While I was in Hong Kong, I caught a brief glimpse of the notable events of 2010 on TV. The most memorable was the strike of a group of cafe workers. Why did they demonstrate? It was because the hourly paid workers who worked the full eight-hour day was not given a paid lunch or dinner hour.
One face in particular, I find that it was engraved on my mind. I can close my eyes right now and recall how emphatic she was, what she said and how she held up her work-worn hands to the cameras. She worked in the cafe washing dishes to bring up her two children. She told the audience that it was not true that if she worked hard, her family would be provided for. She worked many hours every day and her hands that cracked and the skin that was worn thin by manual labour as well as the strong detergent testified to her diligence. Yet month by month she was barely making ends meet. She said that the system sucked blood out of simple folks like her. And she cannot imagine what will happen to people like her with no savings when she grows older and cannot put in as many hours.
Looking at that somewhat overweight and short woman, I can see that she had not spent any extra money on herself. Her graying hair was not dyed. Her hair was badly cut. She probably did not use any face cream on a daily basis. Here is one responsible citizen who was working hard at giving her children a better future. It is sad that rich and fashionable Hong Kong could not or would not pay their workers equitable rewards that would enable them to earn a reasonable living.
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