KUALA LUMPUR – Despite coming from more affluent nations, a small number of Europeans here are sleeping rough on the city’s streets, and in abandoned homes and other shelters amid the current pandemic.
While their exact number is difficult to determine, a visit by The Vibes to the streets here recently found several middle-aged Caucasian men living destitute among the homeless, who are predominantly local or those from around the region.
Some of the Europeans claimed to be refugees escaping authoritarian regimes, while others said they are “stranded” in Malaysia, owing to travel restrictions in the country and abroad.
Strapped for cash and with little to no option to return home, the homeless Europeans forage for food, clothing and donations from non-governmental organisations, soup kitchens and generous individuals willing to lend a helping hand.
One of the men found in recent weeks was James Ashley Hollett, 52, who hails from Nottingham, the United Kingdom.
Hollett told The Vibes that he found himself stranded in Malaysia when the movement control order kicked in earlier this year, after having arrived from Thailand several days before the restrictions took effect.
The former English teacher said he had enough money to get by in the first few weeks while travel abroad was halted, allowing him to stay in fairly dignified accommodation, but he soon found himself running out of funds and having to seek shelter under bridges throughout the city.
He said he had been hauled up by the authorities to a detention centre in Alam Damai, Cheras, where he was held with refugees and illegal immigrants.
He then found himself released from detention with the proviso that he leaves the country no more than two weeks after movement curbs, which are still in place, are lifted.
Before the pandemic, he was financially able to travel to Southeast Asia to explore cultures and religions, especially Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.
Hollett said an Islamic NGO, which has given him some donations in recent months, also allowed him to use its library.
“Even though I’m not Muslim, I’m still studying Islam because I think it is important to understand what you don’t understand. And the problem with coming from the West is that there’s so much anti-Muslim propaganda that you don’t realise how much you’ve picked up because it’s everywhere.”
Met after he collected food from a soup kitchen near Petaling Street, he brought The Vibes to the ramshackle abandoned house where he lives, and which is strewn with garbage.
The divorcee said he previously enjoyed a well-heeled lifestyle due to some businesses and gold-stock trading, but his fortunes ran out in recent years.
“It was fun while it lasted, but this is where life has taken me now.”
Hollett lives in the abandoned bungalow with a Myanmar refugee who goes by “OG”, in his 20s. The location of the house is not revealed to protect their safety.
Hollett said he met a few other Europeans, mostly Russians, facing similar predicaments earlier this year, but has not seen them “for a while”, adding that he believes their embassies repatriated them.
Asked why he has yet to seek help from the British high commission, he said his government will not help him after he produced a video criticising it, but did not elaborate.
The Vibes was not able to determine the veracity of his claim at the time of writing.
Regardless, Hollett said he plans to head to India once the pandemic is over, “so I can learn more about Hinduism”.
The Vibes also met a German man in his 60s who, like Hollett, is stranded in the country because of Covid-19.
The man, who declined to be identified and photographed, said he found himself in a limbo when in transit to Myanmar around the time movement controls were enforced.
He said he has been living in a hostel near Pudu for the past nine months.
Neither Hollett nor the German revealed why their families are unable to help them financially, but both did not express an intention to return to their home countries after the virus crisis passes.
The German, in a brief conversation when met along Jalan Tun Perak, said he is “sick”, but able to get medicine from the nearby Tung Shin Hospital.
Despite his difficulties, he said he does not need any assistance.
“I am not angry, and I do not need help from anyone,” he said, before declining to be interviewed further. – The Vibes, December 27, 2020
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