Despairing Hongkongers stranded by fire search for help, answers

HONG KONG – Mr Lee calls himself lucky.

The septuagenarian was meeting friends at a restaurant when a fire broke out at a Hong Kong building next to his on Nov 26.

The flames quickly spread to the tower that housed Mr Lee’s home, leaving him and his wife among hundreds uprooted by the

city’s deadliest blaze in decades.

Nearly two days after the disaster, answers were still hard to come by for Mr Lee, who gave only his last name, as he milled around a shelter hoping to find out when they might be able to move into temporary housing and get the HK$10,000 (S$1,666) in emergency funding promised by the government.

Clarity was in short supply. “We are just told to wait for calls,” said Mr Lee, who has been staying with relatives with his wife.

The scale of the disaster – which killed at least 128 – unfolding in northern Hong Kong presents an acute challenge to a city notorious for its housing shortage and sky-high rents.

Mr John Lee, Hong Kong’s chief executive, has pledged to offer about 1,800 units in existing public housing to help accommodate the evacuees. 

The government announced on Nov 28 that each affected household will receive an additional HK$50,000 in living allowance next week.

For many, this help cannot come soon enough. 

At least 30 people huddled overnight inside a shopping mall not far from the fire’s epicenter in Wang Fuk Court.

Among them was Ms Siu Mui, 72, who spent two nights sleeping on the floor because the shelters were too far away and the homes of her two sons were not big enough.

“I have enough food and drink here, and I know there’s free hotel rooms, but there’s no shuttle bus to help me get there,” said Ms Siu.

“I am fine to stay here for two or three days. But I will get upset if there’s still no clear timeline soon for when we can get back home.” 

The government shouldered the bulk of the rescue effort, but volunteers also rushed to the site and corporate donations have poured in, including charities tied to some of the city’s biggest tycoons – such as the Li Ka Shing Foundation – and China’s largest companies.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong’s biggest individual tax payer, pledged up to HK$170 million. Some donors from the mainland included foundations linked to Alibaba Group’s co-founder Jack Ma, Tencent Holdings and BYD Group.

With seven of the eight towers at the Wang Fuk Court complex affected by the blaze, the number of people who have lost their homes could be in the thousands, although there is no exact number at this point.

As at the night of Nov 28, the government said more than 700 residents were using the facilities at nine temporary shelters. 

Ms Alice Mak, Hong Kong’s secretary for home and youth affairs, said the authorities have received requests from about 1,200 families to register for the emergency handouts as at 4pm on Nov 28, and hopes to complete the disbursement within the next two days.

For those uncertain about what comes next, the reality of their upended lives is just sinking in. And the trauma is coloured by the demographics of those who now find themselves on the street. 

More than one-third of residents at the estate built as government-subsidised housing in the 1980s are over the age of 65. Some have spent decades living there, only to find their properties incinerated in a matter of hours.

Mr Lee was told by one of the volunteers they are trying to find a temporary home for him and his wife in Tsuen Wan, an area more than 20km away. 

“That will be a whole new neighbourhood that we need to adapt to, but we have no better choice,” he said. “We are forced to take whatever option is given.”

On Nov 28, dozens of people were queueing at an information desk inside a school playground-turned-shelter near the estate. Few answers were forthcoming.

Across the road from the shelter, hundreds of volunteers handed out food and other necessities. An uneasy calm prevailed in the neighbourhood, as residents chatted and comforted each other while others watched videos on their phones at a park nearby. 

Apart from the Hongkongers caught up in the ordeal, many domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia suddenly find themselves with nowhere to turn for help.

Bethune House, an emergency shelter for migrant women, has received more than a dozen calls from workers seeking assistance over the past few days, said its director Edwina A. Antonio. 

Some have to stay in shelters because their employers have lost their homes, while others need clean clothing and basic staples after escaping the fire wearing whatever they had on.

“There are two we met yesterday who were terminated outright by their employers,” Ms Antonio said on Nov 28.

“Some who were not terminated worry about the future of their job, because of the limited space in the places the employer’s family transferred to.”

The calls prompted Ms Antonio to lead a group of volunteers to set up a booth near Wang Fuk Court providing physical and mental support for the community.

“It creates a lot of uncertainty for the future,” said Ms Antonio, “It’s not going to be easy to recover from this kind of situation.” BLOOMBERG