A helping hand for the jobless

As unemployment in Bangkok skyrockets, shelters such as Lydia House offer an oasis of generosity to jobseekers from the countryside

Story by BUSSARAWAN TEERAWICHITCHAINAN
Pictures by YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK

Early this month Khamsuk Khiri travelled over 700 kilometres from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

Apart from a few hundred baht in his pocket and three T-shirts in a paper box he used as his traveller's bag, the tiny man carried only his hopes of "making it" in the big city.

"I wish I could have a decent job which pays me relatively well. Then I could save money for my family's barren lychee orchard," said the farmer.

He might be too naive. Or the City of Angels is probably too cruel.

With only the compulsory primary-school education to his credit, Khamsuk, aged 32, found himself completely lost in the rat-race of Bangkok. His meagre savings were used up within a week, before he could find a job.

"I didn't think it would be this difficult. Now I can't even afford a ticket home," he said.

Khamsuk's story is typical of many unemployed workers from the countryside who seek their fortunes in Bangkok.

For them, each day usually starts with running around to job placement agencies early in the morning, then strolling aimlessly in the late afternoon, and finding a nook in a bus or railway station to spend the night.

"Too often, I go to sleep without having any meals," the Chiang Mai native said, adding that his bed is often a bench in Mor Chit Bus Terminal.

Khamsuk, however, is luckier than many of his peers who return home empty-handed, or sometimes with even more debts or a nervous breakdown to deal with as well.

Last week he was introduced to Lydia House. There, he got dinner, shelter and, more importantly, moral support.

"The support from the house restored me and made me more realistic. Now I just want to save a small sum of money, enough to get me back home," said Khamsuk.

Since its establishment in March 1993, Lydia House has offered a helping hand to nearly 2,000 people from all parts of the country. Most of them face a similar plight to Khamsuk.

Located on Krungthep-Non Road in the Bang Sue area, the centre provides poor jobseekers with free evening meals, temporary accommodation and, from time to time, pocket money for their bus fares.

"For us, they are fellow human beings and should be treated with respect. If they are in trouble, we must help them. Food and lodging are the most basic things we can provide," said Ulla Fewster, a Swedish missionary who founded the house.

For years, the sight of people sleeping on benches in railway stations touched the middle-aged expatriate who has been in Thailand for over two decades.

Still, she didn't have any idea of how she could help until April 1990. Working as an English teacher, Ulla met a Thai office girl who came to her for a crash course in English.

"The young woman told me she wanted to pass an exam the following week. If she passed, she would get a job as a maid in Hong Kong," Ulla recalled.

The girl's decision stunned the Swedish woman.

"Aren't you afraid that your passport could be taken away? That you could be lured into prostitution?" the older woman asked with concern.

But the office girl seemed determined to improve her financial situation. As it turned out later, she did not earn much more as a maid in Hong Kong than she did as a secretary in Bangkok.

"It's not fair at all. Workers deserve fair wages, good working conditions and reasonable welfare benefits anywhere they work," Ulla commented.

Since that incident, the Swedish missionary was determined to do something for the country's poor workforce, especially the uneducated, unskilled labourers from upcountry who are the hardest hit by unfair treatment.

"Once these poor villagers arrive in Bangkok, where can they stay until they find employment? It's difficult if they don't have money, friends or relatives."

Ulla gathered a few Christian friends, Thai and foreign, who shared the same opinion and also wanted to be a part of change. Later that year, she conducted a survey and collected data from government and non-governmental organisations.

The self-taught social worker found that there was only one shelter available for poor jobseekers at the time.

"It was Baan Uea Aree in the Bang Khen area where unemployed people receive free food and accommodation. But one centre could never be enough for the hundreds of thousands of workers flooding into the city," she said.

"We did not want these rural people to come to Bangkok with false promises of easy jobs and high income. But once they were here, we just could not just ignore them," she added.

For those who have nowhere to turn, things can be dangerous especially when they must sleep on the streets. Take Chalong Samnai, a 34-year-old jobseeker from Ayutthaya province. Before he found out about Lydia House, he slept at Hua Lamphong Railway Station every night.

"It's really dangerous out there. I had to beware all the time because I never knew when the pickpockets would attack me. Just imagine that after a long day of job hunting, I couldn't even have a sound sleep," said the man whose wallet has been stolen twice.

When Lydia House opened its doors four years ago, it was located in the Bon Kai area near Klong Toey.

"We rented a two-storey wooden house and selected a Thai Christian couple to take care of it. I became the general manager and director," explained Ulla, who, apart from the paperwork, also raises funds in Thailand and abroad.

In the beginning, the centre had difficulty persuading jobseekers to accept its services.

"Many were afraid that we would procure them. Some told me they never expected there would be this kind of shelter," said Silla Cha-lair, warden of the house, whose wife and two sons also live there with him.

But with the support of the Labour Department's job placement agencies, more people came to know about Lydia House and its services. Even when it moved to the outlying district of Bang Sue this year, it continued to attract jobseekers in need.

Its target client group has expanded to include rural jobseekers living at Mor Chit Bus Terminal and Bang Sue Railway Station as well as those camping out at Hua Lamphong.

Over the past four years, Lydia House has served over 7,200 meals to 1,800 individuals. Every day except Saturday, the shelter is open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. for the unemployed seeking food and accommodation.

"We accept only Thai citizens. Everyone who stays with us must sign in. They have to write their name, home address and their ID card number," said Ulla.

"We need to do that because we don't want to be accused of hiding those who sneak into Thailand illegally," she explained.

The number of people staying at the shelter varies from night to night. "There may be 11 people one night and only two the next, or maybe 22."

According to the warden, 60 percent of clients come from northeastern Thailand. Many are farmers seeking temporary jobs in Bangkok.

Once they sign in to the house, the warden brings them to their room and lets them take a bath. Dinner is served around 7 p.m.

"Most of them eat a lot. Some tell me that they haven't eaten all day because they didn't have any money," said Naiyana, the warden's wife.

Lydia House, named after a businesswoman in the Bible who offered food and shelter to strangers, also tries to create an amiable atmosphere.

A friendly chat and a kindly ear can work miracles to ease their despair.

"Too often, these villagers are looked down upon and treated with discrimination by Bangkokians just because they do not dress well. But that never happens here. We treat them with respect," said Silla.

Bible teaching is offered after dinner, but the staff insist that it is not an attempt to make new converts; they only want to share what they cherish with others. To be exposed to a different faith and to learn of the value of compassion can open one's heart and foster inter-religious understanding, they explained.

"We discuss ethics which apply to our daily lives," said Silla, a graduate of Phayao Bible College, who is in charge of the after-dinner talks.

Chalong Samnai from Ayutthaya said he felt at home in Lydia House.

"I don't feel lonely because at least I know who I can turn to. People here can give me good advice," said the man who he has been in Bangkok over a month and still can't find a job.

Lydia House used to run its own job placement service for clients. "We had to stop because it was too complicated for us to handle. We didn't have enough money to hire more staff," she said.

Lack of funding and personnel also means that the shelter cannot extend its programme to vocational training to prepare unskilled labourers for the job market.

Ulla expects a bigger challenge for the shelter next year as the unemployment rate in Bangkok continues to skyrocket.

"Many more rural poor will stream in to find jobs. And since vacant positions are scarce, they will tend to stay here longer. It will mean more expenses for us," she said.

Some may consider the work of Lydia House to be "just a drop in the ocean" which does not tackle the rural poverty driving villagers to leave home in the first place.

But Ulla and her staff see it differently.

"Many jobseekers walk one hour or more from Mor Chit to ask for our help. How can we turn them away?

"We're not very rich but we have big hearts," she said. "I think an evening meal and a comfortable place to sleep is not too much for us to give to our fellow human beings."

Anyone interested in supporting Lydia House can contact Ulla Fewster or Silla Cha-lair at 196/41-42 Soi Pracharat 4, Krungthep-Non Road, Saam Yaek Taopun, Bang Sue, Bangkok 10800. Tel/fax 911-5684. Alternatively, call Ulla Fewster at her home on 583-4154.

Cash donations can be deposited into Siam Commercial Bank savings account number 027-2-38487-4, Bang Pho branch. Name of account is Mr Taweesak Sangrose and Mrs Ulla Fewster.

"We Care" is a weekly series honouring people who believe in giving. You can show your care by supporting the projects featured here each week. You can also let us know about people who selflessly help others so we can honour them in these pages. Fax "We Care" on 240-3666, or call 240-3700 ext 3208 or 3212.