Vagrants roughing it out in makeshift homes
not easy living with them and this (living under the bridge) is far better,’’ said Mohamad.
A few metres away was Ayu, also known as the snake lady because she always carries a baby python coiled around her fingers.
Ayu is probably one of the few people who have been living under the bridge the longest.
She has made the place comfortable with mattreses and lives with seven cats.
“Before this I was sleeping at Daya Bumi for six years until drug addicts invaded and disturbed the area. It was so dirty and I had to relocate,’’ said the gutsy woman.
Ayu ekes out a living by re-cycling and selling hand-made jewellery.
“I am not a beggar and I mind my own business.
“I amokay if people want to sleep here as long as they do not cause trouble and don’t steal my things.
“I have a strict rule about cleanliness and just hate people littering,’’ she said.
Clad in bright pink t-shirt and jeans and combing her hair was Salmi from Sandakan, Sabah.
Although she claims that it has been only a few days that she has been staying there her demeanour suggests otherwise.
Salmi had a mattress and too many belongings and seemed far too comfortablewith her surroundings.
“I don’t have any documents because my identity card has been stolen, so I can’t get a job. Without any work, it is impossible to get money and a decent place to live,’’ she said.
“This is why I amhere because life in the city is hard and no one was willing to offer me work,” she said as she shyly went to her spot under some bushes.
Like Salmi and Ayu, there are many people like her sleeping under the bridge, some even with children and families. Thoughwe did not spot children, we saw several women.
“People come here because they have no where to go,” she said with a smile.
When asked how people keep themselves clean and wash up, she said there was a pipe nearby to wash-up. They go to Brickfields to receive free food from a Buddhist centre.
Along the riverbank, clothes, towels and underwear are left to dry on a string tied to the railings. Stack of mattresses and luggages were arranged accordingly, possibly belonging to others, who had gone for the day. There was even a sofa set.
What happens when it is too hot or too cold?
“When it is hot, I will bring outmy matress and sleep under the stars,’’ added Ayu. “When I wake up at night, I find all my seven cats sleeping with me,’’ Ayu said, fondly stroking a kitten.
Another girl, who refused to give her name, said she liked sleeping there as it was fun.
She said it was boring staying at her relatives place in Gombak and this place gave her the freedom.
“We are used to the noise and doesn’t bother us very much,” she added as she moved away not wanting to say anything more.
Just then a guy named Rin also from Sabah, who was busy walking up and down sniffing the glue in his hand asked our photographer for a cigarette.
He then asked if we had RM3 because he had not eaten anything yet.
“I hope to get a job soon but until I do, this is the only place I can stay. Hopefully I get a job, so I can find a better place to live in,” Rin said.
On rainy days when the water rises, they take whatever they can carry and move away to higher ground and wait for the water to subside before returning to their haven under the bridge.