HSBC Hong Kong, like the picnic spot in Singapore, is directly connected and located very close (at around 5 minutes walk) to World Wide Plaza. At approximately 9:30 am, the area is already occupied by a large number of people, forming different groups and all setting up picnic areas defined by picnic matts. There are 2 major circulation path that are left uninhibited to allow the plaza to function as a circulation path for tourist and visitors to the area. HSBC plaza is in fact located on a major tourist walk path and therefore, many tourist would walk through the plaza from City Hall towards St.John's Cathedral and onwards towards the Peak. Perhaps with this awareness has allowed resulted in the two major circulation area being automatically designated. Within the major picnic area, the arrangement is also placed in such a way where there are smaller paths in between to allow people to walk enter, leave and walk around the area. While there are already people picnicking and gathering in HSBC, the crowd is think, of a maximum of around 100 people. Most matts are empty with a bag or suitcase placed in the middle to mark ownership or to prevent the matt from shifting place. Groups are very small at this point, around 2 to 3 persons per group. Some people were either drinking tea or eating but most are cuddled tightly together. Hong Kong of is cold at this time of the year, around 10 Celcius (50 degrees). Moreover, the sloping ground level of the plaza created a low pressure area and invites strong wind through the plaza from the sea, introducing a windchill factor in the area. Most campers buried their heads in caps and hoods and appear to be very cold.
At around 11:00 am, the crowd has almost doubled with many more individuals standing and gathering around for other activities such as playing cards, scrabble and looking at magazines. The area is still as cold as before but the plaza has brightened up significantly at this time. I found many groups on the edge of the gathering have opened their
umbrellas to protect themselves from the hailing wind. Why do they stay on this cold spot when there are so many other areas that they could go? I interviewed 2 ladies who were sitting at the edge of the gathering, proteting themselves from the wind by holding an umbrella. They appeared to be happilly chatting in Tagalog and oblivious over the bad weather. Throughout the conversation, they quoted the area as "their place" and were very happy to have a place to spend their days and to act as stations in between running chores, shopping and going to church. She explained that most people come and go according to the church service they go to and they rotate throughout the day, allowing them to meet different friends at different times of the day. They have effectively privatized the area. The ability to have a place where they can call their own, despite the temperomental quality of this ownership, seems to give them great joy. When asked about the facilities that they feel lacking in the area, they happily said nothing, quoting that all their necessities can be brought along or modified but having a place of their own was the most crucial element of their Sunday. Throughout my time with them, they explained the mystery of empty matts with luggages placed in the middle. According to them, people would arrive in the morning to "book" their place to avoid crowding later in the afternoon and would rely on neighbors or friends to "look after" these luggages while they perform their chores. As a result, friends and families would usually cluster around each other and usually, they would return to their spots week after week, creating a permanent yet illusional real estate ownership of an area. One can in fact map the social relationship of domestic workers based on their real estate location. This is very interesting because it means that there is a continuity week after week, like flea markets of the world, where people return to the same spot for familiarity and for the convenience of finding friends and family in these temporarily privatized spaces. The nice ladies offered me lunch and drinks, and we continued to chat away. 
As the afternoon went on, the number of people in HSBC plaza grew exponentially. At around 3:00 pm, the crowd has grown to approximately 500 to 600 people with many standing and walking around the plaza looking for friends and family. The groups have grown significantly, ranging from 4 to 5 a group to 20 at times. Activities in the area has also changed. No longer are the individuals merely eating, drinking and chatting but most are now playing cards, dice, and interestingly , BINGO. Many area also reading or playing board games like scrabble or monopoly or reading the bible. The large number of people could be a result of the end of mass at St.John's church, which has a service from 2-3 in Tagalog. While the crowd has increased significantly, people are becoming less friendly. While I was invited for tea and food in the morning, most people now appeared to be unhappy about my presence. I approached several people for a chat (most were busy playing cards or chatting) and was turned down and shooed away. There were a larger number of people smoking, previously unseen, despite the clear prohibitive signs nearby. I was warned by several people to not record or take pictures in the area (this is probably because gambling or card playing is illegal in public spaces within Hong Kong). I noticed throughout my stay that while many locals, tourists and non-domestic workers walk through the plaza for circulation purpose, none have lingered around like I have and therefore, my presence has attracted attention. One person approached me and asked why I was there (clearly taking notes and taking pictures). In alot of sense, despite them being present in an extremely public space, they felt their privacy invaded as I appeared clearly "different" from domestic workers in the area. It was extremely interesting to observe that the sense of "privacy" in public spaces for foreign female domestic workers significantly increased with the increase in the number of individuals in the area.
As the hours ticked on to around 4:00 pm, a larger number of people entered the plaza as another mass from the Baptist Church nearby has ended and many were returning to their matts in the plaza. The area was so crowded that the previously unoccupied and unstructured spaces and now filling up and the circulation area has also diminished in cross section. One notices that there are fewer and fewer locals and tourists that passes through the area at this time (since it is getting late) but probably also due to the large crowd in the plaza.
- HSBC Plaza Hong Kong is a "station" or "home" spot for Filipino domestic workers on Sunday, using it as a base for them to rest or leave their belongings while they perform chores or go to Church
- The area has an internalized circulation and real estate logic that is both based on the circulation pattern and efficiency as well as social relationship of the people (similar to a mini organic town) that is memorized and repeated week after week
- The sense of ownership is related closely to the enjoyment of the public space by the domestic workers, where the facilities themselves can be foregone or substituted but the sense of ownership and belonging in a private area can not.
- Weather is not a deterrant to the occupancy and consumption of the space
- Card Playing, Scrabbles and other recreational activities are observed in Hong Kong but not in other cities
- The sense of privacy and ownership is correlated to the number of domestic workers present in the area. Group becomes more defensive and practice a higher sense of ownership of the public space as the number of individuals/groups increases.
No comments:
Post a Comment