We might have seen these people, but have chosen for them to remain invisible
This scene may be familiar to you. After your dinner at the local hawker centre or coffee shop, an elderly lady or man waddles up to you, perhaps looking slightly dishevelled or tired, and asks if she or he could collect your drink can after you’re done with it.
You may not have thought twice about the plight of these senior citizens but this is how they live – day to day, with the possibility of not earning enough to feed themselves. Talk about a retirement plan.
It’s not just Singapore that has these “canners”, the term for the folk who go around collecting empty cans and bottles. A new programme puts the spotlight on their lives and lifestyle.
A Global Phenomenon
Emmy award-winning film makers Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill’s HBO Original Documentary, “Redemption”, looks at a growing army of restless New Yorkers, whose treasures are found in the trash of the city.
Short-listed as one of the three nominees for this year’s “Documentary Short Subject” Oscar, the two of them had an uphill task ahead of them before they could even start filming.
They had to spend months mingling with the “canners”, getting to know them and gaining their trust before the cameras were even allowed to roll.
The major talking point of the documentary is not about the state of which these “canners” live their lives, but rather the income disparity that is prevalent in the USA.
From All Walks of Life
Poverty doesn’t choose, favour or discriminate. It affects anyone and everyone it grabs hold of, and tears the life they once had into the ground. This documentary showcases the various walks of life that the “canners” come from.
Former short-order cooks, computer-sales executives and factory workers; these men and women turned to canning after the economic downturn eliminated their livelihoods. They hunt the sidewalks and trash cans for empty cans and bottles, which they then drop off at redemption centres to earn a measly five cents apiece.
Alpert and O’Neill noted that, “In the best of times for some, there is a growing army of New Yorkers who survive by scouring the sidewalks and sifting through our city’s trash. ‘Redemption’ shows the Dickensian conditions at the growing bottom of our city’s economy”.
A Hero’s Welcome?
Similar to the plight of some of the elderly in Singapore, this documentary shows how far people can fall, in terms of income.
A man by the name of Walter, a 60-year-old Vietnam War veteran, is one of the people featured. After serving his country in the war and returning a hero, it’s no celebration for him now.
He has been a “canner” for a decade and he had the opportunity of seeing the number of “canners” soar as odd jobs that once supported the poor eventually disappeared.
Like many unemployed “canners”, he equates the odds of finding a conventional job with “hitting
the lotto”.
It’s a frightful state of living for these poor people. Furthermore, the numbers are getting larger and the disparity between the rich and poor is growing bigger.
Is there anything being done to solve the income disparity? How are people with relevant degrees and experience coping with a new life of sifting through trash to get by in life?
Catch the premiere of “Redemption” on Dec 28, at 10pm, on HBO Signature, StarHub Ch 603.
ADVERTISEMENTS