My Wonder Girl and a quest for justice against racist remarks
My nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son are both into the Justice League, in spite of the fact that I personally think these superheroes are somewhat glorified terrorists. Nonetheless, at some point in a child's life, there is a need for idols and superheroes, and if Wonder Woman and Batman represent do-gooders for my children, let justice prevail.
So it was with a sense of injustice that my daughter came home one day and said: 'Mom, my teacher said something in class today, and I think we shouldn't let her get away with it.' It sounded like something Wonder Woman would say.
My daughter quickly explained to me how, in front of the whole class, their teacher had told them it was important to learn English properly. This goes especially for students with Filipino helpers at home; they shouldn't pick up English from their Filipino domestic helpers because their English is not good, especially their accents, she had said.
'Does she know you're half Filipino?' I asked my daughter. The answer was no.
At home, we have a Filipino domestic helper who used to be a maths teacher before coming to Hong Kong to work for families like my own. Our helper goes beyond her domestic duties by volunteering to help my daughter with maths, which of course is conducted in English. My helper not only communicates well in English, but knows a lot more maths than I do. And so, for my daughter's sake, and for the Filipinos in Hong Kong, I decided to pay this teacher a visit to let her know how confused and hurt my daughter was because of the discriminating remark made in front of her classmates about Filipinos. I explained to this teacher that my daughter was especially perturbed because I am a Filipina. I made it clear that I am a lecturer in English and English literature at a university in Kowloon.
Perhaps this personal anecdote is a subtle, yet brutal, reminder that Hong Kong is still not ready to accept the contributions ethnic Asian minorities make here. Hong Kong's wealth isn't just about the Hang Seng Index. Asia's 'world city'? Not sure. But to be world class, Hong Kong has to also embrace the idea that we shouldn't let people get away with racist remarks. And that is from my nine-year-old.
Theresa Cunanan, Kwun Tong
