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As Executive Director of Hong Kong Unison -- the non-profit charity that she founded 12 years ago to defend the rights of Hong Kong’s 300,000 strong ethnic minorities community, Fermi Wong has selflessly devoted her life to defending the rights of the young women and children in Hong Kong who cannot defend themselves.WORDS JOY LI

FERMI WONGTHE INDEFATIGABLE

“A rose, no matter how

its name is changed, is

still fragrant; humans,

no matter what their

colours are, have the same dignity.” So

says the leaflets found at Hong Kong

Unison’s small and cluttered office in a

converted warehouse in Tai Kok Tsui.

Unison’s founder, Fermi Wong, is

sitting at a window seat, attentively

planning her trip this month to the

United Nations in Geneva, to lobby

for support for the rights of ethnic

minorities in Hong Kong.

A petite blur of energy and passion,

Wong now has six full-time and one

part-time staffers to help her. “When I

started Hong Kong Unison in 2001, it

was a one-woman-organisation,” she

recalls.

Wong’s first encounter with ethnic

minorities took place in 1998, three

years after graduating from CityU with

a degree in social work. At that time,

the NGO she worked for prioritized

services to Chinese youth, mainly

school dropouts or drug-addicts.

However, during field trips, another

group of needful young people caught

Wong’s attention -- albeit they looked

very much different.

“I met a lot of ethnic minority

kids, they were mainly Nepalese or

Pakistanis, between the ages of nine

and 15. At first, I tried to help their

individual problems. But as I gained

deeper contact with them I began

to realise that this was not about

individual problems, but a systematic

problem at the government policy

level,” Wong stresses.

“If a school refuses to accept them,

no matter how many comfortable

words I offer, they still cannot get

enrolled. The government policy that

excludes them is biased. So I decided

that I must tackle the system itself.”

At that time, the problems of Hong

Kong’s ethnic minorities were not even

on the government’s domestic policy

agenda. For that reason, Wong was in

a league of her own in defending the

rights of the so-called “outsiders” as her

then bewildered colleagues reckoned.

“I got no support from my

colleagues, because [they felt that]

Chinese should help Chinese, a view

which I disagree with. The core value

of social work is upholding human

rights, human rights for all. I continue

to serve, despite the pressure, because

this is a matter of justice, of fairness,”

Wong says.

Born in Fujian Province, Wong

moved to Hong Kong with her family at

the age of 11. In the eyes of the young

girl, the striking difference between

Hong Kong and the mainland was the

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idea of social care that recognises basic

human dignity.

“I have been deeply influenced by

my social work training. Humans are

born equal. The passion to advance this

absolute value helps me to overcome

difficulties,” Wong says.

At the same time, personal

experience also shaped her view. Living

with a mentally disabled brother, Wong

knows too well that fatalism only leads

to apathy; when what is really needed is

compassion. And support.

“We can see those unfortunate

people in two ways; either it is your

personal problem and you are then

society’s burden; or we can form

supportive policies to help everyone

realize their maximum potential.”

Wong says.

Since founding Unison when she

was 30, Fermi Wong has been at the

forefront of fighting for the rights of

the defenseless. The issue which Wong

believes to be the most fundamental,

is equal right for everyone to an

education.

The functional purpose of

education, which is to secure more

choices on employment, is obvious

to all. However, she feels that the

significance of education should not

stop here.

“As you acquire more knowledge,

you become enlightened to comment

to the world’s beauty and ugliness. For

ethnic minority children, education

helps them to take control of their own

lives,” Wong explains.

The beleaguered groups whom Hong

Kong Unison works hard to help are

the mother hears poignant questions

such as: “When did you get married?

How was your life at that time? If given

another choice, would you have wanted

to marry so early? Do you want your

daughter to repeat the same fate?”

After being asked such questions, the

mothers often choke out the fact that

no one before ever cared to even ask

them their views.

Sometimes Wong fails to change

a result. However, she will constantly

offer “new perspectives within

traditions,” by saying “Can you please

then promise to find your daughter

someone who respects women?”

Wong is particularly rewarded when

ethnic minority girls tell her: “Miss, I

will not allow my husband to beat me! It

is about my dignity!”

Scorned by some Hong Kong

government officials, Wong has proved

herself an unyielding figure of strength.

On the education front, she has tasted

both the greatest joy and the deepest

frustrations.

In Hong Kong, only one percent

of ethnic minority children can go to

university. This sad figure, Wong says,

is a shame to the self-claimed “Asia’s

world city.”

The major obstacle limiting

minority children from having their

rightful educational opportunity is

learning Chinese. In 2006, thanks to

persistent campaigning by Hong Kong

Unison, local universities finally agreed

to recognise a less advanced certificate

of Chinese language, when considering

ethnic minority applicants.

Besides pushing for needed policy

changes, Wong is especially proud of

the scholarship scheme she created for

minorities, as tuition fees are becoming

ever more prohibitive for the poor. Hong

Kong Unison receives no government

funding, relying strictly on personal

donations and help from charity

organisations such as Oxfam.

In July 2008, the SAR government

put into effect its first Anti-Racial-

Discrimination legislation. This was

the direct result of a ten-year long

campaign, with Wong leading the fight

for the rights of those who could not

fight for themselves.

“There is finally progress towards

fair policy, but there are no concrete

comprehensive action plans, and no

long-term commitment yet,” Wong says.

When it comes to communicating

with government education officials,

Wong finds herself struggling not to

get depressed. “Because of elitism,

the civil service holds a stubborn and

conservative view that Hong Kong’s

ethnic minority communities do not

deserve more resources,” Wong says.

“Since 1998 I have been trying to

persuade top officials at the Education

Bureau. I have given my best efforts;

but I still cannot persuade those policy

makers, mostly women, to have a more

caring view”

In the future, Wong will continue

her efforts in striving for equal

education opportunities for ethnic

minorities. At the policy level, she

expects to see a concrete plan to

implement “Chinese as a Second

Language Curriculum and Assessment

Standard.”

Wong stresses that whether ethnic

minority children can effectively learn

Chinese is key. If so, this will help

eliminate the inferior feeling that

these children project onto themselves,

and pave the pathway for them to

improve their lot in other ways – such

as applying to university and seeking

higher paying jobs.

The philosophy that sustains the

indefatigable Fermi Wong is this: in the

seemingly desperate darkness, don’t

give up, try to search for a beam of light.

“If there is light, there must be an

opening, then we think how to make

this opening bigger and let in more

light, rather than focus on the desperate

darkness.”

Hong Kong residents who are ethnic

minorities and their families, all people

who have the full legal right of abode in

Hong Kong. Many of these families have

their origins in Pakistan, India, Nepal

or Indonesia. Though having settled in

Hong Kong for generations, they still

abide by their traditional practices, as in

their ancestral homelands.

“For ethnic minorities from South

East Asia, a patriarchal view is very

strong, the man’s opinion means

everything. This is due to a mix of

religion, tradition, and culture. And

women especially are disadvantaged

through forced marriage, domestic

violence and discouragement to pursue

personal goals,” Wong explains.

An example: a 16-year-old

Pakistani girl is told to go back to her

grandparent’s village and accept an

arranged marriage.

Knowing that such an early and

forced marriage would ruin the girl’s

life, Wong tries every means to persuade

her parents to let her stay in school,

or at least buy some time to defer any

marriage so that the girl may enter

college.

Inevitably, rebukes from the father

or the brother will be thrown at Wong:

“You are Chinese, you don’t understand

us; you are woman, you don’t

understand us!” the irate males will say.

Responds Wong: “I am rational. I

know I cannot change long established

traditions. But I try to bring in an

empathetic and self-respect perspective.”

She especially tries to win trust

from the mother, who herself often

underwent forced early marriage. When

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