o.n.e - june 2007
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Ah Wan, a volunteer at a hotline / Tse Chi Tak
The other day, I had a moment-
glance with maybe three thousand
people along Nathan Road, one of
the busiest roads in Hong Kong
that extends from the harbour
all the way to the beginning of
the New Territories. Banyan trees
overhead, a mosque down the
way, shops everywhere.
I was one of more than
1,000 people selling 13 tons
of rice for Oxfam Hong Kong
– in small 100g bags. Our
goals: education about
poverty, HK$2.4 million
for projects in China,
and re-affirming our
identity in the community: in a 2006
survey, 98.8% of the public knew of
Oxfam and our work.
It was a day that connected many
things – private and public space, one’s
self-image and perceptions of others,
trust in a stranger and in an NGO, and
more.
So many good people, I know this,
from bodies, faces, voices, eyes.
One woman who had just lost her
job donated $10. I almost cried.
Another woman wanted to volunteer
and took our leaflet as if it were a gift.
Maybe it is.
A Vietnamese banker wished for
good health.
A Buddhist in a wheelchair smiled.
When I talked about Oxfam’s
environmental projects in Gansu
with a financier, he told me about
community work in Sichuan, and a
marketer-beautician said, “We need to
be beautiful inside and out, and the one
helps the other.”
All day, teenagers walked the
boulevard in their dramatic haircuts,
earrings and noserings, a lot of black
clothing, and needed friends and lovers
at their sides.
And all day, Muslims walked to and
from the mosque in robes, tunics, veils.
Children chased each other up and
down the lane. Men in kufi kept a space
Then ‘Ah Wan,’ as her friends call her,
met a man from Hong Kong through a
colleague of her mother's. They started
writing letters, talking on the phone,
and meeting each other every holiday.
Three years later, in 1994, they married.
In 1996, at the age of 28, Ah Wan got
pregnant, and she came to Hong Kong
to give birth and start a new life.
She anticipated joy, but all she got
was sorrow, and violence. Her husband
would beat her. After seven years,
she could take no more. She left her
husband and raised their son alone.
The year was 20 03. Ah Wan
sought help from the Social Welfare
Department. "Don't expect Government
workers to help. They only make life
Lau Ah Wan grew up in Guangdong,
where she graduated from secondary
school, found a good job at a state-
owned railway company, and enjoyed
traveling across the country by train
in her spare time. She said she had a
lot of admirers when she was working
with the railways, but did not like any
of them.
A Life without Abuse – So Happy
around themselves, their gaze ahead.
A woman in full abaya, her eyes and
brows framed in a black rectangle,
seemed to receive me, although she did
not speak aloud.
The day felt like a world.
This issue of ONE also brings worlds
together: how people view welfare in
Hong Kong, poverty in Bangladesh,
water in the Himalayas, WTO accession
for Laos, climate change all over the
planet….
Madeleine Marie Slavick
ONE Editor
Oxfam Hong Kong
emagazine@oxfam.org.hk
This story is an abridged version of a chapter in the book, Ten Stories of People on CSSA, co-published by Concerning CSSA Review Alliance and Oxfam Hong Kong, in Chinese. The interview with Lau Wan was conducted by Mak See Ming and Au Yeung Tat Chor. The text was translated by Tseng Huei and Lee Siu Yu. Oxfam Hong Kong has supported the work of Kwan Fook.
out. I thought if the guy in bed with you
could do this to me, who can I trust? If
it hadn’t been for my little boy, I might
have left this world already.”
One of Ah Wan’s friends did not
make it. “I remember Kam Shuk Ying
so well. In 2004, she moved in and out
of the shelter many times. She was in a
difficult situation, and we all tried to get
help from various departments.”
Ah Wan clearly recalls that on 11
April 2004, right after breakfast, Shuk
Ying packed her things in a hurry. Her
husband had left a message saying that if
she didn’t come home, she would never
see her two daughters again. Ah Wan
and other friends were concerned for
her safety, exchanged phone numbers,
and advised Shuk Ying to inform her
social worker before she set off for her
home in Tin Shui Wai. Later that day,
Shuk Ying called one of her friends to
say that she couldn’t find her daughters
and that she had just called the police.
Then, on the evening news, they heard
that Shuk Ying’s husband had murdered
her, the girls and then himself. “We were
all so shocked. All the women were very
emotional.”
When the Police denied that Shuk
Ying had sought help, the Kwan Fook
women’s group held a press conference
to explain what really happened. “We
informed the media that Shuk Ying had
contacted the Police, contrary to their
claim that she had not. Eventually, the
Police had to admit the facts. We found
it comforting that we could fight for
justice, raise awareness about domestic
violence, and make the truth about the
incident known.”
Today, Ah Wan has a good job
again. Despite all of her difficulties, she
supported herself through a course to
qualify as an Aged Home Care Worker,
and since 2006, has been working at
an elderly home. She no longer needs
CSSA.
“And a life without abuse is in fact
so happy,” she says.
Laos is a landlocked country, and
all of its neighbouring countries are
current members of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). When Cambodia
– also a Least Developing Country
– joined the WTO in 2004, Oxfam Hong
Kong saw the accession terms as harsh:
requiring, for instance, an immediate
end to low-cost generic medicine,
and offering little protection for its
agricultural sector, which employs about
80 per cent of its population.
What can Laos expect? After decades
of a centrally-planned economy, the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic began
reforms in the 1980s to become more
market-oriented. It applied for WTO
membership in 1997, set a target for
WTO accession as 2010, and is currently
an observer to the WTO.
Laos is the lowest ranked Southeast
Asian country in the UN Human Develop-
ment Index; 2.4 million of its 6 million
people (or 40%) live in poverty, mostly
farmers, mostly ethnic minority people.
Oxfam Hong Kong sees that while
trade can be an engine for poverty
reduction in Laos, it must be conducted
fairly. Knowledge on WTO and trade
issues – which is essential for trade
justice – remains limited in the country,
and we have made an effort to increase
capacity among agriculture officials.
Starting in the autumn of 2006,
Oxfam Hong Kong planned three
training workshops with the Laos
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, to
help develop national capacity in trade
policy analysis, especially among a task
force within the Ministry. The aim is
for the task force to be able to actively
engage in the accession negotiation
process and propose policy options
so that the agricultural sector – the
country’s backbone – can benefit from
the economic integration. Eighteen
Ministry colleagues , with varied
backgrounds in engineering, veterinary
science, management and research,
attended the series.
“The colleagues at the Ministry have
been eager from the very beginning,”
says Stanley So, Oxfam Hong Kong Policy
Officer, who led sessions at each work-
shop. “In fact, it is they who initiated this
training, and they co-organised it with
Oxfam. They have become much more
familiar with trade issues. Before, they only
focused on agricultural production and
quality, but now they see the link between
trade and farmers’ livelihoods.”
Other Oxfam Hong Kong projects
In Laos include on rural development,
natural resource management, education
with minority children and employment
projects with minority youth.
difficult...” Ah Wan said that one worker
shouted at her, “’All you new migrants
apply for CSSA [Comprehensive Social
Security Assistance] as soon as you
arrive. Lau Ah Wan, don’t you know our
funds are limited? We can only provide
to people in need!’ Their power is in fact
very wide. They can provide a one-stop
service, approving grants for legal aid,
housing, medical care or even changing
schools. Because of this, their manner
can be extremely unbearable."
Eventually, she was referred her to
the Child Abuse Investigation Unit of the
Hong Kong Police, which determined
that because her son was born in Hong
Kong, he could receive a CSSA grant
immediately, but that Ah Wan would
have to wait for a year. "In fact, the
Police could have exercised discretion
to approve my grant on the grounds of
domestic violence and poverty, but I was
not aware of that at the time."
Ah Wan recalls running around every
day to different departments, looking
for social workers, for housing, a school
for her son, inexpensive health care….
“It was not until I joined a group of
domestic violence survivors at Kwan
Fook [an association in Hong Kong]
that our CSSA and housing problems
were resolved."
Ah Wan feels that in general,
people do not understand the life of
new migrants and people on CSSA.
“Everyone, including professional
people, say things like, ‘Your husband
is so bad, why did you marry him? I
don't understand you new migrants.
You don’t need to get married to get
into Hong Kong!’ Even my friends ask,
‘What do people living on CSSA do all
day?’ I say to myself, ‘I look after my son,
and simple arguments with him are my
biggest entertainment. What else can I
do?’” CSSA, she says, is not even enough
for her son to see a movie.
"When I married my husband, did
I expect I would live such a life? I only
need help because something happened
in my family. I have already been abused
by my husband at home, and now I still
am abused by the Government, and I
have to face all of these unreasonable
things. Please don't put salt on my
wounds!"
Ah Wan became really depressed. “I
felt really low. My willpower almost ran
LAOS and the WTO
Ah Wan and her son / Tse Chi Tak
Three training worshops on trade policy were held in 2006 and 2007 / Oxfam Hong Kong
A Life without Abuse – So Happy
in Laos
in Bangladesh
A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to
northeast Bangladesh, to the Haor, a
remote valley which sits submerged for
almost half the year from the monsoon
rains. Villages become ‘islands’ in one
big flood.
While most of Bangladesh is only
marginally above sea level and flooding
is ‘normal’ during the annual monsoons,
floods for the 25,000 or so people who
live in the Haor – among the poorest
people in all of Bangladesh – life is even
more trying. Here, there are few services
to rely on. Health facilities, sanitation
and schools are substandard. Banks
typically deny loan applications, so
many people borrow illegally, at a high
interest, and fall into debt.
When I reached the Haor, it was
already coming to late afternoon. It had
been five hours in the car from Dhaka,
where I am based, and then one hour on
a motorbike along land I was not ready
to call a road. Most people here walk
everywhere, including this stretch – they
can not afford the 300 taka (about
US$6) for the one-hour ride. While the
local people used a pedestrian bamboo
bridge called a shako to cross a canal, the
motorbike and I waited for a boat.
Poor people are least responsible
for greenhouse gas emissions, yet are
bearing the brunt of global warming
and climate change. Weather patterns
have changed so much that farmers in
developing countries – who comprise
about two-thirds of the world’s
poorest people – do not know when to
plant. Winds have changed direction.
Monsoons last longer. Droughts are
more frequent. Rivers have dried up.
It’s a crisis.
On 29 May 2007, nine days before the
G8 Summit, Oxfam International called
for at least US$50 billion each year to
help poor countries adapt to climactic
shocks. Oxfam insists that this money
should come from the governments of
the countries that have high greenhouse
gas emissions and that have the ability
to pay: the top three on the list are USA,
Japan and Germany.
John Sayer, Director General of Oxfam
Hong Kong, adds, “Rich countries must
stop harming poor people by cutting
emissions to keep global warming below
2°C, and start helping poor countries
to cope.”
The annual sum of $50bn for meeting
the adaptation needs of developing
countries is a conservative estimate
that will rise sharply if emissions are not
cut drastically in order to keep global
warming below 2 degrees Celsius.
If global temperatures rise above 2°,
up to 4 billion people could face water
shortages, and over 250 million people
food shortages. If the rise reaches 4°,
malaria could reach 70-80 million more
people in Africa, and at 5°, glaciers in the
Himalayas could disappear, putting one-
fourth of China’s population at risk, as
well as millions of people across Asia.
Although not a signatory to the
Kyoto Protocol, Hong Kong ranks high
in GNP per capita, in the UN Human
Development Index, and in greenhouse
gas emissions (at 5.5 tons per year, per
person), and has the resources to play
a role. John Sayer added, "Hong Kong
has a disaster relief fund for helping
people hit by humanitarian disasters,
including floods and droughts, which
may be attributable to the effects of
climate change."
Finally I was in the Haor for the first
time. I was shocked. The infrastructure
was so limited that even the upazila
– the sub-district – headquarters had
no modern amenities and only parts
of it were built with concrete. The
government gives very little attention
to the Haor and most of the big
development agencies also do not
work here: the people are socially
and geographically marginalized, and
the area is seen as too remote and too
difficult to work in. Oxfam Hong Kong,
however, is committed to a five-year
livelihoods programme here, from 2007
to 2012.
I talked with villagers in a group
meeting and also met with a local
government representative. Everyone
agreed: the lack of livelihood options is
the main problem for people, and that
too much of their income had to go
towards protecting homesteads during
the monsoon. I came to understand that
Oxfam Hong Kong, or any organisation
that intends to work in the Haor, must
focus on these two concerns.
Despite, or maybe because of the
hardship, the people of the Haor always
seem to be ready to take up a challenge
if it will change their lives for the better.
They said that they were inclined to start
small, safe, and tangible.
On the way back to Dhaka, across the
canal, along the dirt land-road, and then
the highway, I could see that the most
effective way for Oxfam Hong Kong
to work in the Haor would be through
small, well-defined initiatives with local
community groups, groups that were
already working hard and which were
respected by the people.
When I arrived home, which doubles
as my office, I sensed that the scale of the
proposed work in the Haor felt just right.
I have worked on large programmes in
the development field for eight years,
and in December 2006, I joined Oxfam
Hong Kong. It is a different experience,
working from home, alone.
Everywhere, it seems, small is
beautiful.
Small is Beautiful Zinat Ara writes from Dhaka
Read more here: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/category?cid=53988&lang=iso-8859-1
Climate CHange: POOR, HOT and HUNGRY
Photos by Zinat Ara, who leads Oxfam Hong Kong’s work in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy of Himalayee Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan
This textbook features
a new phonetic system for Dong-
xiang, the common name of a Mongol-
Altaic language, the ethnic minority
group who speak it , and the dry
county on the Yellow Plateau of north-
OXFAM HONG KONG WEBSITEwww.oxfam.org.hk
OXFAM BOOKSOxfam Hong Kong has created more
than 30 books, some in Hong Kong, some
in Taiwan, some on the Mainland, some in
Chinese, some in English, some bilingual,
and some mostly with images, which cross
all languages. Through publishing the
voices of poor people around the world,
we want to change the way people think
about poverty. We want justice.
Oxfam’s newest title is Beanie Looks at Poverty, a cartoon children’s book (in
Chinese) exploring how food and other basic things are related to poverty.
To order books:
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?lang=iso-8859-1
E-NEWSIssued every month in English and Chinese, this e-bulletin provides the latest
from Oxfam Hong Kong, with bite-sized news on emergencies, campaigns,
community projects, public education and fundraising. Oxfam e-News is emailed
to more than 80,000 volunteers, campaigners, donors, Oxfam Trailwalkers, council
members and subscribers. The Editor is Echo Chow.
To subscribe:
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/16830 (English version)
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7263 (Traditional Chinese)
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7265 (Simplified Chinese)
MOKUNGOxfam Hong Kong publishes a quarterly magazine, Mokung, in Traditional
Chinese. Mokung, which means both “no poverty” and “infinity”, highlights a
different aspect of development in each issue. The Editors are Tung Tsz-kwan and
Fiona Shek. The June 2007 issue focuses on social enterprises.
To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/?lang=big5
Mokung is online at www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/category?cid=1017&lang=big5
CANOxfam Hong Kong is supporting a new
magazine in China, called CAN, a photo-
based magazine in Simplified Chinese.
CAN means both “look” and “do” in
Chinese, and each 120-page edition
focuses on a different topic. The first issue
looked at the state of education in China.
The Chief Editor of the quarterly is the
writer-photographer, Liu Wai Tong.
ONELINKs
What can people do about
Climate Change and Poverty?
Please tell us at:
http://forum.oxfam.org.hk/?c_lang=eng
ONEquestIoN
CO
VER
: Alm
ond
Chu
A schoolbook in the Dongxiang language / Chow Sung Ming / Oxfam Hong Kong
Oxfam Hong Kong17th Floor, 28 Marble Road, Northpoint, Hong KongThis monthly magazine is on-line at www.oxfam.org.hk/one//
west China where the 250,000 or so
people live. A predominantly Muslim,
very poor, and illiterate community,
most people herd sheep and farm
potatoes.
The script helps young children to
learn their own language, and then
Mandarin Chinese, too. The bilingual
education project has been supported
by Oxfam Hong Kong since 2006, and
is due to be in effect in 8 schools in the
area by 2009.
Hong Kong
Street theatre groups are going
village to village in the Himalayas
with ‘Whether the River is Sold’,
a play about the control of water.
People here in the northern India
state of Uttarakhand are completely
dependent on the availability of
natural resources, and plans for huge
hydro-power plants might cause huge
problems for their livelihoods. Inspired
by the play and community outreach,
villages have formed groups and
several organizations have presented
a People’s Water Policy to the Chief
Minister of the State. Oxfam Hong
Kong is supporting the organisation,
Himalayee Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan
to run the theatre-advocacy project as
well as many other environmental and
educational projects in the villages.
One out of every three elderly people is poor / Jos Chan
Joint Alliance for Universal Re-
tirement Protection – a coalition of
about 50 community organisations
in Hong Kong – is calling for the est-
ablishment of a pension scheme for all
elderly people, regardless of income.
The group has presented proposals
to the Legislative Council, discussed
poverty issues at several public forums,
held press conferences, and recently
marched to the offices of the Hong
Kong SAR Government to urge them to
take quick action – representatives of
the coalition held mock giraffe necks,
as a reference to the Chinese saying
on waiting – the longer one waits, the
longer one’s neck grows. And, perhaps,
the poorer one becomes.
In a report to be launched soon by
Oxfam Hong Kong, poverty is increasing
the fastest among elderly people of all
age groups – from one out of every four
people in 1996 (26.9%), to one of three,
in 2005 (32.9%). Oxfam is supporting
the work of the Joint Alliance.
www.pensionforall.org.hk
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