''The Demolition of Graham Street Market''
Ever since I left Hong Kong to study in the US only to come back twice a year, I often noticed huge changes in the city’s construction and cultural way of life. More malls and restaurants were being built as small, independently owned stores constantly gave way to growing franchises. Local culture gave way to the Western world, and of course, the high rises just seemed to loom larger and larger. Either that, or I was already finding myself shrinking. Great.
After shopping for some vintage t-shirts at local Hong Kong brand G.O.D (Goods of Desire) one day while I was back visiting for a family reunion, I picked up a copy of the latest edition of HK Magazine. The cover, reading, “DOOMSDAY: The Destruction of HK’s Graham Street Market,” instantly caught my eye. Yet another part of traditional HK culture was surrendering to the grasp of globalization.
The Central Street Market, located in the heart of the city, which covers Graham, Peel, and Gage Street has been in operation since 1841 and is now under threat of destruction by the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong’s oldest wet market was now to give way to even more commercial and office buildings. And there was nothing anyone could do about it. Apparently, after 1970 the Hong Kong government decided to cease the reissuing of hawker licenses. And there were never any unions created for these workers because they had never used to have to deal with such issues. Because so many of the vendors are now so old, most of whom do not have much more than a 3rd grade reading level, they are not organized nor capable enough of forming a union to battle the government.
Almost immediately, I grabbed my camera out of my bag and headed over to the market hoping to catch some good shots of the 140-year old wet market before I left to head back to the States the following day. I thought, who knows, the next time I come home that market would probably no longer exist. I wanted to get some good photos of some of the vendors around the market, but looking like the obvious tourist walking around with my camera and back pack, I knew it was going be a difficult feat as most of them are elderly and do not like to be photographed.
As I came upon each stall, slowly walking the market’s slightly slanted slope, many of the hawkers, especially the women, quickly duck behind their fruit-filled Styrofoam boxes the instant they spot my camera. I sensed the animosity coming from these folks as I smiled politely at them, pointing to my camera, silently asking for permission to photograph them because I started getting angry stares and extended arms frantically waving their hands to shoo me away. Clearly, no one was in the mood to be chummy.
A little while later, I came across an old woman snipping stocks off the ends of some vegetables and decided the only way I was going to get a good shot of anyone was to sit down and confront them. At first, she completely dismissed me, shaking her head as if to tell me to not bother and just go away. I crouched down and continued to introduce myself and tell her I was there doing some research to see if there was anything I could possibly do to help their situation. Still, she continued to ignore me. After about three minutes of talking she slowly rolled her neck toward me, looked into my eyes, and coldly snapped,
''What are you going to do? What is anyone going to do? The government has the last say and I will be out a of job in two months and have no money by the end of the year.'' Refusing to leave, I continued to ask her questions and comment about how horrible it was that the government was basically going just throw them out on the street without allocating them a new area to relocate. I told her about how there was a front page article in the paper about people’s anger toward the government’s decision to tear down the market, to which she simply replied that she couldn’t read. Finally, after about 10 minutes she warmed up to me, even giving me just the hint of a tiny smile.
I began talking to her about why she and other vendors weren’t trying to rally any kind of protest against the government, I found it heartbreaking when she responded that because the majority of them are so old, it was easier to just give up rather than pick a losing fight. “There’s no point. We kind of just assumed we would be here forever,” said the 76-year old Lee Pai Ling, one of the many fruit and vegetable hawkers soon to be displaced at Graham Street Market. She continued, “This has been a way of life as long as we know it.”
Before I left I asked if I could take her picture again. She nodded. But added, “Don’t expect me to smile though.” Then she got right back to work separating her pile of vegetables.
