Once a hairdresser, now living in streets: Story of a homeless in Germany

By Mesut Zeyrek

NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, Germany (AA) - A 70-year-old homeless person living on the streets of Germany for the past 10 years now has the added fear of a harsh winter.

Peter Schmidt, who nowadays can be found sitting near Cologne Central Station behind a blue cap where passersby sometimes leave spare change, once had a job and was living a happy life with his wife and daughter.

Speaking about the reasons that forced him to out onto the streets for the past 10 years, Schmidt said his life took a turn for the worse after contracting an illness that affected his spinal cord.

His job was first to go, but family troubles were soon to follow, eventually yielding no other choice but the cold of the western German city's streets.

At this point, Schmidt was no stranger to hardship. "I lived in an orphanage until I was 10 years old, then they gave me to a foster family," Schmidt, who was born in Trier, Germany, recounted Anadolu Agency.

Never knowing his parents, he lived poorly for 21 years in the care of a foster family, who did not allow him to pursue a trade that he desired. "Later, I decided to be a hairdresser and I became one."

"I got my mastery training and that was a profession I wanted."

When Schmidt went on vacation to the Netherlands, he suddenly fell ill and this put him and his family on course for tough times.

Though he was finally able to find a doctor who could treat his spinal cord disease after going from one hospital to the next, the damage had already been dealt to his family life and career.

"At that time, my family broke up. We grew apart with my wife and separated. I was unemployed during that illness.

"Sometimes, there are such times in a person's life that you can't understand how such sudden change occurs," he said.

After he was evicted from his home in Trier, he traveled to Cologne 10 years ago, where he lives today.

The winters are especially hard, he explains: "Living on the streets is not an easy life. A person needs to accept living on the street. What's difficult is finding where to shower, where to eat, where to sleep."

While there are charities and good organizations that help, they can often be very crowded. Still, "the people working there help out, and they're nice," he said.

Locals in Cologne also treat homeless people well, said Schmidt, who has a tent and can buy gas to cook and keep warm. "I beg every day in Cologne to fill my stomach. Sometimes good people come, they leave €5 ($4.85), and occasionally they give €10 ($9.70). There were even those who leave €20 ($19.40).

"I'm turning 70 now, I pray God to bless me a little more," he said.

Homeless, Schmidt said there are times when he has to sleep hungry, adding that can usually find something to eat the next day. "Sometimes someone gives bread, sometimes a piece of pizza."

The authorities also leave him and other homeless people be as long as they don't leave a mess. For those who are not so tidy, come and remove their tents from the street because they are not permitted.

Schmidt, whose wife died 10 years ago, said he had not been able to keep in touch with his daughter due to the problems their family went through.