Though Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, poor people are made to live in houses which are just cages stacked on one another in the most disgraceful manner.
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The problem of proper housing is increasing at an alarming rate in Hong Kong. The cost has increased to such an extent that it has become next to impossible for common man to buy a house there. The condition of houses they are compelled to live in is extremely disgraceful.
People in Hong Kong need to live in 16 square-foot cages. The rent to stay in those tiny cages is around $170 to $190. If you calculate the cost on the basis of per square foot area, you will get to know that it is more expensive than most of the luxury apartments in Hong Kong.
These rooms comprise of around 30 cages. People living in the poorest parts of the city often live in such cages. They cages are too small to even fit an individual’s belongings.
May multi-storey, tall buildings are stacked up with cages which crunched together.
Initially, these cages were created only for poor single men coming to Hong Kong from mainland China during the 1950s.
However, as the time passed by, the poverty rose. The condition of housing became disgraceful. As a culmination of all these circumstances, the demand for cages as homes began to rise.
On an average, a person needs to wait for around five to seven years to get his name listed in the government public housing scheme. As a result, many poor people have to spend a lot of years in such disgraceful cages in Hong Kong.
Many cages have a common area between them. This area is used to wash clothes. Usually, they wash clothes in a shared bucket.
A lot of people living in the cage houses thought that they would have to live there temporarily. However, as the prices of houses increasing tremendously, they have accepted their fate.
The overall hygiene of the building is often overlooked. It is almost always in bad shape. In the restroom, there are two toilet stalls and one squat toilet. The squat toilet catches water from showers.
This is a picture of the residents of the cage house, Leung Shu. He is 78 years old. He shares his floor with four other people. In order to prevent themselves from bedbugs, these people use bamboo mattresses.
These building also have cubicles. They are a bit better than the cage houses. They are around 50 square feet in area.
They are usually shared between four or more family members.