‘Came here with hope’ and ‘died unseen’: tearful crowd says goodbye to homeless man Bikram Lama

No one should be left to die in the middle of Sydney , alone and unseen. That was the powerful message delivered by homelessness support worker Erin Longbottom to a crowd gathered in Hyde Park to honour Bikram Lama. The crowd gathered at dusk under the fig tree canopy of Sydney’s Hyde Park, tucked behind St James station, holding electric candles in blue, red, white and purple. His friend, Joe Trueman, a former rough sleeper, played the Phil Collin’s song on the guitar in tribute: “Another day in Paradise.” St Vincent’s Health, which had been attempting to assist Lama before his death, say his non-resident status made it near-impossible for him to escape homelessness. “Late last year, my team and I arrived at work to the news that one of the young non-residents we had been trying to support had died,” Longbottom, St Vincent’s homeless health service nursing unit manager, said at the vigil on Thursday. “That was Bikram. Tonight we remember him.” “A young man who came here with hope, for study, for opportunity, and for a future. A person who lived, and struggled, and died unseen.” Homelessness support worker Erin Longbottom described Bikram Lama as a “person who lived, and struggled, and died unseen”. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian Lama, who came to Australia from Nepal, is thought to have remained undiscovered for up to a week and his body was decomposed by the time he was found by station staff. …