Privilege and Culture
Rustom Vickers
Rustom Vickers has two kids. One of them, including myself and another is his 8 year old son. He lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands. And enjoys hiking.
My first question is if you ever had the privilege because of your culture?
“Absolutely I was brought up in Hong Kong and being from English white family especially because my father worked for the hong kong government I think that having more privilege in society than say even the locals it felt like we were in a very privileged situation where not that the same rules did not apply, it was Hong Kong was very rules-based Society so everyone was treated equally and fairly but there was certainly a sense that being a kid there wwe could get away with move and perhaps the locals could at least it felt like that perhaps in reality it wasn't. It was a sense of entitlement, it was a sense of we were the ruling culture as in Hong Kong was a British colony so not in a negative way or it racist way but in a way that we were Superior that's how we felt.” “That is very interesting”
Did you grow up with a very different culture and privilege or was it mostly the same as others?
“So ya I think it was a very different culture because we went to an international school we didn't have to live a local life our life is very different from the locals so again is a privilege to have this life especially a great example is you normally have very small apartments and we were lucky that because of my dad's government package we were able to live in big houses which is a clear difference to to local people even those that had lots of money it was a it was an added benefit so ya we felt very different as in culture within Hong Kong from the Chinese. So does that answer your question?” “Yes, thank you.”
Have you ever had any bad experiences because of your privilege and culture?
“When I was 16 we moved to England I would not say back to England because I never lived there, but it was a back home because that's where we both my parents were English and that was actually a negative experience in Hong Kong never really had a negative experience from the Chinese locals yes there was maybe some resentment because of the privileged or maybe some racial divide but it was never that bad but actually ironically moving back to England and being English was not treated like someone English in England, they saw me as a foreigner they even thought I was from Japan even though Hong Kong is not in Japan that was kind the small mindedness of a small country town in England which was really kind of backwards in the way it was connect to the global world, and so my friends well not really friends, the people who were in school with me, students saw me as a foreigner and saw my privilege of having them a nice life in Hong Kong as a negative thing they were envious, they didn't think I was one of them and l I actually got bullied as a sixteen-year-old I would say because of being different even though I was English by culture English by Blood English by the type of upbringing. I still went to an English international school but obviously the way I saw the world the way I was is very different from the people brought up in this small country town because Hong Kong is the opposite. It was an international city and so, I came from different backgrounds.” “I never thought about that before.”
Have you always felt the same about your privilege and culture or has it changed over time?
“It has changed so my experience of going back to England made me realize that with in England there is different cultures the difference what we call a class system, there is an upper class which is the queen and royalty, then there's middle class and within the middle class you have upper middle-class and lower-middle-class and middle-middle-class so it was quite shocking to come back from Hong Kong and realize that the society could be broken down like that because in Hong Kong it wasn't like that. So my parents I would say are both upper middle class which essentially means very well-educated went to the top universities like Oxford went through very good education and came from families of unnecessary lot of wealth but intellectual Capital so ya I feel very privileged to have been born into that family because it gave me definitely more opportunities in life, always feel very grateful to have been brought up in Hong Kong had an international experience and i think it gave me a different view on the world so that when I finish my school in England I could go out come back National life and my view on that is changed I've lived in 10 different countries so I've seen 10 different cultures and taken lessons from every culture, yes there's always going to be privileges from the wealthy Society parts of society but that does not change equipped to happiness or necessary what's the best thing in life. So my lesson will my change in thinking is that it doesn't really matter which culture you come from it's more about how you approach stated day to day life and being respectful and being open to other cultures and then try not to take advantage of one's color skin or one's background because that means nothing only you can determine where you want to go in your life.”
“And it's more about treating people with respect giving people opportunities what they can have but just liking and appreciating the differences in culture and appreciating”
-Rustom Vickers
Have you ever felt proud or embarrassed about your privilege culture?
“Yes absolutely I was very proud to have been brought up in Hong Kong at a time when it was world famous for being a very successful country run fairly without corruption and without really racial Prejudice it was a very International City yes predominant Chinese but it was a city where everyone could be cool and I was that was very proud to be brought up in Hong Kong and felt that was my home more than England did, being more English being less English. But at the same time obviously being part of being a colony of British Empire had lots of negative associations as well because another country ruling someone else's cultures is not good so this was the end of that Empire 1997 was the end of the British Empire effectively, so there was a sense of also not proud but what was the other point? Proud or Embarrassed. So there was a Sense of not embarrassment but a sense of acknowledgement. What the British were doing in Hong Kong is not right in principle and I was part of that system and especially science. My father worked for the government so also I benefited from that system. But again if you speak to most Hong Kong Chinese especially now 20 plus years that was a very good time for them and they were actually very proud to be much more independent than they are today under Chinese Rule and so are they still a Colony is a big bigger question but I think they had a lot more democracy sorry democratic freedoms. So there is no perfect system so i think what Hong Kong had was pretty close to it and so not really that embarrassed by it. I'm certainly sensitive to it when I meet special say Indian friends or others who might see Britain or the British Empire in a negative way.”
Do you think that your privilege and culture has impacted the way you see the world around you, how?
“Yeah absolutely I think because i was brought up in an international city, because i was brought up by a father and a mother who were very International and intellectual and open-minded, coming from that culture allowed me to really understand the world very well and allowed me to be confident in going around the world in different countries traveling a lot have been to 120 countries as well help to kind of reenforce that upbringing so yeah I think it's so receipt it's who I am because of that upbringing it's how I view the world so I can I feel I have less prejudices I have more respect for the cultures I am more worldly so I can bring difference spectives to what I do in my personal life but also what I do in my professional life. So I feel very fortunate to have had it and expect life.”
And my last question is do you have any advice for your younger self for young people who also have or may have similar experiences? yeah my advice to you as an expat because you are a foreigner being brought up in a different country is to take the Best of Both Worlds is to be proud of where you come from which is half Czech and half English, be proud of this to cultures. Be proud that you were born in Dubai and brought to Bangkok and bring those two cultures into who you are. I think Thai culture is a beautiful culture, how they are very respectful and peaceful. And now out there and living in Switzerland you have to also adapt, absorb the Swiss ways of living and like any there's pros and cons, good and bad things. It's very important my main advices even though you're an expat you must have a connection to local community local country or else you will feel very ruthless and I think that the balance to that is reintegration very well with the local culture which i think I did in Hong Kong even though we were always foreigners clearly it felt like home and we really called it home. That goes to my other point, like I was brought up in Hong Kong. And I hope when you look back on your childhood you will say that you were proud to have been brought up in Thailand and in Switzerland. I think culture and privilege are part of life if everyone was equal and if everyone had the same culture life would be very boring and it's impossible for Everyone to be 100 percent equal. Always a society where people will have more money less money more opportunities less opportunities better life worse life. And it's more about treating people with respect giving people opportunities what they can have but just liking and appreciating the differences in culture and appreciating how we all are very lucky to live in Switzerland where we are all privileged to live in one of the most beautiful countries which is one of us well run countries safe and clean that's how we should feel privileged, and we're lucky and that's what black and privileges.
