Amsterdam

Ad

51 years old

“Methadone is good, also for the pain. You only get really bad side effects if you stop.”

When Ad was one year old his parents split and he was sent to live with his grandparents. At the age of two he was sent to an orphanage, from which he was adopted at four. He was once again abandoned and sent to a boarding school at the age of 11. He spent four years in boarding school and ran away at the age of 15.

Frank

42 years old

“Society made me this way, they made me sick, so now they have to pay.”

Frank lives in a container housing shelter overseen by Volksbond. He has been in shelter for the last three-and-a-half years. His homelessness started at the age of 12. His father left, leaving him behind with his mentally ill mother. At the age of 14, he and his girlfriend Polly were sleeping in a station when an officer came in and shot her five times.

Haani

56 years old

“When I was working, all the money I made went to heroin and cocaine.”

Haani is Jewish and from Iraq. Because of his religion he had to leave Iraq, unable to return home. A cook by profession, Haani used to live in Almere and has even owned his own restaurant. “Life was beautiful.” At some point in time, troubles with the police arose “I worked, paid taxes, did everything right, and lost everything.” This happened in 2009. The church has now provided him with an official document allowing him to stay in the country. “Iraq said no, Israel said no… That’s why they let me stay here; I have no place to go.”

José

50 years old

“I’m just a Dutch woman who has lost everything.”

José used to work as a cleaning lady but lost her job due to downsizing three years ago. She used to make €1200 per month before being replaced by someone less expensive.

With no income, she lost her flat and has now been homeless for two years. She still cleans toilets wherever and whenever she can, for €2.

Akillu

45 years old

“In this country homelessness is a business.”

Akillu has been homeless for 20 years. He is of Eritrean origin and has been in Amsterdam for 26 years. Every five years he’d used to renew his visa but because he was caught shoplifting his passport and ID were revoked due to him “being a danger for society.” He now lives in the Netherlands as an illegal immigrant.

Shahid

46 years old

“You don’t have to look for drugs here in Amsterdam – drugs will find you.”

Shahid is of Moroccan and Spanish descent. He has been in the Netherlands for 32 years, having moved there with his late parents. He also spent six years in France where he worked as a chef.

Shahid has been homeless for five years now. For Shahid, the most challenging part of being on the street is the drugs. “When you have problems, you attract more problems. Once you made the mistake of opening that door, it’s over, you’re stuck.”

Soskia

67 years old

“When you’re homeless, you have no authority, you are nobody and you have no legal value.”

Soskia lives has been living in a shelter for five years now. The government pays her rent and she receives a weekly allowance of €70. Before that, she lived in an old industrial area for fifteen years, two years of which were spent near a canal where she built a shelter for herself out of wood and branches, after having lost the rented flat she had lived in for fifteen years.

Ko

49 years old

“I take anything I can get my hands on, but drugs are too expensive; that’s for special occasions.”

Ko is of Serbian origin, and came to Amsterdam in 1990. He is a painter by profession and has worked in construction for ten years. He found himself fixing tiles, pipes, gas, water, electricity and gradually became the boss. “It wasn’t nice anymore.” He couldn’t stand it, so he quit. “Today I look for bottles. I drink and then I recycle.” Ko started drinking when he moved to Amsterdam. “Everyone drinks here, so I joined the party.”

Carla

49 years old

“Having a Dutch passport makes all the difference. I never had to spend a night outside”

Carla is of Peruvian origin but has been in the Netherlands for 21 years. After marrying a Dutch man, she became citizen of the Netherlands. They divorced in 2002. Carla’s sister came to visit six years ago with the desire to stay in the Netherlands. Despite it being illegal, Carla felt obliged to house her sister. When her sister illegally tapped into the neighbour’s electricity, Carla had to face the consequences. She went into debt and they were both evicted.

Emassaoudi

51 years old

“Prison is good; you can eat, sleep, watch sports, work out and play football. There is a library and everything you want.”

Emassaoudi is of Algerian origin. He came to Amsterdam by boat via Spain in 1992. At the time he was married and came to Amsterdam seeking work and a better life for his family. Nine years ago his wife passed away and, because he could not afford rent on his own, he was evicted. Emassaoudi is a barber by profession but as he is an illegal immigrant, he cannot apply for a job.