My returning flight was delayed for three hours. Sat across the aisle were two Chinese men hailed from Hebei province.
They were both visibly excited and anxious. Excited - the first flight they experienced. Anxious - they have no clue what was going on with the delay, neither do I nor the pilot.
The Air Traffic Control Tower gave no explanation as to the delay. I could hear the Caucasian pilot of Dragonair sighed even before he made the apology for the delay. His question to the air traffic controller went unanswered.
Does this not speak of the status of the legitimate right to know in China?
Back to the aircraft, sat in front of me was a small group of Chinese men wearing the uniform of CITIC Telcom.
Like the two fellow passengers sat across the aisle from me, all of them are heading to Angola.
Those wearing the uniform are working for a unit of CITIC's Angola outfit. Presumably they are technicians.
The two however are just drivers. I didn't ask who they are going work for. All I know is that they have signed a contract of two years, no different from my Filipino helper.
The two years are going to be two years from home living in an environment so completely different from what they know.
They are not educated. Why I know? They sought my help to play the video on their newly bought laptop, an Acer laptop. What amuse me was they didn't have a VCD..
Anyway, they are venturing out. Leaving their family and out to the Africa and out to Angola, a country besieged by protracted civil war ended just not too long ago.
At this point, I cannot but think of my grandfather who left China in 1920s. His grandson returned to visit the ancestor village only in 2005.
I hope they would not take that long....
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Happy to see you back online! I remember the last time it was by email on June 4th.
Your story reminds me of the time when I arrived at Khartoum airport. There was a large group of Chinese workers chatting excitedly waiting for their transport. I did not speak to them nor overhear their conversations but it was obvious that they were there to work. Some of the looked like technicians others looked more like whote collar workers.
How telling that right outside the airport terminal was a large billboard from Petrochina advertising their friendship with the people of Sudan.
But the Chinese are not that alone. Not too strangely though, a few days later I passed by a huge new building that was almost completed: it was the headquarters of Petronas Sudan(!). And one of the largest hotels in Khartoum is the Holiday Villa also from Malaysia.
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