The harsh reality of life on the street

Originally from Krugersdorp town, Greyling as a wheelchair-bound man spends most of his time begging for a living on the streets.

He once served as a senior contract manager at Group Five in Durban, but eventually life dealt him a cruel hand.

He says it’s his unfavourable destiny which forced him to beg on the streets of Boksburg, and is appealing for help.

Talking about the circumstances that led to his ruin, Greyling says he lost mobility after he suffered a stroke that left his left side paralysed and partially impaired his vision.

Due to his disability, he was laid off from his job.

Having no source of income, he struggled to pay rent and his landlord kicked him out of his flat, leaving him without a roof over his head.

Since then, he has been living on the streets, abandoned lots and shelters.

He moved from Krugersdorp to Boksburg about a year ago, wheeling around Boksburg North hoping people with good hearts would help him.

That was when Greying ended up begging at the traffic light on the intersection of Trichardts and Main Reef roads.

Greyling calls the pavement outside the liquor store on the corner his home.

He survives on the handouts offered by motorists and passers-by.

Greying has been in a wheelchair for about three years now, and his first wheelchair fell apart, just like his life which had come apart at the seams.

He often had to move on hand and knee while he had to deal with the broken wheelchair; this is until a local bikers club recently came to his rescue with a new wheelchair.

Greyling described begging as a degrading activity that exposes him to harassment and violence, but at least he has also seen the acts of kindness.

“Pan-handling is such an unpleasant activity. Some motorists are good at me but some just curse me. I’ve become familiar with being brushed off and the insults hurled at me as I beg for money and food,” says Greyling.

“People tell me I must go look for a job. If I was never paralysed I would go and work,” he said.

Greyling says sleeping on the streets and begging were his last remaining options.

He challenges those who are against street beggars to spend just one day in the shoes of a homeless beggar, in order to experience the harsh reality that beggars on the streets had to endure.

Greyling is tired of the dangers of the streets and is longing for something better.

“I don’t decide to beg forever, if I get some money and permanent accommodation, I would stop begging.”

He hasn’t tried to apply for disability grant because his ID was stolen while he was asleep on the pavement. He can’t afford the amount required to replace it.

A resident of Boksburg North, Ina Ebersohn, who works for the Ekurhuleni Parks Department, says she regularly brings food to Greyling, describing him as a friendly and sociable person.

“Every time when I pass here I stop to greet him and give him something to eat. He has become a family friend. He is not like the other beggars, who beg for money to maintain their alcohol and drugs habit,” says the Good Samaritan.

Greyling says he doesn’t make that much money.

“On a good day, I make R30, but on a lousy day I make less than R10.”

Beggars have become a familiar sight on the busiest intersections in Boksburg and the number of people begging are increasing at an alarming rate.

In May, last year, Kobedi Kgasago, spokesperson for the EMPD, confirmed that begging on the streets, especially at very busy major traffic intersections is illegal, adding that the EMPD officers do the best they can to address the problem.

“We issue them with warnings and if they continue; we therefore arrest them and take them to the nearest police station.

“However, a few hours later the very same persons are back on the streets begging again,” explains Kgasago.

Kgasago says their Social Crime Prevention Unit also works hand-in-hand with NGOs and other stakeholders to address the problem.

“However, we face numerous challenges, because most of the beggars are undocumented people from neighbouring countries.

“We also host awareness campaigns where we educate people about traffic safety issues, including beggars, window washers, illegal hawkers, and other activities that are against the metro by-laws.”