APPENDIX

Transcript of interview with The Social Entrepreneur and Deaf Employee

(The interview was conducted on 24th March, 2018)

Legend:

C: Cathy, G: Gillian, T: Mr. T (Social Entrepreneur), D: Ms. D (Deaf Employee)

Part 1

C: How did you find this job?

D: Miss Yu referred it to me.

C: Miss Yu is…?

T: She is a volunteer at “聾耳社”, she works there and helps hearing impaired people.

C: Besides the job you have in [restaurant], did you have any other job opportunities?

D: No…

T: After she ended her previous job, she was referred to a job here by Ms. Y. Ms. Y is a registered social worker and sign language translator, so she helped [Ms. D] to get this job.

C: What made you accept this job?

D: You mean this job?

C: Yes. Why did you decide to do this job?

D: I’ve been so happy working here. Before I met [Mr. T], I was terrified. I didn’t know how to deal with all the duties here. This was all taught by [Mr. T] -- like how to handle the “bar” (水吧) and the other daily jobs in the dining area.

What made me panic the most at the beginning is to make coffee. I don’t really know how to do it. Thanks to the guidance given by [Mr. T], he taught me how to do it. I learnt once, but forgot how to make it. And then I asked him several more times but I forgot how to do it again. I am not really familiar with the procedures of how to make coffees. I am still quite scared of it. But [Mr. T] taught me again and I put even more effort into it and started to have confidence. I really listened to what Mr. Lin has told me. He really takes care of us, yeah.

C: That’s great. Besides making coffees, do you have any other difficulties?

D: Erm….not really…just making coffees.

C: For example, when you have customers, and they want to ask you some questions and then you have to explain things to them. Will that be difficult for you?

D: Not really. Only when it comes to English then I really can't help with it. People who speak “Mainland language” (Mandarin), I am not able to decode their pronunciation either.

T: Mandarin (showing how the lips move).

D: Mandarin (imitating), Putonghua.

T: Or when you work with Ah T and KC on the weekdays. Working with mentally disabled people. When you work with them, what kind of difficulties you face? (signing) How did you overcome these problems in the past? Because you have never worked with them before right? So how do you overcome those difficulties?

D: When I first came here, I met a boy. He worked in the kitchen. I saw that he was emotionally disturbed, quite moody and was not working really well. he didn't know how to do dish washing, he did a lot of things slowly. After I worked here for a year, I taught him how to handle the work quickly and get off duty as soon as possible because he usually finish late. Now he has succeeded. I am so happy to witness his success.

C: Did they express their gratitude to you after you have taught them so many skills?

D: They are really happy. Singing some songs to make them happy and make them to feel good at work, yeah.

C: So when you are working with them, will you usually use sign language or just by talking to them?

D: Talking. Yes. Inside the kitchen. If it is for the dining area, we have 2 colleagues who know sign language. They know how to lip-read as well. I sometimes... I just need to give her a pat, and she’ll understand. You haven’t seen “Siu Zhu” before, right?

T: [She has] seen it.

D: That pretty girl.

C: Oh, once you mentioned “pretty”, I knew who it is right away.

D: She can speak quite well, but listening is not that good. Can't hear clearly.

C: Where did you learn sign language?

D: I did not learn that here, I learnt it outside. Those group of people you saw just now are my friends. Those who came by today. I was recommending them to [Mr. T]. How to work here, how to do the dish washing.

C: Did you learn sign language when you were young?

D: When I was studying in the past?

C: Yes.

D: Yes I did. I learnt it before, but I learnt it by myself. It was not taught by others. I read books myself and read the lips.

C: Is it difficult?

D: Quite. Sometimes I forgot about it. Sometimes it really is quite difficult. But I adapt, so it's okay.

C: If you use sign language to communicate to hearing people, lets say [Mr. T] right here, will you feel that it is difficult?

D: Not really, it’s still pretty okay for me. If they can’t really understand, then I’ll just go fetch a piece of paper and write it down. Tell them about this and that. If [Mr. T] teach me more, then I’ll learn more. But sometimes what is forgotten is forgotten. Yeah, not really that difficult. It’s okay.

C: Has anyone ever been like "I don’t really know what’s going on here. I don’t understand what you are talking about"? Or when some customers’ attitudes are like – “I think you can’t serve me”?

D: No, they are all very content with smiles on their faces. If there are 2 colleagues that they don’t really understand, they’ll be like “[Ms. D]!!” I'll say: “What’s the matter?” And then I told them, they'll say they can't hear me, so I'll write it down and tell them what I thought, using paper. Tell them what to drink.

T: Because after all, she has one ear that is capable of hearing. But one ear is not here. And… others which are non-audible, then it needs to be relied on the cochlear implant.

C: So there’s basically no complaints from the customers, they generally satisfy with your service?

D: Yes, so good!

C: When did you get the cochlear implant?

D: When I was 16 years old. I couldn't do it for this ear.

T: The other ear is collapsed, so it is not able to be implanted. There’s another girl. The one who she called “pretty”

D: Siu Zhu!

C: You’re pretty too.

D: no ah, I am old.

C: Don’t say that.

T: Can you guess how old she is?

C: 50.

D: How about you?

G: 40.

D: Thank you thank you. Higher (sign language) I am older than these.

C: Higher?

D: Yes, true.

C: Wow, then you actually maintained your complexion pretty well.

D: God gives me love, happy, ok.

C: That’s great. Being optimistic and proactive, right?

D: Just being happy is fine. I’m actually 58.

Part 2

C: Speaking of families, did your family made the decision of implanting the cochlear implant for you?

D: You mean my daughter?

C: Yes, or your parents.

D: When I was born, my parents were not here already, I am an orphan. I grew up at a church. I was married but divorced later. I have a daughter. My daughter is pretty big now, 34 years old, today is her birthday.

C: So you made this decision by yourself?

D: Yes... Wait. (waving “Goodbye” to her friends) They came here to apply for the dish-washing position. They are very good, they can help a lot of people. There’s a newly opened restaurant in Sai Wan. Yeah, recommended them to do dish-washing. Actually they don’t need to speak to wash the dishes, all they need to do is focus on the dishes and wash it. They are also very good (thumbs-up). If you employ those who can speak, those tend to be lazier. These [non-hearing people] are more hard-working.

C: How would you like to comment on the working prospects of deaf people in Hong Kong?

D: Working?

C: Do you feel like your working opportunities are affected by the hearing impairment?

D: A little bit. When people are talking and I don’t know what they are saying – I will feel sad – I’ve tried it before. But I don’t care about it. I hide myself, no matter what people say, I don’t bother with it. Yes…a little bit. People say: ‘You are deaf!?’ I will feel unhappy deep inside my heart. I don’t want to be deaf. This is not my choice to be deaf. There was someone who tried to criticize me like that before.

C: Is it the customer who said it, or …?

D: No, the employee who is working here.

C: I see.

D: But then [Mr. T] scolded them, so I didn’t blame them for it. They don’t know how to understand others who are deaf. I didn’t get angry with him/her. I said – ‘Forget about it’ yeah…

C: So at that moment, you did feel a bit unhappy right?

D: Yeah. I can recover quickly after a period of time.

C: Is there any unforgettable working experience you would like to share?

D: I am very happy, no.

C: What kind of happy experiences have you had in [restaurant]?

D: There is one! Birthday! Colleagues arranged a birthday party for me, we made one for [Mr. T] as well. Very happy!

T: Some customers will occasionally buy some food for you.

Part 3

C: Why you would like to hire these people to work?

T: We first started the restaurant in Sheung Wan, and we’ve been hiring people from different sectors throughout the years.

C: Was there anything which triggered you to have such a thought to hire the social minority?

T: I think every business should carry a certain degree of social responsibilities – regardless of race or community. If they are willing to come here and work, why not giving them an opportunity? We don’t rely on a particular organization or NGO to hire people, but through recommendations from the Labour Department. We don’t specify which organization or community that we particularly include.

C: Is there anything that motivates you to include social minority to work in your restaurant?

T: I think that has to deal with… when I was small …. (laugh) when I was young and I saw someone from the "mentally-disabled center", and they organized some events which … disadvantaged them and put them in an unfair situation. And I’ve always thought about how to cooperate with them. If they are willing to come out and work, why not give them an opportunity?

T: A lot of things are done by experience. Like the entrance and exit. When they are holding the trays, and they could not sense whether people are standing behind them or not - We have a light system that can adjust the intensity of lights so as to signal the presence of people. So that even if they are deaf, they can still know how to cooperate with others. Like the mentally-disabled people, even when they are doing the same thing all day long, they could still forget about it. Because they have their own “system” (preference) inside their own brain. So we post something that is with both words and pictures to allow them to see – oh – what you should do today or how you should distribute the things etc. So as to remind them how to organize the things.

C: Can you describe how you work with others, your employees?

T: Because at the beginning, the deaf and hearing people could not actually blend in well. They usually just focus on their own benefits, seldom do they care about others. So I have to transmit values such as empathy and patience to them. And building confidence is another thing to consider as well. Very often when they first come into the workplace situation, they are not particularly adapted to it. Because they feel themselves as independent, more self-reliant. Or they would feel themselves as a part of disadvantaged community. And you have to train them how to develop self-confidence and teach them…

D: Yeah, at first I don’t know how to handle the bar, but [Mr. T] taught me well.

T: Yes…and nurture them to be more ambitious, all of us actually should be, right? To try more different things.

C: Are there any activities that could help you build group solidarity?

T: They will arrange outings themselves, sometimes, inviting them to shopping…sometimes when it comes to public holiday, they will go shopping.

T: Before they come to work, we have to know their family background very well, and their past encounters etc. Sometimes, when some unfortunate events occurred (on them), we need to know how to avoid mentioning all those bad experience again. For example, some of the deaf employees were being sexually abused, so male employees could not touch them, sometimes like patting the shoulder is also not okay. It would trigger them and they will have big responses. That’s why, before they come to work, their social worker and families would have to cooperate with us, to tell us more details – like their habits at home. It’s inevitable for parents to love their children, so a lot of time, they don’t need to shoulder a lot responsibilities. So when they don’t have responsibilities, they can’t work properly in the workplace. Like when they finish washing dishes, then they would just go out. So if we don’t have family to cooperate with us, to tell them to be responsible for their actions.

C: Is there any advice that you would like to give to companies who wants to work in such a mode?

T: Communicate more and respect each other more. Everyone has their own stance and thoughts. Everyone is fair. Therefore, all of us should raise the problem out and discuss about it, rather than relying on scolding and rejection. You have to try it slowly, so as to understand each other more.

T: Which is to say, everyone has to cooperate and strike a balance – both on communication and with work. Very often, people tend draw boundaries and distinguish themselves into different groups – both “hearing” and “non-hearing”. Each group will point out the wrong side of the opposite groups. But they need to put down the differences and learn how to work harmoniously and communicate with each other. Especially when there is a new group, they need to learn how to cooperate.

C: So mainly through talking to solve the conflict or….?

T: Usually we would cooperate with the social worker. For example, this cup should be put at here, but she puts it every time at some places else – this situation lasts for several months. Therefore, we need to talk to the social worker, she would suggest us to post something with both visuals and words to tell them how to put [the cup]. Only through that will we know how to deal with the problem. Throwing tantrums and being angry are not going to solve the problems, only through working and discussing it together can we solve the problem.

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