Sunday, March 16, 2008

Homeless speak with Critic reporters in NYC

By Keith Whitcomb Jr.
Critic Editor

Abdullah Hakeem Muhammad Rasheed is homeless; his only job is selling copies of The Onion in and around Times Square, NYC for $3 a copy, (of which he said he collects $1.50 as his commission) he'll also take any food you haven't eaten if he happens to find you sitting inside the nearby McDonald's.

"Some days it's good, some days it's hard," Rasheed said about the newspaper selling business. "The winter is hard."

Rasheed said he's been homeless for the past three years. He doesn't care for the homeless shelter system in NYC, and prefers to sleep on the subway.

"They didn't want to give me a job," Rasheed said. "I have seizures."

Rasheed, 35, said he was born with epilepsy, and that his dream job is to be a rapper.

While being interviewed by The Critic inside the McDonald's on Broadway, Rasheed would stop and listen to some of his favorite singers on the radio. Tracy Chapman is a favorite, so is Tupac Shakur, Run DMC, Ice T, Ice Cube, and Nice n' Smoove.

Both Rasheed's parents have passed away, most recently his mother in 2000, something he doesn't normally talk about, Rasheed said.

Rasheed's plans for the future are to "Keep on doing good things for Allah."

He also has some ideas on how to make life for the homeless better in NYC. "Give us our own lockers, with locks on it so other people can stop stealing from others."

Above: The McDonald's Rasheed sometimes sells papers in.

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