Expats make community bond amid virus
Print Edition
Since the beginning of Shanghai’s long battle against COVID-19, international volunteers have proved themselves indispensable to the community.
But as the pandemic eases, the time has come to reflect upon the impact it had on its international residents, their local communities and what that reveals about neighborhood development.
Minhang District’s Huacao Town, home to residents from over 70 countries and regions, had a robust international force of volunteers who helped with communications, security and donations from the moment the coronavirus epidemic sparked. Since then, Huacao has become a fine example of inter-community dynamics and a testament to the importance of renewed unity in a post-pandemic world.
“Before the coronavirus, I was looking more into my profession’s personal development,” said Laura Ruesjas, a Huacao-based Argentinian-French clinical psychologist who hosted weekly WeChat group therapy sessions with community members in need. “But then I realized there was a broader aspect of life: giving back to my community.
“It made sense that this was the time to push it further, and go that extra mile to help others. We all unite in bad times — that’s when we find the strength we don’t usually have when everything is well.”
Even with her incredible initiative, Ruesjas has acknowledged that language and cultural barriers often discourage expats from pitching into local affairs.
This idea of unity exists well in theory, but how can Shanghai’s communities put it into practice on a systemic scale?
For Huacao, the Jinfeng International Community Development Association (JICDA) is the answer.
Established in 2017, JICDA functions as a neighborhood association and communicative bridge between international residents and the local government.
Aside from hosting community activities like virtual competitions and spring cycling, JICDA serves to collect, consolidate and report the feedback of expats to the Huacao government so appropriate measures can be taken to continually refine their services to international residents.
During the height of the pandemic in Shanghai, JICDA’s role expanded. It mobilized an expat volunteer force for periodical house checks as well as clarification and translation services.
“Our work further emphasized our ability to bridge together separate groups through communication and showed our residents that Huacao government was there to serve and care for them,” said Meng Lu, executive secretary-general of JICDA. “Our relationships very much grew tighter.”
Shanghai’s experience with COVID-19 was a call to action for many international residents to cross cultural barriers in service of their community.
The crisis also brought the efficiency of local public-benefit organizations like JICDA to the fore, in the context of bridging subtle divides.
Casting the gaze forward, it then becomes important to look at how this recent development fits into the horizons of expat-to-community relations.
“In the future, we aim to provide more interactive opportunities for our expats to join in on the development of this community,” said Meng. “We want expats to regard Huacao as their second home — whatever problems they encounter in their day-to-day activities.
“We want them to swing by our offices and tell us about it. We can relay that to the local government and strive to get it solved.”
One expat, Amir Khan, a Pakistani volunteer at JICDA, was among an international group that proposed improving the local traffic system by installing zebra crossings, traffic lights and road exits at a popular Huacao crossing area earlier this year.
He was proud to see the recent implementation of dashed yellow lines on a segment of Jinfeng Road, with more developments pending as traffic resettles into normalcy.
“You think that this happened by itself, but I think we have to make it clear that it’s our voice. We connect the dots, and we make it happen,” Khan said.
COVID-19 underscored localized organizations like JICDA, tasked to support the expat community, as an area worthy of further experimentation.
The representation of voices often lost in translation is critical toward combatting cultural barriers and developing a living environment that caters positively toward all residents, especially “the needs of foreigners,” Khan said.
Ian O’Connell, a British passport-holder from South Africa, was happy to volunteer from February to March after receiving a personal request from an official he knew.
O’Connell wished that there could be “a better outlet to ask foreigners for help, so (they) have more opportunities to get involved.”
Alongside channels, through which events, services and volunteer posts can be publicized, groups like JICDA can provide more aid to independent service endeavors like Ruesjas’ projects, ensuring that, on a more general level, international residents can pitch into their community.
Amid the pandemic’s aftermath, the inclusion of international residents in local community affairs is more imperative than ever to realizing integrated, forward-facing communities.
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