'There's something wrong with how our society's structured. The economy's growing and we seem to be developing, but the number of people living in slums and on the streets keeps rising," Boonlert Visetpricha reflects. The Thammasat University professor has experienced this reality first hand in his field work, living as a homeless person in Bangkok. He sees a vast contrast between the lives of the rich and the poor.
After earning a bachelor's degree in fishery studies, Mr Boonlert decided to change course and pursue another passion of his -- anthropology. He got a job at the Human Settlement Foundation, an NGO working with homeless people in Bangkok, with the ideal of achieving a more equal society in mind.
His work involved spending time with slum communities and talking to the people about their experiences. But after some time, he was following a new calling -- he decided to delve back into academia. In 2001, he enrolled in Thammasat University for a master's degree in anthropology.
His studies nonetheless reflected an ongoing interest in marginalised communities. When searching for a thesis topic, he was committed to find one that would have a real impact on society, not simply land him an easy A. He finally drafted a research proposal about homeless people in Bangkok, a problem that had been around for as long as he could remember.
When his proposal was approved in 2003, he got straight to work on his research. But he wasn't satisfied to sit at his desk. With his active, social work-influenced attitude, he resolved that the best way to understand the reality of homeless people was to experience their lives first-hand.
"I decided to become a homeless person on the streets," Mr Boonlert recalls. "That way, I could actually feel what it's like to be one."
His experience and the reflections that followed it generated a big buzz in the academic world, showing a level of commitment to research that had rarely been seen before.
BECOMING HOMELESS
To prepare for his research, Mr Boonlert begun by seeking out clothes that would make him look the part of a homeless person. After acquiring the right attire, he headed to Sanam Luang, a Bangkok area where many homeless communities used to gather back in the early 2000s.
At Sanam Luang, he approached people and asked them if they would share their stories with him. Despite his efforts, no person he approached seemed willing to talk with him. On the contrary, they tended to run in the opposite direction.
Photos: SUPPLIED
After many attempts, he finally found one person, a man, who would sit down and introduce himself to Mr Boonlert. The man promptly filled in the professor on why he couldn't get anyone to talk to him.
"He told me the reason that people refused to talk to me is because of my mannerisms and the word choice I used while talking to them. They thought that I spoke like a police officer or social welfare government official who wanted to come along and evict them," Mr Boonlert explained.
So Mr Boonlert changed his approach, adjusting his speech and mannerisms to fit in. This allowed him to gain people's trust and make them more comfortable around him. One contact led to another, and he met another man who agreed to show him how to survive on the streets.
The first and perhaps most important lesson he learned was how and where to find food. His friend, serving as his research assistant, brought him to the National Council of Social Welfare of Thailand's office, where free food is given out to hundreds of homeless people every day.He learned that there are two types of homeless people: those who rely on free food from beginning or welfare services, and those who collect garbage to sell and buy food.
Chinese shrines turned out to be a popular place to get free food. Those who relied on these are referred to as pi, meaning ghost, since the shrines are intended to feed hungry ghosts.
SURVIVAL GUIDE
At the start of his field work, Mr Boonlert lived between the streets and his home. At times he returned to his house to shower, change to fresh clothes and eat a proper meal.
But after five months, he felt that his research still fell short of his objectives. He decided to live as a homeless person full time. He moved to Sanam Luang and didn't go home for some months.
"A person I talked to showed me a list of place to go to look for the rice, called Lar Kao among homeless people," Mr Boonlert explained." They told me I could earn some money that way to survive."
He came across a list indicating the foundations and Chinese shrines that give away free rice across the city and its neighbouring areas. The list, written by hand, featured details about venues, cities, times and dates at which rice would be available.
Accompanied by his friends, Mr Boonlert travelled to Wat Chonglom in Samut Sakhon by bus to acquire rice. There he queued up to get a 5kg bag of rice, which he carried back to Bangkok to sell. He earned about 100 baht for the trip, which took up half of a day.
His friends informed him that the money wasn't much, but it was enough to buy them a shot of cheap whisky, costing 5 baht, or a cigarette, sure to lift their spirits.
The money wasn't much, his friends told him, but it was enough to buy them a shot of cheap whisky -- the cost of 5 baht -- or a cigarette, either of which was sure to lift their spirits.
"I learned that homeless people survive by informal social welfare from temples, shrines and NGOs," Mr Boonlert explained. "I also learned that even among homeless communities, they have hierarchies or power structures. Those at the top of the social ladder earn their living by selling garbage. Those in the middle exclusively rely on free food, and those who are at the bottom of the hierarchy con people for money to survive."
A DIFFERENT CULTURE
After submitting his master's thesis, Mr Boonlert won Thammasat University's Thesis of the Year Award in 2003. He became well known among scholars and social workers. In 2007, he published The World of Homeless People, a book that went on to win the Utkapan Award offered by Amarin.
Building on the success of these endeavours, he was advised to apply for a Nippon Foundation research grant to do public intellectual research, which he successfully secured.
Tokyo was chosen as his next research destination, and he moved there in 2004. With eight months to complete his field work, he focused on the Shibuya district.
Using the same approach that he deployed in Bangkok, he slid back into the role of a homeless person. At first, he expected his work to be easy enough -- he had already learned Japanese and had experience interacting with people on the streets.
But he found out quickly that he was wrong. He found that Japanese people were afraid to talk to foreigners. He admitted that he hadn't considered this potential obstacle beforehand.
Five months passed before Mr Boonlert got insider access to Tokyo's homeless community. He had spent much of his time joining homeless support foundations, but he found out that these were frowned upon by Japanese people.
"In Japan, there's no culture of giving food or money to homeless people. Moreover, to receive free help from others is considered an embarrassing thing. People who give out free food are seen as violating the social norms of Japan. Being homeless in Japan will not get you any sympathy from others because they think that homeless people are simply not trying hard enough," Mr Boonlert explained.
It was only in his sixth month that he met a homeless man who agreed to show him how to survive in Tokyo. His experience was under particular strain since getting free food was nearly impossible.
The sole way to sustain oneself as a homeless person in Tokyo was via finding work, Mr Boonlert found. One way his friend showed him how to make money was by riding on a train and collecting abandoned comic books on passengers' seat. They could then sell to used book stores. Each trip earned them between ¥2,000 (630 baht) and ¥3,000.
Another way to earn money was to have other people buy discount products or concert tickets. For four hours of standing in the queue, he would get ¥4,000 to ¥5,000.
As he neared the end of his research period, he decided to fly to Manila for two months. A friend working for an NGO had told him it was easier to survive as a homeless person in the Philippines, a fact that Mr Boonlert confirmed in his experience. He settled into a slum community and found himself making friends quickly who opened up to him about their survival strategies.
HARD BUT HAPPY
When Mr Boonlert returned from his trip in 2005, he got a job as an anthropology lecturer at Thammasat University. After working there for five years, the university encouraged him to get a PhD so that he could teach both master's and doctorate degree classes.
The recommendation led him to leave Thailand and pursue a PhD in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 2009. After studying there for only one year, he submitted his proposal to conduct more research on homeless people. His adviser told him that he could do the research anywhere in Asia but Thailand to expand his expertise. He decided to focus on Manila.
He received his pre-dissertation research grant in 2011. He headed to Manila, contacted his friends at local NGOs and gathered enough proof that his research would be doable.
He proceeded to spend 14 months there from 2013 to 2014. He got with the company of street people including alcoholics and drug users. He rented a room to keep his belongings, but spent six days a week on the street.
There were parallels between living on the streets in Manila and Bangkok, Mr Boonlert found. For instance, his homeless friends brought him to religious sites, Catholic churches, where they had homeless people pray or sing the songs for the Lord before giving them free food. For dinner, they all walked to Sikh temples to get dinner, nicknamed "Mumbai" by his friends.
Similarly, homeless people in Manila mainly earned money through garbage collection. Another way to earn money was by working as a barker, somebody who directs people embarking on local buses, called jeepneys. This work amounts to about 10 pesos (7 baht) per day. For homeless people who can afford to buy a pack of cigarettes, they can unpack and sell per unit instead of a whole pack and earn at least 100-200 pesos per pack.
Mr Boonlert had a close group of friends in Manila as well as support from locals. One time, when he was too sick to go get food, he fell asleep under an overpass. But an older lady who recognised him walked out to get food and medication for him, and took care of him until he recovered.
"I got many surprise friendships [in my time as a homeless person], more than I expected. I feel really lucky to be surrounded by good people who actually cared for me. One time, I was playing a word puzzle game with my homeless friends, they said mahirap, which means hard or difficult in Tagalog, which refers to their lives. I add the word to complete the sentence with the words pero masaya, which means 'hard but happy'. They all smiled with happiness once they realised I understood them," Mr Boonlert explained.
A DIFFERENT VIEW
After wrapping up his research, Mr Boonlert returned to Bangkok. He is now working as a full-time lecturer and researcher of anthropology at Thammasat University, and his research has been heralded as some of the most cutting edge at the school.
During his time on the streets, he learned that homeless people are subjected to different treatments around the world.
"I came back here with a different perspective after seeing problems [with homeless communities] in other countries. Compared with the other countries [I studied], Thai street people seem to have better lives. Their life is not as hard. They are supported by many organisations and they can easily find opportunities to make a living if they look out for them. In Manila, jobs are far more difficult to come by and in Japan there is major stigma attached to homeless people," Mr Boonlert explained.
The biggest takeaway of his time on the streets was how life is affected by how we look at it -- our attitude.
"Street people in Manila treat everything as a joke, which I found very ironic. They often jokingly say they have a big house -- so big it takes them hours to walk from one end to another; they said they have their own security guard, and free food to eat all the time. So their conclusion is they have no reason not to be happy with their lives," Mr Boonlert said.
"Even though Thai homeless have easier lives than homeless in Manila and Tokyo, street people in Manila proved it to me that if you choose to have a positive outlook, you can experience happiness whatever you do, wherever you are."
Hard life: A homeless person rests under a pedestrian bridge in Tokyo. Photo: AP
Eking out an existence: A homeless man searches a garbage bin at Sanam Luang. Photo: Patipat Janthong
On the breadline: Above and right, the homeless in the Philippines earn small money from calling passengers for buses and picking trash for recycling. Photos: SUPPLIED
Research: Boonlert Visetpricha lived on the streets in three countries. Photo: CHAIYOT YONGCHAROENCHAI
Lead-in: Ca Photos: SUPPLIED
On the edge: Above and right, Boonlert Visetpricha observes homeless people at some popular spots in Manila.
Battle for survival: The Baywalk is another popular rest area for Manila's homeless.
Helping hand: From above to below, the homeless wait in a long line for free food in the Philippines and once they receive their portion, they eat on the sidewalk. Photos: SUPPLIED
lead-in: Caption.
