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美國最大的無家可歸者聚集地在哪裏?

2015-5-1 16:19| views: 670| 評論: 0|編輯 |刪除

摘要: 美國最大的無家可歸者聚集地在哪裏?Google一下,您會得到一個意想不到的答案:在加州舊金山的硅谷。當地人稱其“The Jungle”。  在距離硅谷核心區衆多高科技公司僅有數十分鐘車程的這塊面積大約68英畝、沿Coyote ...
美國最大的無家可歸者聚集地在哪裏?Google一下,您會得到一個意想不到的答案:在加州舊金山的硅谷。當地人稱其“The Jungle”。

  在距離硅谷核心區衆多高科技公司僅有數十分鐘車程的這塊面積大約68英畝、沿Coyote Creek河道延展開來的灌木樹林裏,大約有300多名無家可歸者常年盤踞在此。有人滯留這裏長達數年,有人短則幾天。不斷的有人離開,不斷的有人到來。


  聚集地裏人員成分族裔複雜,白人、非洲裔、亞裔、拉丁裔、中東裔都有。年齡最 大的無家可歸者約80歲,最小的僅有2歲。其中亞裔(主要為越南裔)約20%多。


  福利機構或慈善組織會不定期到此發放食物和舊衣服,飲用水、燃料則無法足夠提 供。聚集地裏衛生條件極差,沒有流動的清潔飲用水及廁所設施。生活垃圾、排泄物及隨意燃燒煮食取暖等,環境污染很大。


  聚集地裏90%的無家可歸者是毒品吸食者,85%是傳染疾病(主要為艾滋病病毒)攜帶者,或者是有犯罪記錄的人。他們很難找到工作,甚至不具備資格和條件申請、領取各項福利。


  加州硅谷,世界上最先進的高科技産業基地,蘋果、惠普、IBM、Google、Facebook、NASA等世界知名公司機構的名字如雷貫耳, 他們産生和聚集的財富,用“富可敵國”形容都不為過。但是,為何美國最大的無家可歸者聚集地會在這裏呢?為何這個地區,會有如此多的無家可歸者?


  美國社會是一個嚴謹的、信用體制完善的經濟社會。當一個人失去工作,沒有收 入,住房也就很快就沒有了。沒有收入,沒有住房,很快就成了無家可歸者(Homeless)。而一旦一個人有了犯罪(搶劫、偷盜)、吸毒等不良個人記錄, 則很難再找到工作。美國有一定程度的“輕罪重判、重罪輕判”現象,偷一樣小東西是 犯罪,虐待動物是犯罪,打自己小孩是犯罪,父母離異后違約看望自己的小孩也是 犯罪。很多人涉及此類犯罪,一旦有了這些罪,就會與工作無緣,與領取社會福利無緣。


  硅谷作為世界高科技産業中心,勞動力需求較為高端,低端産業工作機會不多,這也變相導致沒有受過良好教育的人在硅谷很難生存下去。這種由傳統工業社會向信 息社會轉變而出現的經濟不平衡和産業結構巨變導致的貧富差距加大的社會問題在 硅谷地區有更為突出的表現。


  美國運行半個多世紀的福利制度,隨時社會和經濟形勢發展,越來越暴露出種種弊 端。機構臃腫、官僚,甚至國家福利金的90%消耗在管理這一救濟金的官僚機構 上。真正落到窮人手上的不過10%。福利制度某種程度上扼殺窮人的勞動積極性,供養不勞而獲好吃懶做之人。領取福利的程序教條死板,無法根據具體問題狀況 而 調整,讓值得資助救濟的人無法得到支援。


  但是不能忽視的事實,作為無家可歸者最主體的人,他們的性格,生活方式,信仰 價值觀等存在的問題,也是導致他們身陷窘境的重要原因。


  “The Jungle”,叢林中蔓延糾結的枝藤,剪不斷,理還亂。


When you Google “Where is the biggest homeless camp?” you will get an answer that is quite shocking, it is in the Silicon Valley, near San Jose. The locals call it “The Jungle.”


  The Jungle locates10 minutes away from the many high tech companies along the Coyote creek; taking over an area of 68 acres, inside the bushes and trees, there live 300 homeless people. Some stay for a few days, some live there for years, some come and some go。


  This is an international encampment where many nationalities congregate: Asians, Caucasians, Africans, Latinos, Middle Easterns. The oldest resident is about 80 years old. The youngest resident is 2 years old. Asians (mostly Vietnamese) are about 20%。


  The social service organizations deliver food and clothes. Drinking water and cooking gas are never enough. Trash and human elimination can be found everywhere around food, living quarters, as well as natural water sources。


  90% of the homeless in the camp are drug addicts, 85% have been exposed to or carriers of some kind of communicable diseases (such as AIDS) or with criminal record. They can never find work, or are not qualified to apply or receive any kind of social asisstance。


  Silicon Valley, California, has the most biggest companies in the world: Apple, HP, IBM, Google, Facebook, NASA, and many others. The accumulation of all their riches can be more than an average country’s total wealth. But, why with so much wealth and riches, it has the larges population of homeless people with no jobs and no hope?


  Maybe it is due to the nature of the business here. The valley needs high-end tech related jobs that need high level of education. Other jobs are not widely available or paid well. The shift of wealth from industrialisation to informationalisation created a large gap between the rich and the poor and it is especially acute in Silicon Valley。


  Due to the increase of real estate prices in the last few years that had fattened the pocket of many real estate related business, but driven many out of their homes and onto the streets。


  Of course there is an indisputable reason that it is the cruel reality that many of the homeless belong to a population that are not “well fit” in this kind of society. Their value system, work ethics, and idea of freedome do not integrate well with.


  The U.S. is a well organized society with a fully implemented economic system. When one has no job, one will have no income. When one has no income, one will lose housing and become homeless。


  The poor people living in the Jungle, as well as the average people in society, once have been convicted of a crime, or with a criminal record, even if it is a petty crime, will cause them to lose their work and getting future jobs will be impossible。


  The American wellfare system since its inception in the 1960s started to experience some problems. With the government heavily beauracratic, many welfare systems cost 90% to administer and 10% of the benefit can trickle down to the poverty stricken class. In some ways, the system also give its recipients no incentives to work. The processes are cumbersome and inflexible, leaving many qualified people unable to receive aid。


  The Jungle, stretchs like many long twisted vines, unable to cut and find it’s vines。

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