Pakistanis in Hong Kong
Encyclopedia
Pakistanis are part of the South Asian minority population
in Hong Kong. The 2006 census stated that there were 11,111 Pakistanis in Hong Kong, accounting for 0.2% of the total Hong Kong population. Pakistanis occupied 3.2% of the total number of 342,198 ethnic minority populations. Among the total Pakistani population in Hong Kong, 37.6% of the Pakistanis were born in Hong Kong, which was relatively high when comparing to the rest of the ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong.
The East India Company
initially traded with Japan. British ships used for transportation mostly sailed in Chinese waters. It led to the rapid development of trade between the company and China. As the same time, there was growing of the trading ships pass the Hong Kong seaport. The merchant fleets were usually composed by sailors from Pakistan. In 1829, the trade reached its peak and the gate for the early Muslims
settling down in Hong Kong had been opened since then.
The early seamen mostly came from the shores of Malabar (India)
, Bay of Bengal
, Hazara (Abbottabad)
, Lahore
, Gujarat and Campbellpur (Attock) in Pakistan. With Hong Kong beginning to develop into an important seaport for the British, more and more Pakistani seamen and garrisons
were passing through and some settled here.
"Moro Kai" was where they lived and their social practices such as Jamat (gathering) took place. They also started their business so they had their shops. Though they vacated their shops and residents years later, they had formed their community. As there were more Muslim garrisons stationing in Hong Kong later on, they began to form bodies to represent the various sections of the Muslim Society. And of course, Pakistanis were included.
or the New Territories
. In 2006, 97.6% of Pakistanis living in Hong Kong were usual residents. There was 51.8% of Pakistanis having resided in Hong Kong for ten years and over, which was relatively high among the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. The proportion of Pakistani households living in the private housing was 78%, while the remaining of 20% household lived in the public renting housing.
A majority of the Pakistanis encountered difficulties in finding accommodation, in both public and private housing sectors. In the current application system of public rental housing, a lack of language support and channel resulted that most Pakistanis not knowing how to apply for the rental housing, and also, some of them believed that they are not qualified for applying public housing, although some of them are eligible to do so. For those Pakistanis who lived in private housing, they had the experience that their nationality was frequently inquired by property owners and property agencies. Even worse, based on their nationality, some of the property owners and property agencies may refuse to rent the properties to them, or offer them properties with poor living conditions, result in housing and spatial segregation.
The labour force participation rates for males were over 70% while the rates for females were below 40%. For Pakistanis, there are 33.1% of males were working in “Elementary occupations” such as porters, construction site workers while a 42.5% of females were “Clerks/Service workers and shop sales workers”.
It is a high sex ratio for the Pakistanis aged 45-64 indicates the presence of a large number of Pakistani men working in Hong Kong, perhaps leaving behind their families in their home countries.
The major problems faced by Pakistani parents when they are finding school places for their children, is that they always have to wait unreasonably long for school vacancies and the school fees are expensive. Moreover, the main difficulty they face in school is the language. Hong Kong Education Department has been providing programmes to schools adopting mother-tongue (Cantonese) teaching.
Primary schools
Secondary schools
The English Schools Foundation
and various international schools also provide education using English as the medium of instruction
.
in 2008. Also, in the same year, the organization launched an interflow and held meetings with several educational institutes, NGO's and schools. Volunteer hikings, edu
cational camps and team building activities are also held regularly.
Unison was established as a non-governmental organization in 2001 for ethnic equality and was registered as a public charitable institution in 2005. Its work includes advocacy, education, research and service referrals. Several researches have been conducted by Hong Kong Unison, which mainly focused on the general attitudes towards Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong, education and employment.
Christian Action is a registered charitable organization in Hong Kong. Christian Action Shine Centre was established in 2009 to provide support services to ethnic minorities and local organisations. The center updates the job vacancies and employment information for their members. Employment workshops, such as "Career development through vocational education" and "Labour laws and practice in Hong Kong", and visits to various job fairs are organized by the centre in 2010.
CABLE Communications Limited
– carried two Pakistan Channels from Indus TV Network
- I-Plus and Indus Vision on July 27, 2004 for the Cable TV
subscribers. I-Plus is an infotainment channel in English and Urdu language and Indus Vision is a family channel in Urdu language. Two channels last for a year only.
RTHK– has produced some TV programmes for Hong Kong people to understand the Pakistani as an ethnic minority group in local society, such as議事論事:尼泊爾男子被警槍殺事件觸發種族融和問題, 升斗之歌:身邊人身邊事-回收族群, 愛回家:<<去日苦多>>, 香港故事(第十三輯):我們的嚤囉廟, 有房出租etc.
Metro Plus – launched “Ramadan program for Pakistani” in Urdu language during 2007 to 2009.
Television
Radio
South Asians in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a long-established South Asian population. As of the 2006 by-census, there were at least 44,744 persons of South Asian descent in Hong Kong. Many trace their roots in Hong Kong as far back as when most of the Indian subcontinent was still under British colonial rule, and as a legacy...
in Hong Kong. The 2006 census stated that there were 11,111 Pakistanis in Hong Kong, accounting for 0.2% of the total Hong Kong population. Pakistanis occupied 3.2% of the total number of 342,198 ethnic minority populations. Among the total Pakistani population in Hong Kong, 37.6% of the Pakistanis were born in Hong Kong, which was relatively high when comparing to the rest of the ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong.
Migration
Pakistanis first settled in Hong Kong in the 19th century when there was frequent trading between India and China.The East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
initially traded with Japan. British ships used for transportation mostly sailed in Chinese waters. It led to the rapid development of trade between the company and China. As the same time, there was growing of the trading ships pass the Hong Kong seaport. The merchant fleets were usually composed by sailors from Pakistan. In 1829, the trade reached its peak and the gate for the early Muslims
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
settling down in Hong Kong had been opened since then.
The early seamen mostly came from the shores of Malabar (India)
Malabar District
Malabar District was an administrative district of Madras Presidency in British India and independent India's Madras State. The British district included the present-day districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad , and Chavakad Taluk of Thrissur District in the northern part of...
, Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
, Hazara (Abbottabad)
Hazara
The Hazāra are a Persian-speaking people who mainly live in central Afghanistan. They are overwhelmingly Shia Muslims and comprise the third largest ethnic group of Afghanistan, forming about 18% of the total population...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Gujarat and Campbellpur (Attock) in Pakistan. With Hong Kong beginning to develop into an important seaport for the British, more and more Pakistani seamen and garrisons
Hong Kong Garrison
The Hong Kong Garrison was a British and Commonwealth force that protected Hong Kong.In December 1941 during the Battle of Hong Kong in the Second World War, the Japanese Army attacked Hong Kong and after a brief but violent series of engagements the garrison surrendered.- Kowloon Brigade :**C.O...
were passing through and some settled here.
Early 19th century
During the early 19th century, Pakistani lived together with the other Muslim seamen. They had no proper accommodation or dormitory but somehow they managed to stay well-knitted together in an area known as Lower Lascar Row - in the Central area, better known to the Hong Kong old timers as "Moro Kai"."Moro Kai" was where they lived and their social practices such as Jamat (gathering) took place. They also started their business so they had their shops. Though they vacated their shops and residents years later, they had formed their community. As there were more Muslim garrisons stationing in Hong Kong later on, they began to form bodies to represent the various sections of the Muslim Society. And of course, Pakistanis were included.
Geographic distribution and accommodation
Most of the Pakistanis reside in KowloonKowloon
Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Stonecutter's Island in the west, Tate's Cairn and Lion Rock in the north, and Victoria Harbour in the south. It had a population of...
or the New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
. In 2006, 97.6% of Pakistanis living in Hong Kong were usual residents. There was 51.8% of Pakistanis having resided in Hong Kong for ten years and over, which was relatively high among the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. The proportion of Pakistani households living in the private housing was 78%, while the remaining of 20% household lived in the public renting housing.
A majority of the Pakistanis encountered difficulties in finding accommodation, in both public and private housing sectors. In the current application system of public rental housing, a lack of language support and channel resulted that most Pakistanis not knowing how to apply for the rental housing, and also, some of them believed that they are not qualified for applying public housing, although some of them are eligible to do so. For those Pakistanis who lived in private housing, they had the experience that their nationality was frequently inquired by property owners and property agencies. Even worse, based on their nationality, some of the property owners and property agencies may refuse to rent the properties to them, or offer them properties with poor living conditions, result in housing and spatial segregation.
Working population
For the labor force, Pakistani in Hong Kong of participation rates are females of some ethnic groups including Pakistanis contrasted sharply with their male counterparts.The labour force participation rates for males were over 70% while the rates for females were below 40%. For Pakistanis, there are 33.1% of males were working in “Elementary occupations” such as porters, construction site workers while a 42.5% of females were “Clerks/Service workers and shop sales workers”.
It is a high sex ratio for the Pakistanis aged 45-64 indicates the presence of a large number of Pakistani men working in Hong Kong, perhaps leaving behind their families in their home countries.
Working conditions
It is difficult for Pakistanis to get jobs in Hong Kong mostly because of language. Besides, education levels, their identitiy as Pakistani, cultural and religious difference were also obstacles. Even at work, Pakistanis had to face lots of problems such as communication problems, being bullied, lack of preference, being lowered the payment, cultural or religious conflicts with others, being fired without reasonable accounts.General situation
There are quite a few of ethnic minorities including Pakistanis aged 15 and over having attended post secondary education. Besides, a majority of them attended upper secondary or higher education. The school attendance rates of ethnic minorities exhibited very interesting sex differences. The rates for male ethnic minorities, except for age group 6-11, were in general higher than those for their female counterparts.The major problems faced by Pakistani parents when they are finding school places for their children, is that they always have to wait unreasonably long for school vacancies and the school fees are expensive. Moreover, the main difficulty they face in school is the language. Hong Kong Education Department has been providing programmes to schools adopting mother-tongue (Cantonese) teaching.
Schools which accept non-Chinese-speaking students
In Hong Kong, there are four primary schools and five secondary schools and which accept non-Chinese-speaking students in Hong Kong.Primary schools
- Hong Kong Taoist Association School
- Li Cheng Uk Government Primary School
- Islamic Primary School
- Yaumati Kaifong Association SchoolYaumati Kaifong Association SchoolBetter known as YMTKFAS. Yaumati Kaifong Association School is an International Primary School in the Yau Tsim Mong District. It is well known because Yaumati Kaifong Association School joins a lot of events...
Secondary schools
- Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo), a member of The Delia Group of SchoolsThe Delia Group of SchoolsThe Delia Group of Schools is an education organisation in Hong Kong founded in 1965 by American Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Edmonds. It is evolved from Delia Memorial School in Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui....
- HKWMA Chu Shek Lun Secondary School
- Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial CollegeIslamic Kasim Tuet Memorial CollegeThe Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College is a secondary school in Hong Kong, located in Chai Wan. It was formerly known as the Islamic English College. It is named for Kasim Tuet, a Hui Muslim who played a major role in the development of Chinese Muslim education in the city. Despite the name,...
- Delia Memorial School (Broadway), a member of The Delia Group of SchoolsThe Delia Group of SchoolsThe Delia Group of Schools is an education organisation in Hong Kong founded in 1965 by American Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Edmonds. It is evolved from Delia Memorial School in Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui....
- Sir Ellis Kadoorie Secondary School (West Kowloon)
The English Schools Foundation
English Schools Foundation
The English Schools Foundation is an organisation that runs 20 educational institutions, most of which are international schools, which are all located in Hong Kong...
and various international schools also provide education using English as the medium of instruction
Medium of instruction
Medium of instruction is a language used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the country or territory. Where the first language of students is different from the official language, it may be used as the medium of instruction for part or all of schooling. Bilingual or...
.
Community organisations
The Pakistani Student Association Hong Kong aims to uplift the educational and socio-economic status of Pakistani youth and community in Hong Kong, and encourages and promotes multicultural society in Hong Kong. For instance, the organization held an open forum at the Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityHong Kong Polytechnic University
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University specialises in professional education in Hong Kong. The University’s teaching units are grouped under six faculties and two schools; the Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Faculty of Business, Faculty of Construction and Environment, Faculty of...
in 2008. Also, in the same year, the organization launched an interflow and held meetings with several educational institutes, NGO's and schools. Volunteer hikings, edu
cational camps and team building activities are also held regularly.
Unison was established as a non-governmental organization in 2001 for ethnic equality and was registered as a public charitable institution in 2005. Its work includes advocacy, education, research and service referrals. Several researches have been conducted by Hong Kong Unison, which mainly focused on the general attitudes towards Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong, education and employment.
Christian Action is a registered charitable organization in Hong Kong. Christian Action Shine Centre was established in 2009 to provide support services to ethnic minorities and local organisations. The center updates the job vacancies and employment information for their members. Employment workshops, such as "Career development through vocational education" and "Labour laws and practice in Hong Kong", and visits to various job fairs are organized by the centre in 2010.
Television
No Urdu language is provided in the domestic free television program services.CABLE Communications Limited
I-CABLE Communications
i-CABLE Communications Limited , i-Cable in short, is an internet Service Provider in Hong Kong, and is now one of Hong Kong's leading integrated communications companies...
– carried two Pakistan Channels from Indus TV Network
Indus TV Network
Indus is an independent television network based in Pakistan.-Indus Vision:Indus Vision is Pakistan’s first independent satellite channel and a general entertainment channel...
- I-Plus and Indus Vision on July 27, 2004 for the Cable TV
I-CABLE Communications
i-CABLE Communications Limited , i-Cable in short, is an internet Service Provider in Hong Kong, and is now one of Hong Kong's leading integrated communications companies...
subscribers. I-Plus is an infotainment channel in English and Urdu language and Indus Vision is a family channel in Urdu language. Two channels last for a year only.
RTHK– has produced some TV programmes for Hong Kong people to understand the Pakistani as an ethnic minority group in local society, such as議事論事:尼泊爾男子被警槍殺事件觸發種族融和問題, 升斗之歌:身邊人身邊事-回收族群, 愛回家:<<去日苦多>>, 香港故事(第十三輯):我們的嚤囉廟, 有房出租etc.
Radio
Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Radio 3- launched “Hong Kong Ki Shaam”( Hong Kong THIS evening) in Urdu since 2008. The program was extended from half an hour to one hour after a year until now. The extension are mainly for covering more useful information for the ethnic minorities to integrate into the society.Metro Plus – launched “Ramadan program for Pakistani” in Urdu language during 2007 to 2009.
Notable people
- Daoud BokharyDaoud BokharyDaoud Bokhary is a retired Hong Kong businessman.-Early life:Bokhary was born near Peshawar in the North-West Frontier Province of British India . He served in the British Indian Army for four years as a logistics expert, and came to Hong Kong with the army on the first British ship after the...
, stockbroker and father of Court of Final Appeal judge Kemal BokharyKemal BokharySyed Kemal Shah Bokhary is a judge in Hong Kong. , he serves as one of the three Permanent Judges of Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal.-Early life and family:...
Sources
- Chan, Kam Wah and Ku, Hok Bun (2005). 排斥少數族裔：香港巴裔人士的住屋經驗.In May Tam, Hok Bun Ku and Travis Kong (Eds.), Rethinking and recasting citizenship: Social exclusion and marginality in Chinese societies. Hong Kong:The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
- Ku, Hok-bun, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Sheng Kung Hui Lady MacLehose Centre. (2003). A research report on the life experiences of pakistanis in hong kong. Research report series. Vol. 7. Hong Kong: Centre for Social Policy Studies, Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
External links
NGOsTelevision
Radio