I used to look at our two sofas and think: "I wish we had a long one where I could lie down."

[Homeless]

When I saw these two across the street, guess what I thought. I saw to it to take a picture on the way back. Taken from the second floor of our church building, it shows a previous shanty and business area some people used to occupy.

According to the news, 70 houses built in private property were demolished last August 24 in this block (Naval Street, Lapu-Lapu Avenue, North Bay Boulevard, South Navotas Navotas City, Metro Manila). The demolition was undertaken after the landowner won a legal battle. During that fateful day, five men who attempted to stop the demolition were arrested for violating the city ordinance.

[Survival]
The whole area is now fenced and dried fish are hung not far away from the sofas. It's just too hard to word it. I hope the story is now clear in your mind's eye. I entitled this piece survival because for some brave people, it's business as usual, only much harder than before, without any more roofs to dry their fish on.

[Regrowth]
This is almost half of a city block, now barren for months and despite the harsh environment, grass still managed to grow. There's almost nothing left aside from the sofas and whatever you can see. Somehow, these two men have found shade in a far corner of the lot. This scene reminds me of a few insightful lessons from the Bible:

Image Source

Luke 12:22-25

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?

Some animals are territorial and so humans are. We, humans, care for and have a relocation process for squatters which often fails but **God will never fail us!** If these birds can relocate after their homes get busted, so people can. This is one of the reasons why the videos below are difficult to watch. You can see people fighting for their homes like there's no other choice. They put their lives on the line defending their wrongful territory. They might have lost a legal battle because they're poor but why do they have to hurt people in order to stop the demolition? In these scenes, "Love your enemies." - along with rocks and bottles get thrown 'out the window'.

Warning: Sobering/Violent Videos below: Please don't try this at home, even if you're going to lose it!

NBBN NAVOTAS DEMOLITION NO HOUSING RELOCATION, HARRASING UNDER AGE NAVOTEÑO

-This must be the actual demolition I mentioned above where people are in the middle of the street, begging the police to stop since somebody allegedly got hurt. You can hear the woman cursing some workers dismantling their houses.

The second video below is another incident in San Juan which is much worse: A raw footage of residents from preparing for an attack, to making the police retreat upon throwing improvised firebombs.

San Juan violent demolition 2012 - Police retreats then retaliates with teargas

What does it take to defend a house? Isn't life more important than one's home?

Image Source
Matthew 19:29

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

If ever this happens to you or people around you, Please share these lessons before a fight ensues. As much as you can, obey man's law. Leave for peace and safety if you have to, and most of all, obey God's law.

News Reference

The Photography lesson for today:

Even technically imperfect photos (and shaky videos) can effectively conveny emotions. They're much worth sharing along with the stories behind them if your audience can realate to them and feel the same emotions that made you share the photo. -This is how a single photo can be as valuable as a book.

Contest Notes:

The first picture is my entry for "Abandoned Shit Weekly #6 : Interior" contest.
The first three are my entries for "MyPictureDay" and "StreetPhotography" contests.

Location Information

This is what it looked like before the structures where demolished. Google map shows an old picture. Less than half of the whole block on the left side of the picture is now gone and the whole area must appear with a very light color on satellite view due to the evenly scattered concrete debris.

Proof of Authenticity

Thanks for reading/viewing!

[Credits to the Author of Life]

Please stay tuned for my favorite everyday photos and the lessons I learned behind the scenes.