The Zoroastrian community in Hong Kong (HK), being 900 km away from the epicenter of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, considers itself fortunate that all their members are enjoying good health. As remarked Neville Shroff, president of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hongkong, Canton and Macao (ZCFHCM), "with the extreme precautions in place (in HK), it is much better contained.” He was hopeful "the virus will slow down in the summer months and normalcy will be restored.”
Regretting that HK has been confronting a triple blow since last year starting with the China/USA trade tensions, followed by social unrest and more recently the Covid19 outbreak, Shroff commented in an email response to Parsiana, "This has had a devastating blow on HK’s economy, affecting all industries and in particular those related to tourism, i.e. the hotels, restaurants, airlines. With the escalating infections, the government and employers from different sectors have adopted a flexible arrangement permitting people to operate from home or office. The HK government with its ample fiscal reserves has been very generous in supporting and helping many sectors of industries with tax cuts and other benefits, including a cash handout to every permanent resident of HK to encourage consumption.”
In his email dated February 2 addressed to the Zoroastrian community in HK, Shroff had written, "The safety and well-being of our community members and staff will always be our number one priority, and the trustees will be closely monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis. Under these current exceptional circumstances, and in alignment with other organizations, the trustees have taken the decision to temporarily suspend all community functions and private events until further notice. The trustees also suggest limited use of the Prayer Hall unless absolutely necessary.”
"Government was shut for the month of February, and has only begun service as of today,” noted an email from Hong Kong based financial analyst Jimmy Master on March 2, 2020. He reported that the city has had 98 confirmed infections, and two fatalities, with many residents being in quarantine for two weeks, under observation. Entrances to all buildings now have checkpoints for mandatory temperature readings. "The border crossings with China are all but closed… What this has meant is that from a normal 200,000 persons crossing the border daily, the number is now 3,000. Having built up significant infrastructure to cater to a never
ending stream of mainland visitors, we now are faced with 10% hotel occupancy, empty restaurants, empty shopping malls, empty airport… Our flag carrier Cathay Pacific has grounded 50% of their fleet, and will operate 40% of their flights this month,” added Master.
"Job losses have begun, some permanent, some temporary, forced leave with no pay is becoming commonplace, and the economy is slowly grinding to a halt. Schools have been closed since January, and will remain shut till April. All public events, concerts, fairs, conventions, meetings, have been cancelled, most public recreational facilities have been closed… and horse racing which is so important to HK people is being conducted without anyone being present in the grandstands.”
"Corona is the reason that I’m currently in home town Bombay. We had come here to attend a family wedding during the Chinese New Year break and ended up extending our holiday as all school and universities in HK are declared shut,” wrote Mehroo Turel, sharing her experiences on her blog
http://frommissindiatomotherhood.com in mid-February where she conveyed: "While I am sitting here peacefully on my balcony swing with my laptop, two weeks ago I was in a mad frenzy trying to decide whether I should stay or head back to HK, worrying about not having school books, my son’s laptop, fretting over my older son’s upcoming IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams, about my own business, the meetings I had fixed, the events I had planned. We finally took a decision and postponed our flight…
"I was very impressed with our school when they started their online learning sessions almost immediately. This gave the much needed structure to our day and after some initial minor hiccups, my kids were sailing through the sessions.” They are given instructions by email and through live video call on an app called Zoom. Being in Bombay which is two-and-a-half hours behind HK time, the 15-year-old has to wake up a bit early for the first Zoom video call at 6 a.m. "The teachers are doing a great job, teaching via a new communication system and the kids have adapted quickly,” she appreciated.
A planner helps the mother and the sons keep an eye on the work/recreation schedule and feel good when they have completed their tasks. As she admitted, "Being in India is both advantageous and disadvantageous because while I don’t have to manage household chores or cooking, leaving me more time at hand, the number of distractions that we have in terms of family visits, phone calls, ringing of doorbell, street noise is a deterrent but something that I miss dearly when I go back to HK… As a family we love pets, both dogs and cats, and having access to street dogs and cats helps relieve any stress or tension that we feel through the day.”
Another long-time Zoroastrian resident of HK who did not wish to be identified admitted that "life is stressful at the moment but we are getting used to the routine of keeping ourselves disinfected as much as we can. Masks have to be worn at all times… Handshakes are a NO-NO for anyone and everyone. Doors are either kicked or shouldered open, and no one touches handrails or railings where possible. Bottles of alcohol are kept in our car for use before touching any controls or steering wheel after a stint in town… On returning home, the first thing is an alcohol spray on the hands, followed by a hand and face wash in hot water using a disinfectant soap… Bad as it is, life goes on; we are a pretty adaptable and resilient bunch.”
"We pray for a speedy recovery for those who have contracted the virus,” stated HK philanthropist Purviz Shroff.
"In the absence of any faith and trust in the government doing the right thing, the population has increasingly become dependent upon social media as their main if not the only source of information… How easy it is to manipulate a frightened and nervous population with all sorts of fake and sensationalist rubbish… leading to erratic behavior, false runs on essential commodities, retailers creating false shortages thereby driving up prices and some making big money out of others’ misery,” observed Master. A box of 20 masks, normally sold at HKD 35 to 40 (Rs 324 to 371), is now being sold at HKD 800 (Rs 7,413) and restricted to one box per customer. While the efficacy of masks continues to be debated, improperly discarded masks have started causing a public nuisance.
Since this virus spreads in a cold, damp climate, HK residents are hopeful the onset of warmer weather will bring the situation under control and those who are ailing will recover soon. "For many of our elders, community gatherings are their main focal point of contact and entertainment, and to have to just sit at home for weeks on end is trying,” reported Master.
"Being a new business owner in HK, literally launching my business in the middle of last year’s political upheaval and now living through the coronavirus impact, I have an entirely different sense of perspective to my previous 22 years of working for a large multinational company,” wrote Rasheed Shroff, founder of Banyan Workspace, whose introspection on the current scenario was shared with Parsiana by his father Jal. Commented Rasheed, "Personally, as a staunch Hong Konger, I remain optimistic but realistic about the future. I believe that recovery will come but will take time and that while a large degree of disruption is inevitable, HK can and will re-set itself and that indeed, it must do so to emerge again…
"While the virus has been massively disruptive and fear has gripped our population, for this city at least, it may provide a much needed period of cooling down and a longing for a return to normality…We are immensely fortunate to have a very well-educated population and, while the local education system is admittedly challenged and does not encourage freedom of thought and creativity, it has historically produced some of the world’s hardest and most diligent professionals who have an inherent drive to always do better. Combining this with the sturdy embrace of individual family units and the strong values that these provide has always stood us in good stead, and I believe it will again,” noted Rasheed.
Until then, the customary Navroz dinner at the Zoroastrian Building in HK has been postponed this year but a jashan will be held on March 21 at 10.30 a.m. Whilst clarifying that no drinks or snacks will be served thereafter, the circular cautioned that "the trustees do not recommend attendance, given the close proximity in a confined space of the Prayer Hall.”