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Wynna Wong

Nineteen-year-old Ravinder Singh was raised in Hong Kong and attended local schools. Yet, at times, he felt like an outsider.
“My classmates would ask me whether there are a lot of rapists in India,” he said.
“How am I supposed to know? I don’t even live in India.”
His cousin Manmeet Singh, who is a year younger, experienced similar things.
“People would laugh and say I was wearing a pair of underpants on my head,” he said, pointing to his hair wrapped in a turban, a common practice in Sikhism.
“Or they would ask me whether I had stuffed a char siu bao in there. I think that’s pretty racist.”
Their experience is just an indication of what many others in the wider ethnic minority community face in Hong Kong.
Operation Santa Claus raises more than HK$15 million for charities
According to Kris Tong Sung-man, executive director of the charity TREATS, social exclusion and isolation are two major problems members of ethnic minority communities face.
“Language is one of the biggest contributing factors to this situation. Having difficulty grasping the Chinese language means minority students suffer in other subjects too,” she said, adding while many students from such communities could speak Cantonese well, some of them struggled with writing.
This, according to Tong, leads to lower university enrolment rates for the group, eventually hindering their ability to achieve social mobility.

Another major factor is cultural difference.
“More than 90 per cent of Hong Kong’s population is ethnically Chinese, and a lot of people in the so-called mainstream culture still hold strong discriminatory beliefs towards members of ethnic minority groups.”
Many employees, for example, would rather hire people who speak the same language, Tong said.
“It’s very unfortunate because we see many ethnic minority youth with great potential, but they are often so downtrodden that they don’t try to pursue [higher studies].”
That is why TREATS has decided to launch “Sports Play Out!”, a project that targets ethnic minority students in Secondary Four or above. Through the initiative, 20 young individuals will receive training to become sports instructors every year. After that, the organisation will arrange for them to go out into society, such as to local schools, to lead sports events.
Operation Santa Claus outpaces last year’s fundraising for Hong Kong charities
“This project will tackle many issues at once,” Tong said.
“Not only will it give ethnic minority youth valuable work experience that will help them in launching their careers later in life, it will also offer them a chance to integrate with the rest of the community as leaders.”
The pilot project is expected to run from 2021 to 2023, and aims to reach out to thousands of members of the public. It is funded by money raised by Operation Santa Claus, a charity drive hosted by the South China Morning Post and RTHK. This will be the initiative’s 33rd year.
Established in 1979, TREATS is a charity that focuses on social inclusion, especially for children with special educational needs and members of ethnic minority groups, which the organisation says are two of the city’s most marginalised segments.
You can make donations to Operation Santa Claus here


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Operation Santa Claus

Strangers in their own city: charity fights for Hong Kong’s ethnic minority members through Operation Santa Claus funding

(L to R) Mabel Lo, head of services at TREATS, university student Ravinder Singh, and Kris Tong, executive director at TREATS, in Chai Wan. Photo:Dickson Lee

Mabel Lo, Head of Service of Treats, poses for a picture in Chai Wan,. 22OCT20 SCMP / Dickson Lee

200 golfers in full swing for charity at Hong Kong Golf Club, with Operation Santa Claus a beneficiary

(From left) Bruce Stinson, co-founder and vice-chairman of The Hub; Ian Gardner, general manager of Hong Kong Golf Club; Vicky Jones, championship director of the European Tour; Helen Chan Li, chief executive of Friends of Asia Hong Kong; and Hugh Chiverton, head of English programming service at RTHK display a HK$1.3 million cheque presented to beneficiaries. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Enrich HK’s director of programmes, Tynna Mendoza (left), and the group’s communications manager, Zamira Monteiro. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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About 130 employees of Dah Sing Bank and 24 children took part in the basketball challenge on December 7. Photo: Edmond So

Graphic for online OSC TREE POSTER (12DEC19) Operation Santa Claus.

OSC 2019: Participants in the Charity Basketball Challenge hosted by Dah Sing Bank, Causeway Bay. 07DEC19 SCMP / Edmond So

News

Hong Kong

Society


Kris Tong, executive director of TREATS, says social exclusion and isolation are two major problems such communities face in city
Their project Sports Play Out! will be aided by Operation Santa Claus, a fundraising drive hosted by the South China Morning Post and RTHK



Kris Tong, executive director of TREATS, says social exclusion and isolation are two major problems such communities face in city.


Ethnic minorities in Hong Kong

Racism and other prejudice

Strangers in their own city: charity fights for Hong Kong’s ethnic minority members through Operation Santa Claus funding

Kris Tong, executive director of TREATS, says social exclusion and isolation are two major problems such communities face in city Their project Sports Play Out! will be aided by Operation Santa Claus, a fundraising drive hosted by the South China Morning Post and RTHK

Kris Tong, executive director of TREATS, says social exclusion and isolation are two major problems such communities face in city

Their project Sports Play Out! will be aided by Operation Santa Claus, a fundraising drive hosted by the South China Morning Post and RTHK