Hong Kong lockdown: officers help residents understand need for Covid-19 testing as they break down language barriers
- Members of ethnic minorities who work for city’s disciplinary services liaise with non-Chinese residents in Yau Tsim Mong
- Officers say people viewed as difficult or uncooperative simply did not understand what was happening
Two of those officers from the Correctional Services Department, Cheema Parminderjit Singh and Tak Bahadur Thapa, said they had not hesitated to take part when asked to help.
The pair worked as a team to visit ethnic minority families to explain the members had to undergo testing and remain at home after the area in the heart of the Yau Tsim Mong district was sealed off at 4am on Saturday.
“It is for the good of the society and for the health of those [ethnic minority] residents too,” said Cheema, a 36-year-old of Indian origin employed at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre. “There is no reason they would not like to cooperate. It was mainly because they do not speak Chinese or English and they had difficulty understanding the requirements.
“I play the role not only as an interpreter. My appearance can also make them feel more comfortable and at ease because they see an Indian face and they can communicate with someone who speaks their language.”
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Hong Kong coronavirus lockdown: 10,000 people confined as police cordon off part of Yau Tsim Mong
In one instance, Cheema and other officers knocked on the door of a family where one brother had been tested, but the older one had not. The elder one had shouted at the officers for disturbing them.