Set of photographs #14

Commentary from Participant

1-5 ‘These pictures were taken at the aeroplane museum, there are a lot of old [vintage] cars. In Hong Kong, everything is new; there is a push always towards change, it is too quick, there is no place for the old.

8 and 9 This is Rathcoole, which is a Loyalist housing estate [north of Belfrast in the outer suburbs]. Democracy is strong here. People can express their territory. Now, Hong Kong has been taken over by China and it is not possible to express your views. People keep telling me, ‘don’t go there, to Rathcoole’. But you are the same as everyone, I think you are welcome. If you just listen to the news you would be scared. I don’t feel like that. People are helpful.

9, 10 This is a picture of fish and chips. There are not so many fish and chip shops here as there are in England. In England they serve only fish and chips, here there are other things, burgers, chicken. The fish is quite nice.

13, 14 These are pictures of a Fun Day. People are practising for the annual band parade on 12 July. The children start to practise and learn very young, to feel a part of this. In Hong Kong, children want to join friends, not be with family as they are here. It is more traditional here.

18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 These are pictures of murals. In my country you cannot express your views, it is not allowed under the Chinese Government. There is real freedom, no judgement. It doesn’t matter where you are, the area belongs to people; that is their freedom. The murals seem to say, 'This is mine’. In China you must do what the Government says. How can people expand their mind if they are not allowed dissent?

24, 25, 26, 27 These are tower blocks, in a large estate on the edge of Belfast, I quite like them. It is a very dodgy area, people say, but the people are quite friendly. There is an old fire engine. That is part of the vintage museum.

There is some violence. The murals change all the time, people paint new murals over the ones that are there. The people are expressing themselves by making a new mural, maybe in a different style.

Summary

‘I feel at the beginning, I did not feel I belonged. Back home it was too hot. Here, I have a duvet all year. Bit by bit, I adopt local culture. When I am back, I experience culture shock. Here there is fresh air. The people are more polite, they will talk to you. Nobody will say you are crazy. Back home, I was watching a man eating a fishbone. The man glared at me, he did not want me to talk to him.’

Discussion

Tess, ‘This culture shock – it is depicted in a play by Brian Friel called The Loves of Cass Maguire. [There is also a northern Irish writer called Colm Broderick who writes and has made a film about that strange experience of returning to your home country after you have been away for many years]’

Participant 15, ‘One year I went back home. I noticed how many elderly people were in the bank, buying shares. This is all to do with the push, people going forward fast. Here people do not progress at the same pace. The change in my own country is too much. The technology, it is all too fast’.

Participant 6, ‘I agree. People are very chatty, even nosey here. I come from a big city. So people don’t talk. Here the towns are like big villages.’

Participant B, ‘I lived in London. I brought my parents to London. My dad thought people here in Northern Ireland were much friendlier.’

Participant A, ‘Yes, I feel the exact same thing. [Participant 15] has made such a good point. It does resonate with me – in some parts of Pakistan it is not acceptable to talk to strangers, especially if it is a woman talking to a man. Yet, such a positive thing, I had so many memories.’

Participant 6, ‘In Ireland, when people are talking to you, they come rather closer than they do in some other places. The more crowded the place, the city, the country, the more people want their personal space.’

Participant 19, ‘In Italy, there is a very formal way of speaking to people. Here people are more informal.’

Participant 15, ‘In Asia there is a lot of emphasis on respect, so it is more formal.’