Japanese sociologist says Church can help 'new urban poor'

A Japanese sociologist, Hideo Aoki, said the Catholic church can play an important role in alleviating the plights of a new type of homeless street people in Metro Manila. Aoki said the new type or urban poor— those who converge in Manila in increasing numbers— have emerged as urban poor communities are demolished and jobs become even harder to find. According to the website of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCANews), Aoki said the Church can help the poor in two ways: (1) by providing the homeless people with food and other needs and (2) giving them a “reason to hope and dream through enlightenment." "Metro Manila is the best place for street people. There are many supermarkets, restaurants and small jobs. That’s why many migrate from the provinces," Aoki was quoted as saying in the UCANews website. Aoki said squatters, who are strictly classified as “homeless," tend to move to the suburbs. The “new homeless," on the other hand, tend to converge in Manila. Aoki, a Japanese social scientist and researcher, presented the results of his study at the Ateneo de Manila University’s John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI), where he is a research fellow. Aoki, director of Institute on Social Theory and Dynamics based in Hiroshima City, Japan, estimated that there are “more than 100,000" homeless people living in and around Metro Manila. “I know some priests who support squatters but they should extend support to homeless people, too," he said. “Without NGOs, street children would not survive. The UCANews report said Aoki spent three years writing his 2007 research study about street homeless in Metro Manila. The sociologist began studying the urban poor and squatter problem 25 years ago when he stayed for one year in Manila with his family. –VVP, GMANews.TV