Mr Chan is a postman who has been serving Hong Kong for the past 20 years. Amidst the coronavirus outbreak, he volunteered to work extra night shifts.

“The current situation is similar to SARS from 17 years ago–as public servants, we must remain steadfast in our respective positions. If working overtime can help more citizens get the masks they need, I will bend over backwards to make that happen. Regardless of how tiring that may be, I think it is worth it. ”

— Mr Chan

Journalist: Citizen News 眾新聞

Photographer: Citizen News 眾新聞

Illustrator: Lui

Over the days after the Chinese New Year, I have encountered people who were overjoyed to receive the masks I delivered to their doorsteps. They were brimming with joy and anticipation–some even shed tears. Every gratitude and smile I received motivates me more. Whenever I recall these warm memories amidst public health crises that are so impactful to my 20 years of experience as a postman, I can’t help but be moved to tears.

Powerlessness

Due to the local mask shortage in Hong Kong, most HongKongers turned to overseas ordering masks from a variety of websites. This together with the temporary suspension of postal service, the post office was overwhelmed with a huge amount of masks delivered from overseas. Hong Kong Postal Service resumed its service on 30 January. At the time, the distribution of labour was a big problem because of the huge amount of masks awaiting delivery. In order to deliver them all as soon as possible, we were asked to work extra shifts and began night-time deliveries. I was one of those volunteers. I became a night-time postman because I wanted to deliver all the masks to the public. It is the responsibility of Hong Kong postmen to do their job well, and be in solidarity with all HongKongers.

Touched

I still remember the day when I was about to leave after the recipients signed off their masks. They called out to me, opened their package, and handed me the masks. They told me, “we already have enough on hand. You all are in greater need of masks as you are working day and night, interacting with all kinds of people. Please accept these masks as our gratitude for your hard work.” This long-lost Hong Kong spirit of solidarity and care moved me to tears.

Work

All night-shifts are on a voluntary basis. To my knowledge, each post office sent around 8 to 12 postmen so there are about 150 postmen working night shifts including myself. For the extra shifts, we get paid between HK$100-200 per hour depending on our contracts and time of service. I regularly work six days a week, a total of 48 hours. On top of that, I work 3.5 hours more each day because of the extra shifts, making it a total of 69 hours. The workload and working hours have gone up significantly since the coronavirus outbreak. Yet more importantly, there are more than 300 shipping containers at the airport storage facility that have not been processed. I think we should anticipate such workloads to continue for the foreseeable future.

Photo taken from Citizen News’ original article

Weariness

I’d be lying if I say this is not tiring. Not only can I not work from home the way other civil servants do, I even have to work extra hours every single night.

The current situation is similar to SARS from 17 years ago–as public servants, we must remain steadfast in our respective positions. If my working overtime can help more citizens get the masks they need, I will bend over backwards to make that happen. Regardless of how tiring that may be, I think it is worth it.

Reflection

Right now, I think there are many people–like me–who are quietly supporting the general public behind the scene. As long as we all resist the pandemic in solidarity, I believe that Hong Kong can soon welcome its victory.

We are in this together. Let’s win this fight, shall we?

“I am Mr Chan, I am a HKer.”

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Original article: 專訪夜更郵差　晚上加班送口罩　市民接口罩感動落淚
(This story is supported by Citizen News, and modified to a first-person narrative.)

【SHARED】Mr Chan | The Warmth behind a Mask: A Day in the Life of a Night-shift Postman