Homeless Being Evicted from Rails

Today, the homeless people, at rails, were being evicted from their homes. Some of us students from the Ka Makani Kaiaulu O Waianae Enironmental Justice Institute, decided to go ahead and be a witness to this event. We took some pictures of the homeless being evicted or we would film some b-role of Rails of the things that were going on at the time. Through my eyes, this event was really heartbreaking and I couldn't feel any sorrier than I was feeling at that time. It was like a baby being taken away from it's family, something tragic that should never happen. I wish I could have done something to help the homeless find homes for their families but that power was not in my grasp. Seeing large groups of police get involved was also ignorant to me because believe it or not, there were some cops who despise the homeless but there were also some cops who wanted to help. The expression upon their faces played out the whole story of how they were feeling. As I walked along Rails, I came across young children that were packing up their belongings. It hurt me to see their homes being taken away from them. It may not have been an appealing home to live in but what you have to understand, is that it was "THEIR HOME." My support, was the greatest thing that I could've gave to them.

Everyone, should realize that homeless people are normal people just like ourselves. They shouldn't be judged for how they appear or for what they have. They should be treated equally like everyone else. Is that so hard to do? By the way things are going on nowadays, our economy is in major trouble. It's not easy to make a living. Rents are higher than ever, bills are raising, more and more money is being demanded day by day. They have to make a living just like we do. What is our state doing to help our people through these hardships? Is it helping? Are the decisions they're making, the right ones? Is there any proof of this changes? Ask yourself these questions.

We all need to work to survive in life. Every penny counts because it was all earned somehow from someone. After being a witness of this event, I was speechless. What could've I said to make things better? "Nothing".. Like I said earlier in this blog, MY SUPPORT, was the best
GIFT/ CONTRIBUTION I could offer. People that have homes should really take the time to appreciate it because the people I've seen and spoke to, would feel like they've won a million dollars if they had a home to go to. They don't have a permanent home, they're always on the go. The parents of these families, amaze me of how strong and determined they are to help their children survive. Imagine if you were in their spot, how would you feel? What would you do? How would you deal with it? Would you be ashamed to say that you were homeless?

The quote that continued to be said by the homeless people were,

"WHERE ARE WE GOING????"

-KUAIKA KAEO