A MAN who became homeless after losing his job due to the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic had been camping on a beach in Garapan until Wednesday afternoon.
Norris Omengkar, 52, sits on a chair next to his bicycle and tent at a beach in Garapan Wednesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
Norris Omengkar, 52, worked for a marine sports company, which also transported tourists to Managaha. He and his fellow “beach boys” were among the first employees to lose their jobs when the local tourism industry shut down amid the global pandemic.
Omengkar said he is single and has no children but, he added, he needs a job to survive.
He said he was staying on the beach “temporarily.”
“I move around, camping out wherever I can,” he said.
His possessions include a small tent where he sleeps, an old bicycle, a couple of futons, two fish lines and two chairs — one for him and one for any of his friends who wants to visit him.
Omengkar said when tourists were still visiting the island he could afford to rent an apartment unit.
“Now, I cannot pay rent so this is it. I have no job. No home. I just camp out and try to catch fish for my food,” Omengkar said. Sometimes, he added, passersby will give him their spare change.
“I am a U.S. citizen,” he said. “I vote here on Saipan, but I don’t get no help from the government.”
He said he did receive his stimulus checks, but the money is not going to last very long, he added.
He has not tried to apply for housing assistance because he is not sure if he is eligible.
“It is too hot to keep walking around outside all the time,” he said. “I need a home.”
Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a CARES Act Emergency Solutions Grant of $815,225 to help people in the CNMI who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless because of Covid-19-related illness, job loss, or wage reduction.
Based on a survey conducted at the height of the Covid-19 restrictions last year, the Northern Marianas Housing Corp. said there were 1,205 “unsheltered individuals” on island.
Omengkar said he is not asking the government for money, but he is hoping that the government “will bring back the tourists” so he can get his job back and move into an apartment unit.
“They said there will be…what’s that, travel bubble? So when are the tourists going to come back?” he asked.
DPL permit
Acting Parks and Recreation Director Ray C. Sablan on Wednesday said a resident called his office and informed him that “someone was camping out” on a beach near Beach Road in Garapan.
He said beach campers need to get a permit from the Department of Public Lands.
Parks and Recreation, he added, is responsible for maintaining the parks. “When we see people erecting a permanent structure at a public park that is the time we can take action,” he said.
At around 2 p.m., Wednesday, Raymond K. Sablan of the DPL Compliance Division informed Omengkar that he needed a permit to camp on a public beach.
Sablan then issued a notice to Omengkar.
Asked what he was going to do next, Omengkar shook his head and said: “I don’t know where to go.”
