Is Rosa Parks's famous bus standoff making a
comeback in Shanghai today? Ayis (domestic servants and baby sitters) at an
upgrade residential community have been told to sit at the back of shuttle
buses.
An upgrade residential community in
Shanghai has barred domestic helpers from sitting in the front of the
shuttle bus. [thebeijingnews] |
On the website of
the Shanghai Racquet Club and Apartments (SRCA), where 90 percent of residents
are foreigners, the shuttle service instructions read as follows:
1. Ayis must present a valid bus pass on entering the bus on each journey, no
pass = no ride...
2. Ayis will be requested to take up the rear seats of the bus.
3. Ayis travel at the bus driver's discretion and are required to follow the
instructions of the driver if asked to vacate the bus to accommodate residents
or members.
Ayis mainly take the shuttle bus to go shopping for their employers in this
suburban complex out of town. The bus fee is 500 yuan for three months.
In the past, some ayis quit their jobs because of the trouble going long
distances to the nearest supermarket.
Residents complained about the loss of ayis and asked for a shuttle service
for them.
An SRCA resident questioned the shuttle bus regulations as racist, and the
case has caused a public stir.
"It's unfair and offensive to ayis," says an anonymous online writer,
"moreover, ayis have paid for the service."
Defending their good-will motive, SRCA's operations manager, Mr. Russell, an
Australian, said they have no intention to discriminate against ayis.
He added, "the shuttle service is directed to seek a balance between ayis'
convenience and our residents' convenience"
Noting that ayis are usually loaded with shopping bags on the bus, Russell
asked them to be seated in the rear to avoid any trouble to residents.
He says, "Even on an airplane, there is economy class and first class."
Almost 50 years ago, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, openly refused to
relinquish her front seat to a white ma in the no-blacks section of a city bus.
Her actions set off the US civil rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's.
Although barred from the so called "first class" section of the community
bus, most Chinese ayis don't take offense.
"It's not worth cursing and dissatisfaction," says an ayi surnamed Liu, "the
shuttle service does make our work and life a lot easier than before."
The regulations, however, have been removed from the club's Web site and the
policy changed, reported the Beijing News.
Municipality statistics show there are 100, 000 ayis in
Shanghai.
