Eugene - Oregon

I spent approximately 10 years of my life in NYC. I do not want to miss these very formative years: a very demanding and at the same time strongly rewarding professional environment.

I probably learnt the “hands-on” and entrepreneurial spirit of a society was still driven by “the sky is the limit”. Successes were then celebrated. Failures were accepted as a formative experience. The 1987 “black Monday” provided a strong lesson to the young investment banker I was at the time. I then saw Manhattan becoming the place to be. The city was indeed in the true sense of the word “the place to be”. The subway commute to the office was energizing. Even the homeless at the subway entrance were part of a puzzle that you would not doubt that it would obviously get resolved.

Over the years – then living in save Switzerland – I regularly visited NYC: to “reload” my batteries and – the first Sunday of November – to run the NYC marathon. I always came back home reenergized.

The last “pandemic” years made a trip to the US rather difficult.

This is why I was very excited to travel to Eugene/Oregon with a couple of good friends to witness the last World Athletics Championship.

Eugene – “Track Town USA” – rightfully claims to be the centre of running.

It is also the original hometown of NIKE.

The city has a very extensive network of fantastic running trails. The Pre’s trail is the one I strongly recommend to any avid (or less avid!) runner. I did log many running kilometres during my stay in Eugene: a true pleasure!

Eugene is also a city of homeless.

You will notice this immediately in the parks during your morning runs. The encounters with the homeless were recurring all along the 10 days I spent in Eugene. The 7-Eleven shop - two blocks from the house we had rented for our stay - was not only the only shop several blocks around our house, but it was also always frequented by homeless people counting their nickels and dimes to try to purchase whatever snacks they could get.

According to the statistics I could gather,

Eugene has the highest rate of homeless in the USA.

Honestly, you do not have to look at the statistics: you witness the homeless daily.

I do ask myself the question: what is going on? How come that one of the richest countries on our planet witnesses and tolerates that so many of its citizens sleep on their streets. I have witnessed the slams in Rio and in Lima and I thought that – while the conditions were very difficult – most of the people at least had a “home”, even if it meant to sleep in a simple tin hut. What I saw in Eugene was profoundly chocking, they did not even have a tin hut.

We all seemed to be indifferent.

Is a society which on one hand generates the highest wealth on our planet and on the other hand tolerates and is indifferent to people that have been simply “outsourced”, a society worthwhile living in?

I asked myself where do we find humanity?

Have we lost the fundamental values of humanity?

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Much remains to be done.

Of course, I do ask myself the question

if our society is broken

if it is not able to handle the most fundamental basic needs of its people.

The question and the challenge remain open.

Just to be sure: I do like the Americans and I’m extremely grateful of all their achievements.