UNESCO's International Mother Language Day
The Nepalese Community in Hong Kong
Living in Hong Kong
According to 2011 Population Census, there are 451, 183 ethnic minorities living in Hong Kong, constituting 6.4% of the whole population while Nepalese accounts for 3.7%. They are mostly usual residents. 39.5% of them were born in Hong Kong and about half of the proportion (48.7%) has resided in Hong Kong for 10 years and over. Many ex-Gurkhas left their homeland when they were in their teens; therefore they see themselves as belonging in Hong Kong.
This news article gives us a comprehensive overview of their recent situation in assimilating into the Hong Kong society. Ip, K. (2012, January 6). Shadow warriors. The Standard. Retrieved from http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=12&art_id=118553&con_type=3&d_str=20120106&fc=8
Language
The Nepalese have different languages according to their ethnicities, which are divided by different lineages. Usually, they learn the own dialects before they can speak Nepali. Nearly all of Nepalese keep using their home dialects in Hong Kong, such as Nepali. 86.5% of them speak English. Interestingly, 45.7% speak Cantonese as their another langugae but only 2.3% speak it as their usual language. Their ability in speaking Cantonese varies. Some Nepalese, having more contact with locals, speak fluent Cantonese. On the contrary, for the elder generation who has stayed here for a long time, their proficiency is still not high due to the early prohibition of contact with locals in military camp. The language barrier may isolate them and make it difficult to adapt to local society.
There are 20 primary schools and 10 secondary schools specially for non-local students in Hong Kong. These schoools normally use English as the medium of instruction. Although most of them will provide Chinese class once a week, there is not enough opportunity for them to learn Cantonese. The language barrier affects their study path. Many of them cannot continue studies in local universities.
Housing
Before 1997, the British sent the Gurkhas to the New Territories, where they carried out security duties and border patrols. Many soldiers and their families lived in army barracks in areas such as Happy Valley, Stanley and Shek Kong. After the handover, the Gurkhas were eventually offered Hong Kong residency, and many moved to areas with affordable rents.
About half of Nepalese resided in Kowloon (mainly Yau Tsim Mong) while 27.3% of them live in Yuen Long area. One of the reasons is that Kowloon Park and Shek Kong in Yuen Long are the main military camps for the brigade from Nepal; thus they tend to live nearly after they left the camp. Most of them refuse to choose public housing since they would be dispersed to different distrincts. They will lose their friends and community. Thus, they tend to rent the tenements with the family or relatives. For the place of study, Yuen Long (23.9%) and Yau Tsim Mong (22.9%) are the two districts with larger proportions of Nepalese full-time students.
Work
In working population, 94.7% of Nepalese in Hong Kong are employees. More than half of the male working Nepalese were found in the accommodation and food services sector while the majority of female Nepalese are working in miscellaneous social and personal services. Their working locations are mainly in Central and Western district and Yau Tsim Mong.
Younger generations are often employed in hospitality, especially nightlife. While the majority of Nepalese work as security guards and construction workers. Many companies of security services recruit former soldiers serving residential estates, warehouses, commercial buildings and major events, due to the training they have when serving the armed forces. Another reason is that a majority of ex-Gurkhas do not speak or understand Chinese, thus there is no worry about the bodyguard tuning to private conversations or learning business secrets. However, their positioning in Hong Kong’s labor markets is limited by their prior soldier image and language barrier, which consequently influence their social mobility and reinforce the stereotype of their occupations.
Image source: http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1513
