home. To add on to that, there were almost 180 thousand under-aged kids and individuals. By far, these were the highest number of homeless people to be found in a given society. These statistics made heads roll and since that time there have been some progress towards trying to solve the issues. Many of the homeless kids have found some reprieve, as they have been helped by the national and local authorities. The problem however remains with a larger population of adults who are still homeless.
Homelessness is further enhanced by the government system of Hukou. This is a system of registration that ensures that every household is registered. The details of registration thus tie everyone in the province of birth. In such an arrangement, the province where one is registered is responsible for the social welfare of everyone (O'Flaherty, 439). When the people move away from their home areas, it means they cannot get any help from the places they have relocated to since they are not registered in those respective places. This thus means that they cannot claim any benefits. Health care, education and other social benefits are some of the goodies that one can obtain from the system. This has to blame for the homelessness in China because this system ties people to a particular region. No help can therefore be received by anyone who is perceived to be an immigrant. People have limitations when they seek greener pastures.
Homelessness is an issue that has brought sharp criticism, especially on the way it has been dealt with by authorities. For sometimes, the homeless people were put in detention camps and later taken back to the respective provinces. This was done to reduce the homelessness menace and to further discourage people from leaving their provinces. The government overtime changed the way they dealt with the homeless people. A humane approach was thus, developed for the sake of preserving the dignity of the people. Shelters act as places of comfort for the people as preparations are made to have them go back to their provinces (UN, 7). All over the world homelessness is a big issue, but for China it is a unique phenomenon.
Rapid growth and development has been blamed for homelessness in china. If there were doubts about homelessness in China, the doubts are thus erased. Homelessness requires a more robust approach in dealing with it. An elaborate approach to the process helps in dealing with the issues. For China, homelessness is an epidemic that they must consider and initiate measures cub the growing population of the homeless.
Works Cited:
Edgar, Bill, Joe Doherty, and Henk Meert. Immigration and Homelessness in Europe. Bristol:
Policy Press, 2004. Print.
Ravenhill, Megan. The Culture of Homelessness. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2008. Print.
O'Flaherty, Brendan. City Economics. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2005.
Internet resource.
Strategies to Combat Homelessness. Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat, 2000. Print.
Zhang, Xing Q. Housing and Urban Upgrading in Yantai, China. Kenya: United Nations Human
Settlements Programme, 2008. Print.
