“Chinese bastard”
That is what two teenagers shouted at me while walking in east London street. It happened when I came back from the hospital where I did weekend cover for a sick doctor. Those teens had no idea that I might have given a life saving treatment to one of their family members or friend in last 12 hours. I did not respond anything. Obviously, it is not worth doing so. They were from nearby council house.
A couple of years ago, a retired engineer in his 80s admitted to hospital with a broken hip and heart failure begged me, saying that “You came from a big country like China. Please help people like me living in a small country. Help me doctor, please”. He looked muddled. Anyway, I reassured him.
In fact, I am not Chinese.
I think people in Britain sometime find it difficult to differentiate the Chinese from the non-Chinese Asians. Clearly, the UK is not a great attractive place for Chinese mainlanders. They normally go to west coast of America in my understanding. Even in London, Chinese community is minute compared with south Indian counterpart despite the fact that Chinese take away has been growing in popularity.
On the other hand, interestingly, a drunken patient in acute medical admission, whom I saw in the early hours of morning, was able to recognize me, in first stance, as Burmese, proudly announcing that his grand father and father were veterans from the South East Asia. He also added that he had been keen to fight for freedom of Burma. Perhaps, it was alcohol.
1 comment:
I used to live in both Wales and England for almost two years each. Before I came to UK, I was really impressed by this nation's great achievements. You cannot conquer three quarters of the world without brains, tried hardness, etc. I am now just really saddened by the fact that most english and welsh(especially uneducated council dwelling) people have attitude toward if your skin is none other than pale white, they think you are nothing or you know nothing.
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