Jiaying Province in cyberspace

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

Dear everyone,
Maybe there is a Jiaying province already, and it's in cyberspace. Jonathan
runs the HGN, Dr. Lee takes care of the asiawind forum, and there's a few
more websites with discussions on Hakka issues. In a sense, Hakka people
all over the world, have come together as a community, and learn about each
other, over the last few years since the development of emails. We may not
all speak Hakka, for some of us, only one parent is Hakka, but we're
sharing our understanding of the Hakka culture, values and traditions.

It's great that there's Hakka villages in China today. But at this very
moment, people are migrating and moving out, to look for jobs. So even if
there was a Jiaying Province, people would be migrating out of it, and
maybe non-Hakkas would be moving in to marry Hakkas. 

The last few years, this topic of a Jiaying province has come and gone so
many times. It's only because of Dr. Lau Chunfat, and his beliefs. It's
great to have good ideas.

But what about who is Hakka? There's so much debate on that, and on where
they came from. What about Hakka cookbooks, did any of you write one? And
what about Hakkas in different parts of the world like Indonesia, India,
the Caribbean, Mauritius, and other countries, how much do we really know
about them. There's so much to learn about Hakkas in different countries. 

And for me, I never lost anything, I don't lament the fact that my mom did
not want to teach me Hakka, she had her reasons.(I'm a very positive
person.) As an adult, I've become aware of my own roots, part is Hakka,
part Cantonese, part Spanish/Carib, and I'm proud to be who I am. I may not
speak Hakka but I'm happy to learn about part of my diverse yet important
heritage. Being Hakka is something positive, and being able to share my
thoughts with you at the forum is a privilege. Each day passes by, and
there's always something new and positive for me to look forward to in
life. I've also noticed that some people at the forum have experienced
difficult and painful times, because they are Hakka and/or Chinese, and
that doesn't mean the pain should be something negative. Painful memories
teach us something, and that is how to take control of your own life and
make it into something positive.
Henrietta.
p.s. please don't hesitate to reply and share your ideas.
hakit_@excite.com




Dear Henrietta,
Thank you very much for your comment. Indeed I am an optimist among my
friends, and I see nothing cannot be overcome by our efforts. However, I see
the future of Hakka bleak not because I am pessimistic, but because I see
the truth.  I am just like a doctor who diagnoses that someone with the name
"Hakka" has cancer, and tell him how he should behave in order to be cured.
If the patient "Hakka" is too optimistic and say that I am just threatening
him, then he is in danger. This is exactly the case of most Hakka people and
the source of my worries.

Best wishes,

Chunfat

> 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
>