Week VI - Day 5

Chinese Connection

The name of the hotel we have been staying at is called Royal Hotel just off Havana Street in an area named Hong Kong or maybe it's the name of the street (I'm assuming because that's where we have to tell boda-boda drivers to take us). Many of the streets in Juba are named after large cities, US states, or other countries. There’s a major thoroughfare Addis Ababa as well as Canada Boulevard, Australia Street and of course my favorite; California street.

As the name Hong Kong suggests, there are many Chinese people in the area and they are not present because of the street name but because "there's oil in them thar hills" and the Chinese are here to help drill-baby-drill! Almost all of the guests at the Royal Hotel are from China and they are in the oil business. They find it very difficult to understand the concept of “private citizen” when they ask us why we are in Juba. 

Since I’ve been at Royal, I’ve met Kevin, Nile, Shang, and Bai - all men from mainland China. Kevin was the first person to chat with me during our first week. I learned that he’s just one year older than my eldest son and that he was working for a company doing business in Juba.

Kevin wanted to know how to pronounce certain English words or get a better understanding of certain phrases. I was happy to help him as well as share pieces of my history and culture with him. We spoke at length about my desire to open a school in South Sudan and Kevin, like someone who’s known me for a long time, only wished me the best and heaped encouragement upon me. He proved to be sweetheart and very thoughtful person. We swapped contact information and have continued to keep in touch with each other weekly. I've always found it so refreshing getting to know people from other cultures and Kevin helped dispel some of the stereotypes I had about Chinese people. The main one being that Chinese people are insular and not willing to get to know those outside of their own race. 

Shang also helped dispel that myth. He has greeted me every morning since Kevin left with either, “Saree! What’s up?!” or “Hey sister!” This guy has been in Juba for a long time and is trying to make money in every way that he can.

Shang shared that he’s already purchased a home for each of his children and that I should join him in opening a language school back in his hometown. “We can make lots of money”.

Shang and I have been able to discuss the importance of leaving children an inheritance. And although I have not yet left my three with a home each (and not sure that I will), I have raised good human beings who are loving, kind, and generous. I told Kevin that that was also an inheritance and we agreed that we were definitely different and that it was definitely okay. We changed subjects but not before I could share with Shang how much I admired the chef; Bai.

Bai, the Anthony Bourdain, of Hong Kong Avenue, cooks daily and every weekend hosts the Chinese guys from the UN and other NGOs with food that I’ve not seen anywhere else in Juba. Bai is bringing in shrimp, crab, pork, mussels…you name it he’ll cook it!

Bai has also taken to calling me Boss. He doesn’t speak English but, his voice is super loud and when he talks to the hotel staff, he always sounds like he’s fussing at them. Bai has disrupted yet another stereotype that I’ve had about Chinese people. After watching this man go about his daily routine, I've learned that some Chinese are far from the meek and quiet stereotype I've had lodged in my brain.

Having taught middle school social studies, I never had the desire to ever actually go to China. I’ve always felt as though I’ve seen it all through history. But talking to these guys has changed my mind. I have Chinese American friends but, I’ve never really gotten to know Chinese people from the mainland before. It’s been good to have stereotypes debunked.

On this particular day, Shang and I were able to have a deep conversation. He wanted to know about all the protests that were going on in the US. He stated that he was a Trump supporter because he liked the way Trump thought about business and the slogan, “Make America Great Again”. I shared that the slogan meant one thing to people like him (outsiders) and something else to people like me (African Americans or a persons of color).

As he sat listening intently,  I told him how “making America great” was something that rang true for lots of white people who feel as though they have lost their economic and social status. That there were many white people who resented the fact that they now have to work just as hard or harder than people of color to make ends meet and that some of them blame the people of color for their set back. 

I also shared with him how last August, I took a day off after three African American men had been murdered by police in the span of one week. He was like, “Seriously?!” and I said yes.

I explained how fearful I began to get every time my sons left the house and how police have “a license” to kill and usually tend to claim, “I was in fear for my life” when using deadly force against black bodies. I further explained that the protests that he's been seeing have been ongoing protests against hatred, bigotry, and injustices that have, from the time of its conception, have been woven into the fabric of American culture. 

He asked lots of questions and I tried my best to answer him. I tried my best to let him know that the struggle of Blacks in America has never been over and that’s why he’s seeing protesters in the streets. As we continued our conversation, I shared with him why I had not bought my children a home and he was worried about them struggling. I let him know that some struggle is good and I believe that sparing children from the struggle hurts them more than giving them all they want and need and I referenced the protest yet again...telling him that some young people grew up not truly understanding the struggle of their forefathers and are now in a place where they cannot ignore how much 2017 looks and feels like 1957 for a lot of African American people.

We then talked about a burning question I had for him, "Why do the Chinese bring their own workers to African nations to "build up infrastructure" instead of working with more locals?" This is what he had to say:

"Saree, I would love to hire more locals. The problem is that they are short-sighted...when they get paid for their work, a lot of them leave never to be seen again. They don't understand the concepts by which we work and it makes it extremely difficult to complete a project on time and on budget with those kind of challenges. 

Most of the work that we do is very technical and we don't have the time to train when there are so many of us who already know what to do. And our workers know how to follow the lead of the boss or the foreman but, so many of the locals do not and that is partly because of language and partly because of cultural differences. 

I personally really enjoy working with local people. I find it exciting but, after having been bitten [burned] so many times, it's like seeing a rope and thinking it's a snake...you don't even want to touch it."

He shared a couple of stories about how he was taken advantage of as well as had the police called on him by former employees and I understood where he was coming from. I also thought how it would benefit both China and South Sudan to create a vocational school to begin to meet the needs of both business and government but, I realized that I was not in South Sudan to "save" it and let the thought pass on.

The conversation could have gone on for hours had we not been whisked away by Bol Ring for dinner. I've been eagerly looking forward to learn more from my new Chinese friends as well as share more about it with you.