去年移居美国的华裔居民李明党（图片来源：新美国媒体）
网易教育讯 据美国侨报网编译报道，旧金山是全美房租最高的城市之一，同时该市的埃利斯法案（Ellis Act）也对租户造成不便——该法案于1985年生效，允许房东驱逐房客，终止租赁。因此，现在许多租户们正面临艰难时期。在这样的大环境下，由于旧金山华埠房屋的租金只有其它社区的1/3，这里成为新移民的最佳选择。但不可忽视的是，华埠也是旧金山最拥挤以及安全健康问题最大的社区。
据《新美国媒体》（New American Media）20日报道，面对租金上涨以及房屋残旧的局面，华埠低收入的高龄租户没有坐以待毙，他们正试图跨越语言和文化障碍，联合起来，努力改变自己的社区面貌。
四口之家蜗居4平米小屋
华埠社区发展公司（CCDC）执行董事诺曼•方（Norman Fong，音译）表示，大部分游客只是走马观花看到华埠繁荣的一面，但他们根本看不到华埠的另一面。事实上，在华埠，几乎所有的饭店、商店与旅店都是廉价单人房。因为住处拥挤，没有活动空间，华埠居民每天都会前往花园角广场（Portsmouth Square）遛弯透气。“这里就像社区的客厅。”方先生说。
李明党（Lee Ming Dang，音译）一年前与丈夫带着儿子、女儿从中国移居美国。现在一家四口住在长7英尺（约合2.1336米），宽7英尺的单间里，房里只有两个凳子和一个上下铺。全家人只能在床上休息、吃饭与睡觉。李女士和女儿睡下床，她的丈夫和儿子睡上床。
这个小小的单间月租为300美元，即使在华埠，这都是非常低的房租。李女士说，他们一家人只能负担得起这样的费用。李女士的丈夫没有找到全职工作，现在是一名门卫，拿着微薄的薪水。
像李女士这样的情况不是个案。很多年前，华埠的新移民都是先住在廉价单人间中，等经济富裕就搬去大一些的住所。但现在由于房租上涨且薪水涨幅有限，即使是在美国生活多年的移民也只能一直住在这种小屋中。
李萍叶（Lee Ping Yee，音译：与李明党没有血缘关系）2004年来到美国，她和女儿在廉价单人间中已居住了5年。每当女儿的朋友来访，李萍叶就没有地方坐，只能站在门口。当记者在门口采访她时，走廊正好停电了。
李萍叶说，这种廉价单人间经常停电，只能等到邻居做完饭，她家才能有电，开始做晚饭。作为在美国生活10年的华裔移民，对于自己现在的生活状况，李萍叶坦诚感觉很崩溃。
李萍叶表示，自己没有钱买房，甚至养育女儿都很辛苦。“女儿经常问我要钱，说要买吃的，但我真的没有。”她说。
社区寻求改变
像很多华埠居民一样，李萍叶英语水平和收入都有限，对生活没有太多要求，不过她们并不是无能为力。这些华裔居民大都是社区租户协会（CTA）的成员。26年前，当华埠一桩公寓楼的租户遭到业主驱逐，提起诉讼并胜诉后，居民们一起建立了这个协会。
社区居民梁文豪（Leung Wing Ho，音译）表示，社区租户协会拯救了他的家。梁文豪退休后，遭到业主驱逐。“我当时很担心，因为我是老人，收入也有限。”他说。不过通过社区租户协会的帮助，他们赢得了继续在出租房居住的机会，业主后来也撤销了拆迁通知。
现在，梁先生就是社区租户协会的主席，该协会的会员达到1000名。协会工作人员会定期为会员举办讲座，解释关于住房以及社保福利等方面的政策。
2013年，中国移民李金枝(Gum Gee Lee，音译)与丈夫李盼祥(Poon Heung Lee，音译)在旧金山华埠一间出租房生活了30多年后，遭到新业主驱逐。这对老夫妇就得到社区租房协会支持，虽然最终老夫妇搬离了原来出租房，但最终找到了合适的住处。
每周三，协会会员都会在办公室开会，分享最新信息。他们还创作了自己协会的会歌。“唱歌能带给我们快乐与勇气，让我们为自己的生活奋斗。”梁先生说。每年，都有大约100名新会员加入社区租户协会。
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曼哈顿中国城里的美国梦：9美元/晚的蜗居生活
Tenants are facing a tough time in San Francisco. The city has some of the nation’s highest rents and laws like the Ellis Act have made evictions front page news. But there are pockets of affordability, like in Chinatown, where the average rent is one third as much as in other neighborhoods.
But the neighborhood is also one of the country’s most overcrowded and tenants claim that landlords violate health and safety codes.
In response to rising rents and shoddy housing, a group of low-income, mostly elderly Chinatown renters have crossed language and cultural barriers to change to their neighborhood.
Small rooms, cheap rents
Norman Fong grew up in Chinatown in the 1960’s and has worked in the community his entire career. He’s currently the Executive Director of the Chinatown Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit that works on neighborhood housing issues.
“Half of Chinatown [is] actually, the tourists don’t see,” Fong says. “Above all the restaurants and shops, are SRO’s, single room occupancy residence hotels.”
Fong says residents flock to parks like Portsmouth Square in the heart of Chinatown because they need space to breathe.
“Portsmouth Square is really important to our community.” Fong says. “It’s really the living room for our community. If you’ve been into an SRO, a single room occupancy, it’s very tight. It’s a closet-like space.”
Chinatown resident Lee Ming Dang immigrated from China a year ago with her husband, teenage son and daughter. Now they live together in one 7 by 7 foot room. Aside from a couple of stools, a twin bunk bed is their only furniture-- nothing else will fit.
The family sleeps, eats, studies and rests together on the bed. “My daughter and I sleep on the bottom bunk,” Lee says. “My husband and son share the top bunk.”
The family pays $300 a month in rent. Even for Chinatown, that’s very low but Lee says that’s about all the family can afford. Her husband, a janitor, can’t find full time work.
Constant stress over money combined with living in a cramped space, literally on top of each other, lead to a lot of conflict. As she opens up about her family, Lee starts to cry. “When my husband gets back from work he’s tired. He yells at my son to get off the stool and sit on the bed instead. I am so sorry. I wish I could help earn enough to move.”
Years ago, when immigrants arrived in Chinatown, they’d live in an SRO for a while, save up, then move to a bigger place. But soaring rents and low wages block that path now, even for more seasoned immigrants.
Wanting a way out
Lee Ping Yee (no relation to Lee Ming Dang) moved to the US in 2004. She’s lived in her SRO for 5 years.
Her daughter’s friends are visiting, leaving Lee with no place to sit. Instead she leans on the doorway of her unit saying hello as neighbors walk by. As we speak, the lights suddenly go out.
“There’s always power shortages.” Lee says. “I have to wait for the neighbors finish cooking. Then I can have power to cook my dinner.”
With no electricity and no place to sit, Lee Ping Yee paces the hall in frustration. She wants out. She’s been in the US for 10 years, and she feels stuck.
“I not enough money to buy house.” Lee says it’s even harder with children, “support them and you know, grow up my daughter, you need money. Always call mommy, I need money buy food. Ah, it’s hard.”
Fighting for change
Like many in Chinatown, both Lee’s are immigrants with limited english, limited incomes, and limited prospects. They are not, however, powerless. The women are members of the Community Tenants Association or CTA.
The CTA was founded 26 years ago when one Chinatown building’s tenants got together to fight an eviction. When they won their case they decided to share what they’d learned with other residents. Since then they’ve seen each other through rental problems and weighed in on San Francisco’s housing policies.
Neighborhood resident Leung Wing Ho says CTA saved his home. “I had just retired when I was evicted from my apartment. I was really worried because I was old and only had my retirement income.”
Leung and his neighbors turned to CTA for help. They pulled together other housing rights groups and elected officials to support the tenants. “We held rallies in front of the building with hundreds of people,” Leung recalls. “At a mediation conference the landlord rescinded the eviction notice.”
That was six years ago. Today, Leung is CTA’s president.
He says the group has about 1000 members and feels like a giant family. But they’re also very disciplined about their goals.
“We have weekly educational workshops on housing, health, and social security benefits policies so we’re very up to date and prepared.”
Being prepared gives CTA a voice at City Hall, where members regularly testify. At a recent Muni hearing, CTA Vice President Zheng Pei Juan explained, “I know some senior couples who can only afford one muni pass so they take turns to run errands and most importantly, to go on doctors visits. The city’s becoming increasingly unaffordable.”
That unaffordability is especially stark in Chinatown. The average household income here is only one quarter what it is the rest of San Francisco’s. Despite that inequity, rents are on the rise.
Striking a chord outside of Chinatown
CTA member Lee Gum Gee rented an apartment on the border of Chinatown and Nob Hill for 34 years. When a new landlord invoked the Ellis Act to evict all the residents, Lee decided to fight.
Chinatown Community Development Corporation’s Norman Fong says it wasn’t just her neighbors who rallied behind her.
“I think because she was saying I’m not moving, I’m not leaving my daughter here who is mentally challenged. This is my home. I deserve to have a life here in San Francisco,” Fong says. “Somehow her story resonated with hundreds of others.”
“On the day of her eviction, CTA were there but citywide people came from all over.”
Dozens of elderly Chinese tenants from CTA stationed themselves in front of the apartment-- holding signs and showing support.
Lee and her family eventually had to leave the apartment but Norman Fong says the case drew public attention and helped spur action at City Hall and Sacramento.
“This little Chinatown case” Fong says, “with CTA backup, citywide and statewide policies are changing now to help protect all San Francisco so there are homes for middle class folks that are at risk for Ellis act as well.”
“We’ve turned fear into action. That’s what CTA represents to me. They’re fearless.”
Every Wednesday CTA members meet for workshops, share news updates, and socialize. They launch each session with a sing-a-long> CTA president Leung Wing Ho says it helps bring them together.
“Singing makes us happy, gives us courage and the spirit to fight for our causes,” Leung says.
And that fighting spirit is spreading. One hundred new members join CTA every year.
本文来源：网易教育频道综合
责任编辑：
王晓易_NE0011
