Hakka future.

[Kelvin & Henri <kachie-hakit@account-pro.com>]

Dear Dr. Lau Chunfat,
It must be very difficult for you to live in Hong Kong among relatives who
treat you like an outsider because you believe in speaking Hakka and
preserving the Hakka language. It's only a strong person, like yourself,
who can stand up for what he believes in. It must be also very painful to
have your own family suppress the Hakka language. I have witnessed my own
Cantonese speaking father(who was a great dad)suppress my mother's Hakka
language and culture at home. My mother is fluent in Hakka but would not
teach me because of all the pain and suffering she experienced. One of my
friends, also has Hakka roots, and she never talked about her Hakka roots.
There are people who are ashamed of their Hakka roots, all over the world,
but there's many Hakkas who are proud of their heritage and would celebrate
it in different ways, for some, it could be a conference, for some, it
could be New Year's lion dancing, for some, it could be an annual picnic,
there's so many different ways Hakka people all over the world celebrate
their culture, in their own special way.

Language is important, some kids are lucky their parents teach them their
mother tongue, and I've noticed this with many of my immigrant friends. But
you can't teach a language to some people who are ashamed of their heritage
or to people who don't care at all. It's also important, to remember that
there's many of us with Hakka roots who sincerely care about our heritage
and our future. Because it's important to look towards the future
positively, not negatively. If you think of death, and the Hakka language
and culture is dying, you'll only get depressed. You have to think
positively, of a brighter and better future, and do something positive
yourself, to achieve what you want.
Sincerely,
Henrietta