Race and Racism Research Papers (original) (raw)

This is a pilot research of the life experiences of Pakistanis in Hong Kong, targeting working class Pakistani adults living in Kwai Chung, Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi or the nearby districts. The research was conducted by Centre for Social Policy Studies of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and by S.K.H. Lady MacLehose Centre. Our aim was to explore the difficulties faced by the Pakistanis and delineate the macro forces shaping their lives. Through this, we see that ethnicity is one of the key dimensions of social stratification and inequality in contemporary Hong Kong society. We also hope that this research can well serve as a case to illustrate the relationship between ethnicity and social exclusion.

This research consists of a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews. The questionnaire survey was conducted between February and May of 2002. We have completed 200 questionnaires through snowball sampling. The questionnaire covered five broad areas: social activities and friendship, utilization of community resources, work and employment, children's education and sense of belonging to Hong Kong. The part on focus group interviews aims to further explore the complex dynamic of life experiences that could not be described by quantitative data in the survey, as well as to develop recommendations for improving social policy and social services. Two focus groups, with a total of ten male and female participants were conducted at the end of October 2002.

On social activities, we found that the major activities of the respondents are staying at home, meeting friends and going to worship. Participation in other social activities such as going to see arts and cultural programmes, engaging in sports activities, going to the library, and joining activities in a community centre, is limited. In terms of establishing friendships, most of the respondents interact only with their own people. They reflect that it is difficult to make Hong Kong friends. Cultural and language differences are some of the major barriers to making friends with Hong Kong people and to participating in social activities.

On housing, a majority of the respondents live in private rental housing. Some of them do not know how to apply for public rental housing and some believe that they are not eligible to apply, even though they are in need. Most of the respondents have had problems in looking for private housing, and identify expensive rent or housing prices as the main one. Some of them say that they have a problem communicating with agents in Cantonese and believe that they are rejected by landlords simply because they are Pakistanis. This shows that some Pakistanis have difficulties gaining access to housing resources, both in the public and private sector.

On social security resources, in fact, few respondents are receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA). Most of them clearly state that they do not want to depend on the government or do not need to do so.
Almost all of the respondents were not engaged in part-time studies or in an employees retraining course. They are discouraged for various reasons, such as high course fees, the fact that the courses are taught in Cantonese, or because they do not know of any educational or social institutes nearby.

On access to social services and community resources, very few respondents have approached social workers for help on everyday needs; instead they rely almost solely on their family, relatives and friends. Some respondents do not even know of any nearby social service centres and have never brought their children there. Their poor access to various community resources is not only due to language problems, but also because many government departments, educational institutes and social service centres do not target non-Chinese.

On work and employment, many respondents encounter great difficulties. Twenty-three point nine per cent of the respondents are unemployed. About half of the respondents have been unemployed at some point in the past two years. Most of the employed respondents are engaged in elementary occupations where the working hours are generally very long. The median number of working hours is 60 per week. However, their monthly income is comparatively low.

On looking for jobs, most respondents identify not knowing Cantonese and low educational qualifications as the major difficulties. It is alarming to learn that about one-third of the respondents claimed that they are rejected because they are Pakistanis. Some employers systematically eliminate them from selection and treat them unfairly at work. In the workplace, the respondents face various difficulties including problems communicating with supervisors and colleagues, bullying by supervisors and colleagues, conflicts due to cultural and/or religious practices, and diverse forms of racial discrimination.

On children’s education, the respondents encounter various difficulties including unreasonably long waiting times in finding school places, expensive school fees, conflicts due to cultural and/or religious practices, and being rejected because they are Pakistanis. The focus group participants also highlighted problems for Muslims involving food in school canteens and the dress codes of female Pakistani students.

Though they face numerous difficulties in Hong Kong, about half of the respondents like Hong Kong very much and treat the place as their home. However, this does not mean that they enjoy being with Hong Kong people. Some focus group participants also held ambivalent attitudes toward Hong Kong and Hong Kong people.

Based on the problems reflected in the questionnaire survey and the opinions expressed in the focus group interviews, we recommend policy changes in the following areas: employment, housing, and educational services, as well as a review of the policy on granting Hong Kong SAR passports to non-Chinese residents. To improve the general situation, we recommend anti-racial discrimination legislation to protect the right of ethnic minorities, and to promote a policy of multiculturalism in which cultural differences and ethnic diversity are respected. The aim is to build Hong Kong into a just and caring society.