Hong Kong's cage homes are almost impossible to self- ...

Cage homes are usually smaller than 100 square feet, only 25 square feet larger than most of the city's prison cells. Bathrooms are mostly ... Socialdistancingin100squarefeet:HongKong’scagehomesarealmostimpossibletoself-isolatein ByJoshuaBerlinger,CNN Updated 4:26AMEDT,SunApril26,2020 LinkCopied! AdFeedback ThisphotographtakenbyBennyLamfortheSocietyforCommunityOrganizationshowstheinsideofoneofHongKong's"cagehomes." BennyLam/SocietyforCommunityOrganization HongKong CNN  —  Beforethepandemic,LumChaiusedtogototheparkanddrinkbeerswithfriendstoescapehistinylivingquarters.Nowthe45-year-oldwalksthecity’sstreetsalonetokilltimeandkeepawayfromhisneighbors. Vigilantlypracticingsocialdistancingathomeisn’tanoptionforLum.HelivesinoneofHongKong’s“cagehomes,”subdividedapartmentsthatoftenhavespaceforonlyabedandsomeclothes.Hisclosestneighborisjustafewfeetaway,insidethesameroom. Cagehomesareusuallysmallerthan100squarefeet,only25squarefeetlargerthanmostofthecity’sprisoncells.Bathroomsaremostlycommunalandoftentherearenokitchens–justplug-inhotplates.Unitsaremostlydividedbymakeshiftorremovablewalls. Lum,whoisunemployed,saidhepays1,800HongKongdollars($232)foranapartmentdividedbetween10people. AhandoutimagefromtheSocietyforCommunityOrganization,alsotakenbyphotographerBennyLam,showstheinsideofoneofHongKong's"cagehomes." BennyLam/SocietyforCommunityOrganization Lum’ssituationisextreme,butnotunusual.Ninein10peopleinHongKongliveinanareasmallerthan753squarefeet–or70squaremeters–andyetpaysomeofthehighestrentsandpropertypricesintheworld.Theaveragecostofahomewasmorethan$1.2millionlastyear,accordingtorealestateinvestmentfirmCBRE. Tomakethingsworse,manypublicareasareclosedduetothepandemic.Librariesareshuttered.Junglegymsinparksaretapedoff.Restaurantshaveslashedcapacity,andbarshavebeenforcedtoclose,unlesstheyservefood.Publicgatheringsarelimitedtofourpeople. DespitehavinghadthevirussinceJanuary,HongKonghasrecordedfewerthan1,050infectionsand4deaths,sofewcitizensdisagreewiththerestrictions.Butthatdoesn’tmakethemeasytolivewith. “I’msolonely,”Lumsaid.“Thereisn’tthatsameatmosphereonthestreetsliketherewasbefore.Sofewpeoplesitintheparks.Peopleusedtowatchthechildrenplayandtheelderlyplaybadminton.” LumChai,45,isseenduringImpactHK'smealserviceonTuesday,April7. JoshuaBerlinger/CNN HowlongcanpeoplelikeLumbeexpectedtostayathome? ‘We’reafraidofthecurrentsituation’ HongKonghasareputationoverseasasawealthyglobalfinancialcenter,populatedbyrichbankerswholiveinwildlyexpensiveapartmentsoverseeingthecity’siconicskyline. Whilethatlifestyleexists,itisfarfromthenorm–HongKongisoneofthemosteconomicallyunequalplacesintheworld,whereanestimatedoneinfivepeopleliveinpoverty.Skyrocketingrealestatepriceswereoneofthemajorissuesthatdrewprotesterstothestreetsduringlastyear’smonthsofpoliticalunrest. Thevirushasonlypronouncedthatinequality,aspoorpeopleareforcedtoretreatintotheircagehomes. CheungLaiHungandChanYukKuen,tworetiredwomenintheirlate50s,saythatsincethepandemicthey’vebeenspendinganextra10hoursadayintheir100-square-footapartments.TheypassthetimebywatchingTV,listeningtomusicornapping. “We’reafraidofthecurrentsituation,”saidCheung. CheungLaiHung,left,andChanYukKuen,right. CNN There’sanotherfactorforcingmanytostayhome:jobinsecurity. JeffRotmeyer,thefounderofthecharityImpactHK,whichassiststhecity’sneedy,saidmanypeopleseekinghelpfromtheorganizationrecentlyhavereportedhavingtheirhourscut,orworsehavinglosttheirjobs. Othershavebeenkickedoutoftheirhomesbecausetheycouldn’tpayrent,Rotmeyersaid. “Idon’tthinkpeopleunderstandhowonthebrinkHongKongisofacompletedisasterintermsofthisdemographicthatliveinapartmentsorboxeslessthan100squarefeet,”Rotmeyersaid. “Onehiccup,likeajoblossoralategovernmentcheck,itwillresultinhomelessness.Theselandlordsarenotforgivingpeople.They’renotflexible.Andthey’revery,veryquicktochangeyourlocksandkickyououtifyoudon’tpayonemonthofrent.” Requisitedistance OnanunseasonablycoldTuesdayinearlyApril,Lumjoinedagroupofmorethan100ofpeopleliningupforafreedinnerintheHongKongneighborhoodofTakKokTsui,westofMongKokandShamShuiPo–twoofthecity’spoorestandmostdenselypopulateddistricts. Thequeuethatsnakeddownthethinsidewalkwaslongerthanusual,saidRotmeyere,andcomprisedofmiddle-agedfolkslikeLum,elderlyretireesandpeoplenewlyoutofajob. Thedesiretogetfedseemedtotrumptheneedtopracticesocialdistancing,aspeoplehuddledinthelongline. ChuKinLik,a61-year-oldImpactHKvolunteer,stoodatthefronttryingtokeeppeopleapart. “Youdoseealittlemorepanicandfearinindividuals,becausethetruthisiftheydon’tgetfoodhererightnowwithus,theyprobablyjustwon’teat,”Rotmeyersaid.“We’retryingtosocialdistancetheseindividualsastheylineup,butitisdifficult.” ChuKinLik,61,makessurepeoplekeeptheirdistanceastheywaitfordinneratImpactHK'smealserviceonTuesday,April7 JoshuaBerlinger/CNN EveryoneCNNspoketoinlineforfoodwasawareoftheneedforsocialdistancing.Manysaidtheywerepracticingbetterhygieneandwashingtheirhandsmoreoften,perthegovernment’sadvice.Butfewseemedtounderstandhowfaraparttheyshouldkeepfromotherpeople–groupsshouldstay1.5meters(5feet)apartundergovernmentguidelines. Whenaskedaboutthedifficultiesofmaintainingaproperdistancebetweenothersinsuchsmalllivingspaces,severalcagehome-dwellersshruggedandsaidthateveryoneintheirsubdividedunitsjustclosedtheirdoors. “It’sobviouslynotthatfairbecausewehavetodistanceourselvesfrompeople.Butifthat’swhatweneedtodothenwe’lldoit,”saidCheung,oneofthetworetiredwomen.“Hopefully,itwillhelpmakethevirusgoawaysooner.” ‘It’sverylonely’ Cityofficialshaveannounced$37billionworthofmeasurestostaveofftheeconomiceffectsoftheglobalpandemic,includingmultipletaxbreaks,rentalassistanceforlow-incometenantsinpublichousing,government-backedlow-interestloansforsmallandmediumenterprises,anda10,000Hong-Kong-dollar($1,290)cashpayouttoallpermanentresidentsoverage18. Lesshasbeensaid,however,aboutthepsychologicalimpactofself-isolatinginatinyspace,andthementaltollofslashingtimespentsocializing. TheHongKonggovernmentrecentlyearmarkedabout50millionHongKongdollarsannually($6.5millionannually)for“on-goingmentalhealthpromotionandpubliceducationinitiative,”saidaspokesman,andsetupawebsitetoassistpeopleinthisspace.IthasaskedNGOstomakesomeservicesfree. “IthasindeedbeenachallengetopracticesocialdistancinginadenselypopulatedandvibrantcitylikeHongKong,”thespokespersonsaidinastatement,addingthatpeopleweren’tbannedfromgoingoutandthatmanyhadbeenvisitingthecity’scountryparks. ForLum,respitefromthementalhealtheffectsofthepandemiccan’tcomesoonenough.Henolongerspeakswithhisfamily,whichmakesdealingwithhislonelinessandfearharder. Heoftenpassesthetimebysittingbyhimselfanddrinkingbeer.Byhisownadmission,it’snopanacea. “It’sverylonely.Ihaveacoupleofbeersthengohomeandsleep,”hesaid.“IhopethisviruscangoawaysoonandthatHongKongcangobacktobeingthebusycitythatitwas.Anexcitingcity.” JournalistsKarinaTsui,AlexandraLinandAnnaKamcontributedreporting AdFeedback AdFeedback AdFeedback AdFeedback