Where’s Alex?

It was almost 8 o’clock. I was waiting for ‘Top Gear’, a weekly automobile review show, to come on BBC2 but was replaced by the coverage of the Snooker UK Championship Finals where 18-year-old Ding JunHui of P.R. China beat veteran 48-year-old Steve Davis (in his 100th finals). A couple walked in the shop, ordering a Shredded Chicken Chow Mein, Egg Fried Rice, Mandarin Chicken and a bottle of Coke for take-away. After giving them the change for £11.40 (I think), they sat down reading old newspaper while the ‘cling’ and ‘clang’ sounds of the woks resounded over the ‘bbrrrrrr’ of the exhaust fan. 

Then 2 men and a woman walked in. Announcing that they had a warrant to search the premises, "Let us through [the counter]." It wasn’t until I read the badge on the jacket of one of the officers when I realised that some of us might be in trouble. "We have a search warrant, let us through."

I took 3 steps, popped in to the kitchen and said "Mr. Law, Immigration [Office] is here."

One of the officers let himself through. Mr. Law asked how he can help them, why we were targeted and not the other Chinese restaurants like Golden Palace or Four Seasons, or even the kebab shop opposite of us. Our Malaysian driver and Mrs. Law caused a little stir near the back door as more officers came in from the back. They were not allowed to deliver a large £43.10 order.

A clear sight of a pair handcuffs made me start praying for nothing bad to happen.

They ordered us to turn of the gas stoves, probably for fear that it might be used against them. Noticing our cooperative manner, they asked the startled, waiting couple if they’ve paid for their meal. "Finish up their order first." After closing the paper lids over the food in aluminum foil containers, "Excuse me, your meal?” And off they went. Officer flipped out our "Sorry, We’re Closed" sign and stuffed his foot to the door.

We were asked to sit on benches meant for our customers, some of us might have never sat on them before. Questioning began, "Are you legally allowed to stay in the UK? Paperwork or documents?" One of our cooks, a Chinese national who couldn’t speak a word of English, did not have any documentation. Told the boss in Mandarin with a heavy slang, that it got washed away. Mr. Law turned to the questioning officer and said "I don’t know how to explain to you." People from China usually enter the UK as asylum seekers. He then had his index finger print scanned, name and date of birth verified. A phone call confirmed he was okay. Don’t know how, but Chinese nationals are generally let off easier so the boss says.

The warrant, as I read later, was meant to look for the Malaysian driver suspected of being an illegal immigrant. He was applying for British Overseas Chinese (B.O.C., eligible for parents born in Penang or Malacca before 1963) Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR or permanent residence) status and although his passport was with the Home Office, he had letters from his lawyer to prove it. Another Malaysian cook was not so lucky.

He is one of the many Malaysians who join tours to the UK or Europe, abandon the group once they reach British soil, get a job in local Chinese businesses, and illegally stay on past the stipulated 6 months without visa. Some get through, some don’t. I had just heard from another that he came by ferry to Dover (south-east England) from Calais, France. Another 3 in the group were denied entry.

An officer went upstairs with him. Later, he came back down with his little trolley luggage and belongings in a shoe box. Mobile phone and wallet went into an evidence bag.

My turn to be questioned, I was the last. "Do you speak English?" Hmm…
Came out alright, had my passport and visa with me.

We were allowed to go back to business. "No orders on hand," the boss said. Officers flipped back the ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign, wished us Merry Christmas and left. The boss ranted !@#$%&* in Cantonese. The delivery order had just left with Mrs. Law. I was still shaking, not sure whether it was from the immigration officers’ visit or the 4 to 5 Celsius temperatures outside. But I was so caught up with going back to normal that I forgot one thing.

All of us were cleared except for Ah Meng.

I’m kicking myself for not wishing him well before he left. I had just realised he was much more than just a ‘colleague’ at work. Having never even fried an egg before, he was the one who would cook my portion of ‘Nasi Goreng’ or ‘Mee Sup’ whenever it was ‘every chef for himself’. I try to treat them to Sainsbury’s Strawberry Trifle whenever I feel like returning a favour. Our age gap was the smallest compared to the others. He enjoyed watching movies at the Bluewater Shopping Centre, was probably going to watch either ‘King Kong’ or ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ tomorrow on his day off. Earlier today, I was just explaining to him a newspaper headline of why Malaysia banned The Epoch Times from circulation back home. He was the Fried Rice and Chow Mein guy in the kitchen, and had just prepared what is now his last Egg Fried Rice for the couple.

I’m kicking myself for not wishing him well before he left. All I can offer now is a prayer that he is in good hands. Not sure if there will be more questioning for him, but he might spend the night in prison and face deportation in the coming days. Missed my chance to share the Good News, forgot about my chance to explain what Christmas really means. This was the favour that I needed to return to a friend. Don’t feel like passing this responsibility to someone else.

"Tell the world that Jesus lives. Tell the world that He died for them. Tell the world that He lives again." - Look To You album from Hillsong United.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 1:59 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.