Laurent & Kako

Laurent & Kako Text attached below.

This is the story of 24 hours with a very special man and his dog. Laurent and Kako. Their home is a small space in the affluent Saint Germain area of Paris, on the road in-between smart restaurant tables and parked motorbikes. By day, the seat of a bike is Laurent's table. By night, the empty tables - chained together - become his bed, when diners wearing labels have long gone home to theirs. But all of Paris is their home as they wander around together, on their daily walks, finding items others have left or lost, washing, eating, meeting friends, drinking beer, taking drugs and smoking. Laurent is a very intelligent man, has many friends and has lived on the street for 18 years. But his best friend and protector is Kako - a pure-bred Canadian Husky. He is an alcoholic and a drug user and says life is hard on the streets. But he also says he likes the freedom. He took me for a long walk  around Paris with Kako and showed me his favourite places such as La Gare du Nord and The Museum of Modern Arts. I took him to dinner. He was the best tour guide I could have dreamt of. Kind, warm, gentle, and with an astounding knowledge of Paris, it’s monuments, its history and its art. He opened up to me and I to him, with photos of my children, dog, horses, and rural home so far removed from his. We walked through the city, chatting about our lives, our past, our worries, our pleasures. And though worlds apart on so many levels, for a moment we were on one and the same: just two people learning about each other’s different lives, trusting the other in a great urban sprawl of concrete and mistrust.  It was 24 hours I will never forget. 
Before this day, I had only ever been a passive onlooker; the homeless were a part of the cityscape. I felt sad that they were there, struggling. But had little comprehension of their lives and how and why they came to be there. I happened to stop in the street, whilst in Paris, and say hello to this man. But I could have just walked past, as I have so many other times at home and abroad. Homelessness in France is growing rapidly. According to INSEE, France’s national institute for statistics, there are around 8.8 million people living in poverty - among them the number of homeless is put at 142,000 (up 50% from ten years ago.) I am ever-more aware of the devastating affects of alcoholism and drug abuse, and how some people just cannot climb out of the hole. But it is also fascinating to see the very delicate line between living and dying for these people. Why some stay just one side of it but are so close to crossing it, daily. All individuals with their own story… I will see homeless people with very different eyes now.