From hostess to funeral planner

HONG KONG – Before becoming a funeral director, Connie Wong was a Hong Kong airline stewardess.

The sudden end of a career he’d loved for six years brought his own kind of pain, he said.

It was one of the many losses suffered by the residents of the Chinese territory.

Hong Kong’s economy began to deteriorate in 2019, when an extradition bill sparked months of bitter street fighting between protesters and police.

Then, during the coronavirus pandemic, the harsh and ever-changing restrictions that fit the continent’s “zero COVID” policy turned entire industries upside down.

Numerous businesses have been forced to close, thousands have left the city, and some of those that have remained have had to do so. reinvent itself.

when Cathay Dragonan arm of the flag carrier of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacificclosed in 2020 when travel stopped, Wong was among thousands left out of work.

Accustomed to night flights, she couldn’t sleep at night.

“Some people have lost their relatives.

Some have emigrated.

Others have lost their health, and not only their physical but also their mental health, ”he said recently.

“It’s not just about Hong Kongers, but the whole world is experiencing it. It is difficult to deal with. I lost my job. But life will always bring alternatives ”.

A guide to pain

Cathay Dragon, 35, had often asked to be assigned a flight to Kathmandu, Nepal, to be able to volunteer at a children’s home and animal shelter there.

The search for something equally rewarding led her to apply last summer to become a life celebrant in Don’t forget yourselfa non-profit organization in Hong Kong that tries to do worthy funerals they are within the reach of needy families.

He meets several times a week with families, in a well-ventilated room adorned with flowers.

While helping them plan ceremonies, she suggests writing notes to leave or in the coffin, as a way to show gratitude or put a grudge aside when saying goodbye.

For a 4-year-old girl’s funeral, Wong decorated the seats with cutouts of the girl’s favorite cartoon character.

In some respects, Wong’s previous work experience proved to be transferable, he said.

Just as he had once found ways to placate passengers facing flight delays, he was now finding solutions for people in far more needy conditions.

The adjustment was not easy.

After her first funeral, images of grieving families crossed her mind at night.

She could barely eat from the stress and her hair began to fall out.

In November he took sick leave, which lasted for months.

Her bosses asked her to think about whether this was the right job for her.

Wong returned in April, when Hong Kong was facing its worst coronavirus outbreak.

Hospitals have been overloaded beyond capacity and thousands of seniors have died of COVID-19.

He dived again.

When family members were unable to attend the funeral in person after testing positive for COVID, she arranged tlive streams and narrated the rites.

There are days when you want to fly again.

But he says he found greater satisfaction in helping struggling families process the loss.

“The impact of COVID pushed us to face reality,” he said.

“We have to adapt.”

The COVID Cleaner

Although the pandemic virtually brought the aviation industry to ground, Mandi Cheung’s day-to-day job as a security guard at an aeronautical engineering firm remained unaffected.

But he resigned in March to become Cleaner in a quarantine center for COVID patients.

It was an opportunity to make “quick money” by saving up to emigrate to Britain, he said.

The six-day-a-week cleaning job paid about $ 3,000 a month, about $ 1,000 more that your security works.

At the height of the COVID outbreak this year, Hong Kong’s hospitals and quarantine centers faced a huge influx of patients.

Cheung Quarantine Camp near Tsing Yi Port, which has nearly 4,000 beds, was one of eight hastily built structures.

the experience was more distressing than I was expecting.

Cheung, 35, was not admitted drink water or use the bathroom while wearing personal protective equipment.

He cleaned the bathrooms and used the rapid test kits every day, worried about bringing the virus home.

His mother would only let him in after disinfecting his entire body at the door.

When the number of infections stabilized and pandemic fatigue began, he stopped worrying, he said.

“There was really a lack of resources, the distribution of work was uneven,” he said.

“I was filled with resentment while working. I told myself it would only be for a few months. “

In the meantime, he had continued to take on other jobs.

In May, she worked six-hour shifts at a neighborhood coffee shop after working overnight at the quarantine center.

Cheung had intended to work in the quarantine center for five months, but closed in June when the number of “VIPs”, as the foreman told him to refer to patients, dropped.

He plans to work full time at the coffee shop until he leaves Hong Kong.

Before the pandemic, Cheung ran a night bar called NightOwl, but it was difficult to financially support the meal restrictions due to COVID.

He hopes to open a similar business one day after his emigration.

But he is also curious about new experiences.

“Eventually, I will explore a new world,” he said.

A caregiver for all ages

As head of service aboard Cathay Dragon, Connie Cheung, 57, had reached the top step of her career.

Cheung, who is not related to Mandi Cheung, joined the airline, then called Dragonair, more than three decades ago as a flight attendant.

He had recently extended his contract after turning 55, the retirement age for cabin crew.

He was taking care of his nephew and daughter-in-law when the airline closed in 2020.

She decided to take a series of government postnatal care courses, learning how to perform breast massages and boil hearty herbal soups.

She began training to become a pui yuet, or nanny, for children and a caregiver for new mothers, and in 2021 she began her second career.

“Now I’m a beginner againCheung said.

She and a friend, Wing Lam, 48, another shipboard services manager who became a postpartum nanny, exchange tips on how to handle germphobic moms and crybaby grandparents.

They joke about how their luxury suitcases have been replaced by metal carts, which they transport from the subway to wet markets to buy food for the meals they cook for their customers.

When he lost his job at the airline, Cheung was earning about $ 4,500 a month plus subsidies, such as medical care.

He now earns around $ 3,300 per month. Lam, for his part, lacks the thrill of managing an air crew, despite the stress and uncertainties that accompany every flight.

In May, Cathay Pacific sent recruiting emails to thousands of laid-off employees, asking them to reapply for entry-level positions.

Lam hopes the airline will re-hire senior staff.

But in the meantime, she plans to use her experience as an in-flight manager as a nanny agent, connecting caregivers with parents.

He started training new people in the industry, including former flight attendants.

Cheung keeps the course.

Her calendar filled up when clients referred her to other pregnant women.

Although the job is unstable (no questions one month, then different the next), he hopes it will pay off for family vacations soon.

He said he could see himself taking care of the children for the next 10 years:

“I have found my new direction in life.”

c.2022 The New York Times Company