Born in Sham Shui Po
Ada Yuen, Aug 17, 2015, Smarties, interview
Today is the second day of field work. The weather is very hot and humid. It is not supposed to rain. Instead of bring an umbrella, my bag brings a laptop computer.
Mr. Li is 63 years old. He is a temporary shop assistant in a traditional Chinese linen shop. He helps the owner look after the shop for a few days occasionally. The shop is near Shun Hing Restaurant in Kwelin Street. The shop did not have any customer, when we talked to Mr. Li.
He was born in Sham Shui Po. When he was little, he lived in a cottage in Sham Shui Po. There was a big fire in 1953. His cottage was burnt. First, he moved to Lei Cheng Uk Estate. Afterwards, he was relocated to Shek Kip Mei Estate, and then Nam Shan Estate.
Mr. Li is retired. He exercises every morning in a public park, even when he has to help out in the linen shop. If he does not need to work, he goes to yum chai in Mong Kong. In the afternoon, he either does housework or takes a nap. Then, he goes to the market to buy grocery and make dinner. After dinner, he watches TV and then sleeps. His routines are the same 7 days a week.
Mr. Li is living alone right now. After his son leaves the rehabilitation center, he will live with his father.
A rehabilitation nurse visits Mr. Li once a month. He/She has arranged Mr. Li to take a leather goods workshop starting from Aug 21. The workshop will have 5 sessions. He will make about 1 hundreds leather gifts, but he has not known who will receive the gifts yet.
Mr. Li also joins activities in his son’s rehabilitation center.
Mr. Li feels that Sham Shui Po is having more and more people. The place is getting clearer. There is more markets and food places.
Mr. Li has a few suggestions for Sham Shui Po:
- More organized, that is, grouping the facilities (e.g., markets) more clearly
- More parks, markets and food places because Sham Shui Po has a lot of elderlies, who can’t walk a lot
- More rehab shuttle buses to take the patients to see doctors
We asked Mr. Li for his impression on new Chinese immigrants. (Other interviewees expressed their opinions on new Chinese immigrants, so we asked the question to look for pattern.) He feels that they are a new workforce.
