Commercial slump and empty restaurants .. Chinatown in London is a victim of Corona's Ghost

Al Jazeera Net - London

The famous Chinatown gate in the British capital, London, is missing its visitors, who were standing in line to take a memorial photo in front of the engraved gate in the Chinese style, and it is considered the main entrance to the neighborhood where the Chinese shops and restaurants are concentrated, the latter has entered a recession since the announcement of the renewed Corona virus in China And imposing strict restrictions on returning from there to Britain.

And you hardly get close to this neighborhood located in the heart of the capital London until you notice that the tireless movement in this particular place and the popularity that does not stop throughout the week and in all seasons has decreased significantly, so the tourists are not waiting for their turn to take a picture in the neighborhood, and there are no queues of visitors Wishing to enter a Chinese restaurant.

In normal circumstances, the weekend was the peak period in this neighborhood, which is used to attract 17 million tourists annually, and includes among its streets one hundred restaurants serving different types of Chinese food.

Not all the flags of the hanging decorations in the neighborhood streets and the Chinese inscriptions in gilded colors on the storefronts managed to hide the state of anticipation and the nervous tension that hangs over the shop owners as they watch their incomes decline, and some of them pay more than 250 thousand dollars annually in rent for non-large stores.

The Chinatown - which is supposed to live these days the best times of the rhythm of the celebrations of the Chinese year - has become a place many avoid, except for a few who have shown solidarity with this tourist region and have crossed the barrier of fear that surrounds Chinatown.

Although Britain announced only three cases of coronavirus - all outside the capital, London - this did not prevent a state of fear from spreading, and despite the reassurances of the British health authorities that there is no danger in visiting tourist sites - including Chinatown - they did not find listening ears. Among the residents of the capital who deserted this place.

Corona Ghost
“It is a fear of Corona,” Lin Tabi said, as he walked to a restaurant in the area, speaking to the Island Net in a tone that was not without heartbreak about the neighborhood’s lack of its usual activities, and the number of customers declined, explaining that the strong blow that the neighborhood received was on the occasion of the Chinese year’s celebrations during the month Al-Mady “We had full reservations for three weeks, about two-thirds of which were canceled immediately after the news of the appearance of the Coronavirus.”

Initial estimates issued by a number of institutions in Chinatown indicate that the district lost 50% of its transactions number during a period not exceeding a month, especially after everyone deserted the Chinese year celebrations despite the attempts of many civil organizations against racism participating in the celebrations in solidarity with shop owners and workers In which.

Lee Ji - one of the largest restaurants in the neighborhood - does not hide that its losses during the past few days have exceeded 20 thousand dollars, due to the cancellation of reservations and the decline in the number of customers.

Shop owners do not know how to deal with this unprecedented situation for them except for waiting, "We only have to monitor the situation and hope that this issue will be remedied quickly," says Min Su, owner of a Chinese cosmetic store, adding that he is sadly following how a number of restaurants have started. She is considering layoffs, even if temporarily, for a number of workers, pending a return to normal.

Racist incidents
Despite all the awareness campaigns carried out by the British authorities not to intimidate the Corona virus, this did not prevent the registration of many cases of racism against Asian citizens, especially on trains.

Mim Aye - a young Asian resident in Britain - wrote on her Twitter account of what happened to her on the crowded train, although the chairs on her right and left were empty, but the passengers refused to sit beside her because of her Asian features.

Another case was recorded on the train when a woman coughed up with Chinese features in which someone shouted, "Don't spread your damn virus to people, go back to your country and spread the disease."

These cases, which are still individual, have become worrisome for a number of anti-racist institutions, among them the organization "Tel Mama", which wrote on its official page on Facebook that what is happening with the Asians linked to the Corona virus is condemned, expressing its solidarity with the owners of the shops who were affected. Their interests in Chinatown due to fear of the virus.

The same thing happened to the veteran British journalist John Sibson, who is known to be a BBC journalist. He wrote on his Twitter account, "It seems that people are trying to get away from Chinatown for fear of getting corona, what a fool, I'm in Waiting for the evening to have my favorite meal in my permanent restaurant in the neighborhood. "

And it seems that the campaign - which is being led by a number of British celebrities and media people to restore life to Chinatown - has not borne fruit, at least in the short term, with news of high casualties continuing, pending the outcome of the coming days.