CHINESE SHUN JAMAICA: Asian people say crime, racism make them feel left out of society.....In fact, according to Andy Au, a Chinese Jamaican, several members of the Asian community have closed their businesses, packed their bags and left Jamaica.

BY JEDIAEL CARTER Staff reporter carterj@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, November 06, 2016 

Between racism, crime and a sense of discomfort, the plight of the Chinese immigrant has been disheartening to the minority group in Jamaica.

In fact, according to Andy Au, a Chinese Jamaican, several members of the Asian community have closed their businesses, packed their bags and left Jamaica.

This comes despite what is seen islandwide as a growth in businesses operated by Asian nationals, mainly those from China, in recent years.

“I left my business with my parents, which they are still running. But apart from my own, I know of at least four groups of families that have sold their businesses and left the country and went back to different parts of Asia and United States,” Au, who has since moved, temporarily, to Australia, revealed. He suggested that it was unlikely that he would return to Jamaica. “While some of the other businesses are still operating, they are also investing and making migration plans in an effort to make a connection or bridge, so that they can have an easy retreat and a place to settle down when the time comes,” Au said.

According to Au, the Chinese community is heavily targeted by criminals, which is crippling to business. As a business operator, he said he felt “trapped in a jail cell, worried about outside troubles as well as inside troubles”.

“It is true that we get robbed very often, [held at] gunpoint, [involved in] hostage situations and get tied up at home. We actually had a meeting with the Chinese community and a JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) superintendent relating to the crime problems, and we were on the verge of closing down all the businesses in Jamaica and leave because it was getting way out of hand,” Au, who lived in Jamaica for over two decades, stated in an e-mail.

Noting the veracity of the article published in the Jamaica Observer on October 23 titled ‘Don’t call us Chiney’, Au sought to shed light on how the difference between the Jamaican and Chinese cultures impacts relations.

He explained that, unlike Jamaicans who are outgoing, the Chinese tend to be more conservative, hence the reason they resort to sticking together.

“I think people need to understand the cultural difference between Chinese in Jamaica and locals. Like I see it, all Chinese are more conservative in different ways, like with language, especially in a public setting with people they don’t know. But Jamaicans are generally more outgoing, outspoken and enthusiastic people that are just too much and, quite frankly sometimes, make a bad first impression,” he said.

“Another cultural difference is that it’s more respectable to acknowledge people in Asian cultures, and you see it more defined in Japanese cultures, with their family names. So when you constantly call Chinese people Chiney or Mr/Miss Chin and it’s not their actual last name, it’s really annoying and disrespectful,” the expatriate continued. more