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