Hong Kong — Prior to becoming a funeral planner, Connie Wong was a flight attendant for Hong Kong Airlines. She said the sudden end of her six-year career brought her own kind of grief.
It was one of the many such losses experienced by the inhabitants of Chinese territory. Hong Kong’s economy began to deteriorate in 2019. At that time, the proposed delivery method caused several months of violent street clashes between protesters and police. Later, during the coronavirus pandemic, the rigorous and ever-evolving restrictions closely associated with the mainland’s “zero-covid” policy overturned the entire industry. Many businesses were forced to shut down, thousands left the city, and some of the remaining had to reinvent themselves.
Wong was among the thousands of unemployed when Cathay Pacific’s Cathay Dragon Airlines, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, was closed due to a travel suspension in 2020. She couldn’t sleep at night because she was used to flying red eyes.
“Some people have lost their families. Some have migrated. Others have lost their health — and not only their physical health but also their mental health.” She said recently. “It’s not just Hong Kongers, but the whole world is experiencing this. It’s hard to face. I lost my job. But life always brings choices.”
Guide for mourning
Cathay Dragon often wanted 35-year-old Wong to be assigned to a plane to Kathmandu, Nepal, where she could volunteer at children’s homes and animal shelters. In pursuit of something equally fulfilling, she celebrated the life of Hong Kong’s nonprofit ForgetTheeNot last summer, trying to offer a dignified funeral to families in need at an affordable price. I will apply.
She meets her family several times a week in a well-ventilated room decorated with flowers. She helps them plan the ritual, so writing memorable notes to leave on or in the casket as a way to show gratitude and let go of the grudges when they say goodbye. I propose. For the four-year-old funeral, Wong decorated her seat with a cutout of the girl’s favorite cartoon character.
In some respects, Wong’s previous work experience turned out to be transferable, she said. Just as she once found a way to soothe passengers facing flight delays, she now found a workaround for those in much need.
The adjustment has never been so easy. After her first few funerals, an image of her mourning family was replayed in her mind at night. She was barely able to eat due to stress and her hair began to fall out. In November she took sick leave, which lasted for several months. Her boss asked her to consider whether this was the right job for her.
Wong returned in April as Hong Kong faced the worst outbreak of the coronavirus. The hospital was tense beyond its capacity and thousands of elderly people died in Covid-19. She came back soon. After her Covid test tested positive for her, she set up a live stream and narrated the ritual when her relatives were unable to attend the funeral directly.
There are days when she longs to fly again. But she says she found broader satisfaction in helping her struggling family handle the loss.
“The influence of Covid has brought us to face reality,” she said. “Needs to be adjusted.”
Covid cleaner
The pandemic almost completely overturned the aviation industry, but Mandy Chan’s day-to-day work as a security guard at an aircraft engineering company was unaffected. However, he quit in March and became a cleaner at the Covid patient’s quarantine facility.
He said it was an opportunity to make “quick money” as he saved to move to Britain. Cleaning work six days a week cost about $ 3,000 a month, about $ 1,000 more than security work.
At the peak of this year’s Covid outbreak, Hong Kong hospitals and quarantine centers faced a major overflow of patients. Mr. Chung’s quarantine camp near Qingdao Port, which has nearly 4,000 beds, was one of eight facilities built in a hurry. His experience was worse than he had expected.
Cheung, 35, was not allowed to drink water or use the bathroom while wearing personal protective equipment. He cleaned the toilet and used a quick test kit every day, worried about taking the virus home. His mother put him in only after he disinfected the whole body at the door. (He said she stopped her compassion when the number of infections peaked and her pandemic fatigue began.)
“Resources were really scarce — the distribution of the workforce was unequal,” he said. “I was full of resentment when I was working. I told myself that it was only a few months.”
Meanwhile, he continued to do additional work. In May, he worked overnight at a quarantine facility and then took turns working at a nearby coffee shop for six hours.
Cheung intended to work at the Quarantine Center for five months, but was closed in June as the number of “VIPs” decreased as the team leader told him to mention the patient. He plans to work full-time at a coffee shop until he leaves Hong Kong.
Prior to the pandemic, Mr. Chan carried out a nocturnal coffee operation called Night Owl, which was difficult to maintain financially under Covid’s dietary restrictions. He hopes to start a similar business someday after immigrating. But he is also interested in his new experience.
“Ultimately, I will explore a new world,” he said.
Caregivers for all ages
As Cathay Dragon’s in-flight service manager, 57-year-old Connie Chung has reached the highest level of her career ladder. Mr. Chan, who has nothing to do with Mandy Chan, joined the airline and was called Dragon Air as a flight attendant more than 30 years ago. She recently extended her contract after reaching the retirement age of 55 for her flight attendants.
She was taking care of her grandson and daughter-in-law when the airline was closed in 2020. She decided to take a series of government courses in postnatal care to learn how to perform a breast massage and how to boil a hearty herbal soup. She began training to care for babies, or nannies, and new mothers, and in 2021 she began her second career.
“Now I’m a beginner again,” said Chan.
She and her friend Wing Lamb, 48, exchanged tips on how another in-flight service manager could become a postpartum nanny and manage her fertile mother and her moody grandparents. They are joking about how sophisticated suitcases have been replaced by metal carts. Metal carts are taken from the subway to the fresh market to buy groceries for meals to cook for customers.
When she lost her airline job, Chan was making about $ 4,500 a month plus a healthcare-like profit. Currently, she earns about $ 3,300 a month. Lam misses the thrill of managing the flight crew, despite the stress and uncertainty associated with every flight.
In May, Cathay Pacific sent a recruitment email to thousands of dismissed employees asking them to reapply for entry-level positions.
Lam wants the airline to rehire senior staff. However, in the meantime, she plans to use her in-flight management experience as a nanny agent to match her caregiver with her parents. She began training people unfamiliar with the industry, including former flight attendants.
Chan stays on the course. Her calendar was full as her client introduced her to another pregnant woman. Her job is volatile (no request for one month, several times for the next month), but she hopes that her family vacation will soon cost money.
She said she could see her taking care of her baby for the next decade. “I have found a new direction in life.”