Behind the flashy exterior of glassy skyscrapers, bubblegum pop and the artificial lights of capitalism lies a secret that many choose to ignore: the cardboard collectors. Elderly, often homeless and without work, they pull wagons full of cardboard behind them.
These so-called “cardboard collectors” exist in multiple Asian countries, including but not limited to Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea. They collect tall stacks of cardboard on their rickety wagons, which they sell to large recycling firms for next to nothing. Often, these collectors will only earn a couple of dollars after amassing hundreds of kilograms of cardboard.
As reported in the Straits Times, one Grandma, Madame Au Fung-Lan, puts in consistent 14-hour workdays collecting, moving, and ripping cardboard. Working from pre-dawn until dusk, she collects stacks and stacks of boxes, which she sells for 17 Singaporean cents per kilogram. There are an estimated 2,900 such collectors just in Hong Kong, and more in surrounding countries.
How bad is the situation?
Very, very bad. A 2014 OECD report showed that a staggering 49% of South Koreans aged 65 and above live in relative poverty. 30.9% of Hong Kong elders and 41% of Singaporean elders live in poverty – that’s around one in two to three elders who aren’t living a great life. Without savings, family, and sufficient government support, they struggle to make ends meet.
Basically, elders in a number of Asian countries find themselves stranded – without work, a viable pension, or family. This is due to a combination of factors – firstly, there are not a lot of jobs available for those over the age of 60 in Asian societies, and most are fired once they’re over the age of 50.
What’s more, the government usually does not provide a sufficient pension for the elderly; this is especially true for countries with an aging population since there are “too many” people to care for and little money to spare.
The final reason why Asian societies are growing more and more isolated is because of familial issues; unlike in the past where daughters and sons would care for their parents and live under the same roof, they are expressing more willingness to live alone instead. This means that the elderly who were counting on their children to support them after retirement are left with nothing.
Is there more to this? How can we help?
Although serious, these issues are merely the tip of the iceberg and, to resolve these issues and get rid of extreme poverty and the “cardboard people”, we need to stop offering band-aid solutions and turning a blind eye to the suffering of millions. Instead, we must dig a little deeper to get to the root of the problem – which is a lot more complicated and has no cure-all solution.
Part of this complex problem is the capitalist society that we live in today that rewards exploitation and net worth above all. The vast majority of successful corporations utilize sweatshops and menial labor to gain large amounts of profits, which they mostly keep for themselves instead of giving back to their employees. This plays a great part in causing local businesses to fail as their prices can’t compete and results in an economic monopoly.
Ultimately, this means that the majority of people will either be unemployed and broke or working for a corporation, where they will either make their way up if they’re lucky or stay in the lower ranks and work for peanuts. In an era where millionaires and billionaires are touted for having “worked hard” to get where they are, we have to reconsider if that’s really correct – and what that means for many others around the world. The truth is that there are just as many people who have worked as hard as the wildly successful and only received a small fraction of what they have and there are a hundred, a thousand times more people who are in extreme poverty for every billionaire.
It’s true that no type of economic system – socialism, capitalism, or otherwise – is perfect. However, instead of accepting or ignoring these imperfections, we should try to amend them and patch them to the best of our ability for now.
For starters, a better and more easily accessible universal healthcare and pension system needs to be implemented in these countries if they want to improve their overall wellbeing and meet the basic standards of health and comfort. Wanting free healthcare and a liveable pension isn’t being political, it’s merely wanting other people to have at least the bare minimum. Meeting these criteria is the only and best way we will be able to get rid of the “cardboard people” for good.
Image credit: Dennis Jarvis