The post by the daughter of a hawker has been shared over 10,000 times and has gone viral. Andrea Gail Poon writes about an encounter her father and mother, hawkers, had with an unreasonable customer to the hawker centre.
The customer, a girl, wanted to use the hawker’s utensils (probably fork and spoon because she can’t use the chopsticks). The hawker was not happy because she had not ordered food from his stall, and asked the girl to return utensils after using them. Father gets worked up and started taking pictures of the hawker stall, threatening to report the hawker stall for cockroach infestation.
The hawker after berating the man for his unreasonable behaviour, asked his daughter to take his picture. The hawker’s daughter decides to shame the family on Facebook asking readers of her post to share it because she “really hate it when people look down on hawker workers and people who is as “xia suay” as him”.
Andrea Gail Poon‘s (edited) post:
Dear family, friends and teachers
How many of you feel that our society is getting colder and colder? I used to think that it wasn’t until today.
Today when I was helping my parents to tend their business around 1930 hrs. This guy’s daughter took my parent’s stall utensils without seeking for permission and of course without purchases any food from us.
Naturally my mother told the girl to return the utensils after using them. The girl cried and guess what did the guy said to her?
“It’s alright, I will cause trouble for this stall and tell NEA there were cockroaches in the stall.” I can’t believe this! A father of 2 children actually teaching his daughter that this is the right thing to do?
Of course my father wasn’t happy and he yelled at him and he at us. We did not even have roaches in our stall. He then took a picture of my parent’s stall then said he will definitely report us.
My father instructed me to do the same thing and thus the pictures. Another thing was that, he said it was fine if we report him as he isn’t doing business like us. To me so what if he actually had more education compared to my parents? Does he thinks that my parent’s can’t understand English?
And lastly, just because my parents are fighting under the heat to support a family whereas he is working in a air-condition environment? Is he looking down on hawker workers?
I would wish to express my thoughts to this “xia suay” man.
My answer: I know you are more educated, but who are you to insult people who work in hawker center? They earn money decently. I am speaking up on behalf of all hawker workers and not only my parents.
Just because you might earn more money then them, just because you are more educated, you still have no rights to insult them. Where have your education gone to? You think you are the only one who can speak English is it? And if you think that you are rich, why get your food at hawker center? Why don’t you want to dine in in some restaurant?
You know what? Because of people like you, this society is getting way colder and I am really ashamed for you because of the way you teach your child. I am really disgusted.
My dear family, teachers and friends, do share about this as I really hate it when people look down on hawker workers and people who is as “xia suay” as him.