New York. Saturday, June 15, 2019
Biking around busy New York’s streets trying to find a homeless person
was my goal. There he was, sitting on the sidewalk with his torn gray backpack. I offered to buy him lunch and he seemed very eager to accept. So we headed to the nearest deli to grab our food.
We walked over to Central Park and found a vacant bunch. We started chatting
about today’s politics around the world. Benjamin, a Nigerian citizen, proceeded to
share his experiences when he was back home. He is a war survivor and he
saw things he didn’t wish on anybody to see. The unfortunate part of his life story he
said is not only seeing dead bodies everywhere but also losing family except
for his son who he fled with to Egypt and then they immigrated to the USA under
refugee status.
Benjamin's profession is carpentry at which he excelled back home, but had a
hard time finding a steady job here. Also, Benjamin hasn’t seen his son since they parted
way over 8 years ago but he hopes to see him someday. Time passed by too quickly, so we had to wrap up and go
our separate ways. We gave each other’s a hug and wished for a great day.
