Applying the Asset-based Approach in building Selfefficiency among South Asian Migrant Workers
2007 North East Region Conference of ICSW
Oct 22nd ~24th at Busan, Korea
Organization: HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre
Presented by: MR. Lo Kai Chung, Ben
(Organizing Officer of Group and
Community Work Unit)

(I) An Introduction :
Rationale and Discussion on South Asian Migrant
Worker in Hong Kong
(II) The Past:
The Historical Background of South Asian Migrants in Hong Kong under colonial governance
(III) The Present :
The difficulties South Asian Migrants met after the change of sovereignty transformation of Hong Kong since 1997
(IV) Their Future:
A matter of social inclusion and building up of Selfreliance ability

A migrant worker is
…
Someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home
(Wikipedia)
- A person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national
( The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families"defines )
The migrant worker in Hong Kong can be divided into three types:
1. Foreign domestic helper-
 Don
’ t have Right of abode in the HKSAR
 Limited type of work in HKSAR
2. Applicants of Quality Migrant Admission Scheme -
 Absorb elite
 Right of abode in the HKSAR after 7 years
3. South Asian Migrant Worker
–
 Right of abode in the HKSAR
 Stayed in Hong Kong mostly because of their families
Colonial background before 1997 handover

Chinese
Indian
Nepalese
Pakistani
Philippine
Thai
Indonesian
Japanese
Caucasian
Other Asian
Other
Total
WHO
The Profile of South Asians in Hong Kong
Population in Hong Kong (by race / Census in 2006)
Ethnicity Number of HK Residents
(Census in 2006)
6 522 148
20 444
15 950
11 111
112 453
11 900
87 840
13 189
36 384
12 663
20 264
6 864 346
Percentage of total
Population
95%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
1.6%
0.2%
1.3%
0.2%
0.5%
0.2%
0.3%
100%

WHY
They have already right of abode of HKSAR  compare with foreign domestic helper and quality Migrant
Long history  on Integral Contribution of Hong Kong community
The decline of their economic influence
 compare with sovereignty handover in Hong Kong
They become the
“
Minorities of the Minorities
”  in terms of living standards and quality of life in Hong Kong

Population - The most numerous (75%) group among Indians in Hong
Kong
Religion - Predominantly Hindu
Economic Status - Wealthiest among the South Asian communities in
Hong Kong, traditionally in import export businesses
Population - Second most numerous (20%) group among Indians in Hong
Kong
Religion - Predominantly Sikhism
Economic Status – Traditionally worked as guards and police officers; lately turned to middle-class professions such as teaching and financial sector.

Religions
–
Mostly Hindu, a substantial minority of Buddhist, a vocal minority of Christians
Economic Status
–
Many as security guards, some did mundane jobs such as cleaning, logistics, construction sites, a minority of affluent ones in import export businesses, small shops, etc
Religion
–
Nearly 100% Muslims (Predominantly Sunnis)
Economic Status - Mostly mundane jobs such as logistics, construction sites, a minority of affluent ones in import export businesses, teachers, catering, small shops, etc

WHEN
The Past: The Historical Background of South Asian Migrants in Hong
Kong

Time Line
1841 British proclaimed Hong Kong as its colony
- They were there when Hong Kong was born
- Captain Elliot declared Hong Kong a British possession. Sikhs soldiers participated at the flag raising ceremony at Possession Point

They contributed to Hong Kong as a developed city
Name of Sectors
The University of Hong Kong
Star Ferry
The Hong Kong and Shanghai
Banking Corportation
Founded /Owned by
Sir H.N.Mody, a close friend of the then governor(An Indian)
Dorabji Naorojee
Mr. Belilos (a bagdadi jew)
Ruttonjee Hospital South Asians the China Light and Power Company Mr.Kadoorie (An Indian)
All these century old institutions are still in operation today.
The top Hong Kong civil servant was once an Indian Mr. Harnam Singh Grewal (a
Sikh), whose family history in Hong Kong dates back to late 1800s, was the Secretary for Transport and the Secretary for Civil Service in the 1980s

Securing Hong Kong
’ s prosperity --- Souths Asians in
Police and Armed Force
Royal Hong Kong Police
The earliest policemen in Hong Kong were Indians (Sikhs)
- A Multi-racial one existed in HK Police force, with white officers and constables of
Indians, including Indian Muslim, many of whoe became Pakistanis after the 1947
Partition of India
Gurkha Brigade of British Army in Hong Kong during
- Collective term for elite British Army units which were comprised mainly of
Nepalese Soldiers
Major Units of the British Army in Hong Kong
- 26th Gurkha Brigade (1948-1950)
- 51st Infantry Brigade (disbanded 1976)
- 48th Gurkha Infantry Brigade(1957-1976; renamed
Gurkha Field Force 1976-97 ; returned to old title
1987-ca.1992)
Gurkha Soldiers

The Present: South Asians and the 1997 handover

Time Line
1997 Chinese resumed sovereignty of Hong Kong
(1) “ Localization ” (Chinese) of government recruitment and promotion policy
- All government posts of Commissioner level or advance were held by
Chinese, ethnic minority civic servants had to be fluent in Chinese so as to continue their works in Hong Kong
- The rise of labor force from China since economic boom in 80
’ s
- Building large infrustructure(such as New airport of HK) demanded large amount of low skills and dirty job opportunities

(2) Disband of Gurkha Brigades: P rior to the 1997 handover
 Large amount of Nepalese and some Indian had to seek jobs in the private sector
(3) Official Languages Ordinance
- English was declared the primary language in former Colonial Hong Kong for more than 130 years
- Require all new legislation to be enacted in both English and Chinese
- Basic Law declared English co-official language status with Chinese after
1997 handover
 Oral Cantonese and written Chinese become the basic academic and language requirements in employment, education, and daily life

Who with the low education background and rural lineage, left with
Mundane jobs like construction worker, security guards and logistics
(heavy-loading)
Who with strong tradition and mundanely emphasize on the education, mainly developed in financial service after 1997 handover
HK$15,300
Median Monthly
Income
(2001 Census)
HK$18,000
HK$12,000
HK$9,250
Hong Kong Average
Indians
Nepalese
Pakistanis
HK$0 HK$5,000 HK$10,000 HK$15,000 HK$20,000
There it went: Indians were actually faring better than even the Hong
Kong average in terms of median monthly income

Situation of South Asian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong after 1997
Two
“
Low
” and one
“
High
”
Situation (in year 2001)
1. Low Level of Academic Attainment
16.40%
10.20%
11%
HK Average
Nepalese
Pakistanis
0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
South Asian Children and youth are Lagging far behind their
Chinese counterparts in terms academic attainment
Census & Statistics Dept. (2001), Thematic Report
–
Ethnic Minorities, 2001
Population Census, Table 5.2, P.42. HKSAR

1.2 Low Labour Force Participation Rate
86.00%
83.00%
64% HK Average
Nepalese
Pakistanis
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Low academic attainments in many instances meant low
Labour Participation Rate
Census & Statistics Dept. (2001), Thematic Report
–
Ethnic Minorities, 2001 Population
Census, Table 6.2, P.52. HKSAR

1.3 High CSSA (Social Security of the SAR government) Dependency Rate
4.70%
8.40%
HK Average
Nepalese
Pakistanis
28%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
CSSA are making them trapped in the poverty-sustaining cycle.
HK SKH Lady MacLehose Centre“, (2006), Understanding South Asians’ Needs in
New
Territories West”, G&C unit.

After the 1997 hand over, Mandarin and Chinese is taking over
English, as medium of instructions in many sectors, many South
Asian can only speak little English due to the low skills the majority works in construction where Chinese is common language spoken
Due to inadequate skill up-grade training opportunities, their skills are not up to the level as required with today construction
 Many of them thus are unemployed or under-employed.

• Insufficient Polices implementation f or South Asian
Migrant Worker in Hong Kong By HKSAR Government
Policies / Services apply by
HKSAR government
Employment •
Labour Department provide mostly
English translation in Job matching
Programs few year ago
Education,
Further
Studies and
Retraining
• Vocational Training Board provide two fundamental classes (hospitality management and business administrative) which tailor-made for South Asians since
2005
• Employee Retraining Board funded
NGOs to run English-specific retraining
Course in Security Guard since this year
Racial
Discrimination
•
Setup of the Race Relations Unit since
2002 tasked to improve Government's services to the ethnic minorities
• Racial Discrimination Bill have been addressed in Legislative Council
Problems and
Insufficient supports
•
Most of the low skill job vacancies are written in Chinese and South
Asian Migrant worker cannot read clearly
•
Both Vocational training and retraining only provide the least tailor
– made teaching course for
Ethnic Monitories. They don ’ t have choice to choose among thousand of related course because of Cantonese language and not catering for the need of them
•Articles 58B/C suggest the exemption of languages in public service

(1) Sense of belonging towards Hong Kong
- Like Hong Kong
(Fair or Very much : 97.5%)
- Hong Kong people are kind and helpful
(Fair / agree and strongly agree : 72%)
- Hong Kong People are Caring
(Fair / agree and strongly agree 71%)
- EM participants tend to have higher level of civic activeness
- High Chinese naturalization rate of South Asian Migrant Worker
( 833 Pakistanis and 552 Indians apply of Chinese Nationality out of 4,372 application )
A Good Start for building a Multi-ethnic society in Hong Kong
HK SKH Lady MacLehose Centre and Centre for Social Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2003), Understanding South Asians ’ Needs in New Territories West ” , G&C unit
Wai-fong Ting, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, “ Final report for evaluating the outcomes and impacts of
The Community Invest ion and Inclusion Fund (CIIF)
”
, Health, Food and welfare bureau, HKSAR

(2) Strengths of South Asian Migrant Worker in HK


- Fluency in English (Comparatively Speaking)
- For the Educated few a More international worldview
- Strong Familial & Communal bonds
Asset that can be further enhance, so as to contribute their strengths and skills to the mainstream society

Their future: A matter of social inclusion and building of
Self-reliance ability

Into the future
The history of Service for South Asian Migrant Worker in HKSKH Lady
MacLehose Centre
•
The rising population of South Asians in our service boundaries started from
1997
•
Provided language support and adapted course
/ service in 2000

Strategy of providing service for South Asian
Migrant Worker by
HKSKH Lady
MacLehose Centre

“
Forging a better Tomorrow
”
- A self-Help and Mutual-Help Project for Multi-Vulnerable groups
(2004-2007)
“
A Tie that Bind---our community of C.A.R.E & Colour- A project of Apprenticeship and enabling community environment for South Asian and local Chinese
”
(2007-2010)
Government Funded project
Community Investment & Inclusion Fund (CIIF),
Health, Welfare and Food Bureau, HKSAR
Project highlight
1. Targeted vulnerable Group (South Asian Hong Kong residents, New arrivals from China and local)
2.
Service recipients evolved into contributors through developing their strengths and create mutualhelp and caring networks
3.
Creating cross-sector and multi-cultural networking so as to promote self-reliance and build up
Career Efficacy
4. Linked up to residents
’ groups and organizations, fostering better social integration
5.
Building a multi-ethnical community of harmony through participation of different racial groups and organizations

(1) Improved Self-Help and Mutual Help
Capabilities of the Targeted
Vulnerable Groups
(2) Strength of the relationships and functions of the networks built amongst people from different social background
(3) Increase Degree of Social Integration between Targeted Vulnerable
Groups and their Local Mainstream
Communities

Oxfam Hong Kong Funded project (2004-2007)
–
–
–
Project Highlight
Ground Work to meet their tangible needs: Mutual Support Groups, Tailormade Retraining Course, Job Seeking Service, Cantonese Class, Translation
Service, Escorting Service, Public Service Consultation, etc.
Identifying their needs and awareness raising: Research, School Talk, Focus
Group, etc.
Organizing work: To organize our EM client to concern about their plight in employment, education, medical service and other government service sectors.
Though the advocacy process, to empower the dispowered EM community, and train up community leader.

Research and Press Release had raised the public awareness on the plight of the EM community is facing.
Had Raised the awareness of the
EM community and built up the cooperation relationship with the EM community leader, Imma and
Church leader to concern and advocate the
“
Race Discrimination
Bill
”
Our dispowered EM client had learnt to voice out their concern in
Press Conference, to the
Legislative Councilor regarding government service sector.

(C) Social enterprises
“
Love Multi-Culture
”
Development of Employment and Business Plan for South
Asian (2007-2009)
–
–
•
•
Government Funded project
Home Affair Bureau, HKSAR
Project Highlight
•
•
Objective of the project:
Increase the targeted women involvement in the community, Built up their sense of belongingness.
Help them to use their ability to generate income , to alleviate from poverty.
•
Project Content :
Start a design group for the Pakistani Women, Produce their handmade craft.
The project had funded by
“
Enhancing Self-reliance through District Partnership
Programme
”
, and had open a shop in the nearby shopping mall.
Targeted women can involve more to the community issues through running the business, and to earn income by their handmade craft ability.

Create job opportunities and offer work opportunities in a real-world working environment
Help prep the disadvantaged individuals to transit to work in the open labour market. e.g. Single Pakistani woman employed as saleslady
Offer the possibility of direct job creation. e.g. Cooperating with a fashion & garment company
Capability of women and their adaptability in the community is rising. e.g. Married Pakistani woman is finally able to secure a job

Building a City of Multi-Racial Harmony with care, trust and helping attitude