What to leave behind? Returning Wang Fuk Court residents stuck with tough decisions

Residents of Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court have been wrestling with a fresh sense of loss after returning to homes ravaged in last November’s fire, as they were forced to choose what to save under practical constraints and within a three-hour window. Cecilia* is one such Hongkonger. She considers herself fortunate to have discovered that her upper-floor flat was largely undamaged by the blaze. But now she faces losing family treasures, precious metals and antique furniture if she cannot find a way to get them down the stairs of her building in time. The fire at Wang Fuk Court destroyed seven of the estate’s eight blocks, killing 168 people and displacing about 5,000. Residents of the seven damaged blocks are only now getting the chance to return home under a government scheme that started on April 20 and ends on Monday. Each registered household has been allocated just three hours inside their flats on specific dates, depending on which building they lived in. Authorities previously said about 600 families had requested a second visit, with arrangements to be made for them. Cecilia, who had lived at the estate in Tai Po since she was a child and continued to stay there on weekends after getting married, said she would need to leave some precious items behind, even if she could visit a second time. The welfare sector worker, who is in her thirties, added that while the kitchen was destroyed in the fire, the rest of the flat was mostly intact, including a pair of identical Chinese rosewood cabinets left to her family by her maternal grandfather, one of Guangzhou’s richest merchants during China’s republican era from 1912 to 1949. “The flat was, of course, our biggest asset. It’s gone, so now even a packet of tissues or a roll of toilet paper counts as our assets,” she said. The cabinets, which measure about 80cm (31 inches) per side and weigh more than 20kg (44lbs), are now covered in dust. They were passed down about 40 years ago by her uncle, who inherited them from her grandfather. She said she was not sure of their value, but estimated they could cost about HK$30,000 (US$3,830) each, based on what she had read online. Even as she took inventory of the flat, Cecilia stressed that family bonds were what mattered most. With lifts in her block out of service, Cecilia has been searching for equipment that will enable her to bring bulky items down the building’s narrow staircases. She bought a stair-climbing hand trolley from Taobao, but the device turned out to be too small for the job. She was now considering an electric version, although that would cost several thousand Hong Kong dollars. Cecilia said the Civil Aid Service and police had helped the family remove as many items as possible on the day she returned home, including tens of thousands of colonial-era stamps her mother had collected. But she said many other items, including more than 10 vases, a 10kg jewellery chest her mother had used for more than 20 years, and a large amount of precious metals, remained in the flat. The family had silver bars worth about HK$300,000, but she was only able to retrieve a small portion during her visit. “There is still a pile yet to be retrieved,” Cecilia said. She blamed herself for missing those items but knew she had to work under time constraints. She also had to leave behind the dining table that her mother bought with a whole month’s salary when they first moved into the flat more than 40 years ago. “I had to give it up … and there was simply no way I could carry it down,” she said. Cecilia said she was disappointed that the government had yet to announce dates for second visits or devise plans to help residents retrieve bulkier items. She wished residents could box up their belongings and leave them for a government-recruited professional moving company, since many could not bring down larger items with limited time and resources. Meanwhile, Wang Sun House resident Mandy Wong has given up on transporting her piano, despite discovering the instrument intact with ornaments and photos still on top in an otherwise blackened 25th floor flat that she returned to on April 22. She said that she bought the German-brand upright piano for herself nearly two decades ago, just after she started working full-time. Over time, she turned the spot where the piano stood into a sanctuary for herself, placing treasured paper globes, dolls and copies of her graduation photos on top. To show her thanks for the survival of the piano against all odds, she decided to take some time to play the Christian choral piece “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” for a final recording. She then placed a fresh musical score on the instrument before taking a photo. “I played it wholeheartedly as a prayer, for all who suffered from this fire, and for all their futures to be filled with peace and hope,” Wong said. The piano is associated with precious memories, including begging her parents as a child for the chance to learn how to play and many diligent practice sessions. It also carries her bygone dreams of becoming a musician or a music therapist. “So in [the piano], and in myself, there will always be a place for each other – a quiet corner in the heart where we still meet. Not with bitterness, but bittersweet as a final chord,” Wong said. Other residents have also been forced to part ways with various eclectic treasures, including one resident’s lifelong collection of “Chogokin” toy figures and other vintage valuables. Paul Ma Chung-kui, a guzheng artist who lived on the 31st floor of Wang Tao House, told reporters on Thursday that he could only retrieve about a third of his extensive 40-instrument collection during the three-hour packing session. Among the traditional Chinese string instruments retrieved was a butterfly-style guzheng, a modern creation by Ma’s teacher, master He Baoquan. Ma said he was the first person to play such an instrument in the city, which differed from the standard guzheng by having 49 strings instead of 21. Mr Chui, a 36-year-old Wang Cheong House resident, who described himself as an “Apple fan”, said he had managed to recover a collection of iPhone remnants dating back to the original 2G model when he returned to his flat on Tuesday. “But I cannot take the vintage iMac away; it is too large,” he said. Dr Candy Fong, a clinical psychologist with the Hong Kong Psychological Society, said that for residents losing their homes, personal belongings were more than just physical items. “Items carry certain emotions, fragments of past lives, or even certain daily habits,” she said. Fong said damaged objects made residents feel connected to their memories, and the loss of items during a major traumatic event was part of their grief. “When they return home and realise they cannot bring some of their belongings with them, they have to come to terms with the fact that some of their memories and emotions would have to be left behind as well,” she said. “Maybe after some time, perhaps 10 to 20 years later, they will feel like they have processed these emotions, then they can decide to part with them.” *Name changed at interviewee’s request Additional reporting by Kristen Cheung

What to leave behind? Returning Wang Fuk Court residents stuck with tough decisions

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Residents returning to Wang Fuk Court after last November’s fire make tough choices on what to pack and what to leave behind

Residents returning to Wang Fuk Court after last November’s fire make tough choices on what to pack and what to leave behind