West Kowloon, where the homeless live in the shadow of luxury flats and Hong Kong’s new express rail link
Upmarket district’s juxtaposition of swanky offices and struggling drug addicts tells the story of city’s growing wealth gap
In a haphazardly built hut tucked away under a busy flyover in Hong Kong’s upmarket West Kowloon district, a Swede is hanging around with two Nepali men on a sweltering afternoon.
The 43-year-old man, who calls himself John, does not go into detail about what he is doing in this dusty corner of the city, saying only that he is waiting for his girlfriend, who was recently discharged from a drug rehabilitation centre.
Standing next to a pile of rubbish while three ferocious guard dogs watch attentively, John recalls how he became homeless a few months ago after his “economy crashed a bit” while he was funding his girlfriend’s pricey heroin habit.
“She was sent to Hei Ling Chau [addiction treatment centre] for eight months and got out about a week ago,” John says, his hands shaking as he speaks. “It’s much easier to find her here, where she has been living for a year or so.”
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This reporter came across the trio in the hut while interviewing Reverend Jordan Hon Shee-wah, deputy senior pastor with Fuk Lam Church in Yau Ma Tei. Hon has served the community in the district and in Jordan for more than 20 years.