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Yan Tsz Ching, Janet School: Ying Wa Girls’ School Poverty in the Midst of Plenty --- Penury and Housing Photographer: Rufina Wu & Stefan Canham Poverty is the worst form of violence. ---Mahatma Gandhi When speaking of the Pearl of the Orient, what comes into your mind? Stock market? Food paradise? Incredible harbour view? Well, you are only partly correct. Hong Kong, as one of the most successful international financial arenas in Asia, has long been praised for her prosperity and high quality of life. Local residents enjoy an average GDP of HKD$285,146. Yet, behind the veil of all the flourishes, poverty and social inequality exist everywhere around the city. According to government statistics, 1 in every 6 citizens is living under the breadline and the total number of people in poverty exceeds 1.3 million in 2013. A Gini Coefficient of 0.537 also indicates severe income disparity. The data clearly reveals the critical poverty crisis that we are facing. Amongst the different aspects of poverty that the underprivileged encounter, housing problems remain their main concern. While there are inadequate public housings in our city, the price of private property has been surging largely in recent years. This poses heavy financial burden on ordinary citizens. Many people, if not all, are unable to afford a place of their own and are left with no choices but to live in appalling conditions. “Shoebox-sized” cage homes, partition rooms and self-built rooftop huts are no longer uncommon in Hong Kong. If you walk by the old districts of Sham Shui Po and Kwun Tong, it is not difficult for you to see several 8 to 11 storeys buildings standing in the middle of the modern skyscrapers, like a small isolated island surrounded by the endless ocean. Many of these old buildings are former factories which had already been relocated elsewhere since 1980. However, the area is not vacant at all. The incremental growth of rooftop habitats gives rise to more than 30 domestic units there. Costing $93.30 per square foot, these cramped spaces offer the most affordable accommodations for impoverished individuals and families who can barely make ends meet. This is the place where elderly, minority ethnic groups and new immigrants from the mainland China call home. Imagine a family of four living in a room of 6ft by 2ft. What life will be like? The living environment of these kinds of rooftop huts is actually far from satisfactory. The congested units are often linked by narrow and maze-like system of corridors and stairs, and are closely packed in a tiny space with poor hygiene. Many of these huts are made of rusty tin board with tarpaulins canopies, which make indoor temperature as high as in the Sahara Desert during summer. A lack of windows and air conditioning means poor ventilation and that jeopardizes people’s health as well. To make the matter worse, the unguarded staircases, exposed wires and absence of fire safety measures are time bombs that put residents’ life and property at risk, let alone the lack of water supply, unstable electricity supply and poor drainage system. These are real life samples which allow us to get a glimpse on what the life of the poor is like. What causes the increasingly prevalent phenomena of poverty and pensive housing crisis in our society? The main concern today is over the casualties of the economic recession and restructuring from low-valued added industries to a new knowledge-based economy. It is all about the unskilled and lowly-educated workers being displaced by computers and cutbacks in consumer spending. Parents of the impoverished families generally hold little hope of overcoming their plight and this is passed on to their children, resulting in intergeneration poverty. Lack of professional training is also one main reason accounting for the aged falling into the poverty trap. Thanks to the positive non-interventionism policy implemented by the government, the local property market has been booming over decades. In the meantime, residential land supply remains low and cannot meet the pressing demand. Although many buildings in the old neighborhoods such as Tai Kok Tsui and Yau Ma Tei in the Kowloon Peninsula are targeted by the Urban Renewal Authority for demolition and redevelopment, the process is extremely slow and this allows the areas to become the hotbeds of illegal subdivided units and rooftop structures. It may be correct to say that no one in Hong Kong is starving in the streets. Yet, for too many, existence is a daily grind with little hope of relief. Instead of painting a rosy picture of our future economy, it is high time we tackled the crux of the problem. Recently, the Hong Kong government has taken a step forward by drawing the first official poverty line to measure and analyze the overall poverty situation. The best way to address poverty is actually at its source, by improving the ability of people to support themselves in the hi-tech economy. The government can run retraining courses so that the unemployed can be equipped with more knowledge. A more comprehensive retirement protection should be put forth to lift elderly out of poverty. Controlling the rise in property value and increasing land supply are also of vital importance. Meanwhile, concerted efforts by all concerned are required. Business sectors and non-governmental organisations have to take up the social responsibility and contribute to the remedy for relieving indigence in our society. Employees of all races and age groups should be given equal opportunities and people’s hard work should be paid by a decent and reasonable wage. As individuals, we can engage in voluntary works organized by the NGOs besides donating money to the needy. Poverty problem is growing at an alarming rate in our society. Narrowing the gulf between the rich and poor becomes essential in sustaining healthy economic growth and maintaining social stability. In response to ambitious target set by the United Nation to eradicate extreme poverty in the world by 2015, Hong Kong is working hard on ameliorating local penury problem. Though eliminating poverty may be a long haul, with our determination and perseverance, it is no longer an unattainable dream for all.