少数民族同事 The African Colleague

Recently we have a new colleague from Africa, from Ghana.

He is very friendly and doesn't mind joining us, a Chinese group, for lunch. There were 7 of us.

So yesterday we went out lunch together at a Chinese hawker centre. There was no empty table. So we waited for a while. After that, there were 2 groups of people left. Two non-adjacent tables became available.

My colleague said there are too many of us and that we should split into two tables. He said we didn't have to cramp into one table.

The funny thing is 5 of them went quickly to a table, cramping themselves to it.

Then the Afican colleague and I were left to sit at the other table. I didn't mind sitting with him. But don't you think what they did was a bit obvious?

At first they said we should split into two tables so that we won't be squeezed. But now all 5 of them squeezed into one table. What an obvious contradiction.

Funny right?

Ernie said this is what happens if you work in a Chinapek company that hires Chinapek colleagues – people who are narrow minded and cannot accept people from other background. Maybe I look Chinapek, that’s why I was hired as well.

Luckily another group of colleagues came and they join our tables for lunch later. We all spoke English and had a good laugh. If with my usual group of lunch gang, they don't care about the African colleague. They just talked Chinese among themselves. I think it was very rude but I was compelled to speak in Chinese with them as well.

Worse, some colleagues who always join us for lunch didn't join us anymore since the African colleague join our group for lunch. What a regret right?

I totally empathize my African colleague because I worked in Canada before. I was a minority in a Canadian-French government bureau. I totally understand how it feels.

How can this company expand and go towards the direction of MNC and diversity when so many this kind of colleagues exist? Sigh, sometimes I really think that I don't suit in this kind of corporate culture and environment. I don't know why I am here for four years...