Collective Value-Laden Grief Among Hongkongers: We Left, We Grieve, We Live

Abstract

This qualitative study aimed to examine the collective grief of Hongkongers who have left their hometown and moved to the United Kingdom following the 2019 social movement in Hong Kong. Seventeen participants underwent an in-depth interview. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted. The main theme, “Collective value-laden grief: Double loss of hometown,” and three subthemes, “Left but still care,” “I am a Hongkonger,” “In values: We grieve, we live” were identified. Participants revealed their value-laden grief over their double loss—the symbolic loss of their hometown, like the loss of freedom, and the loss of leaving the hometown physically. They grieved because of the values they upheld for Hong Kong, but they also left with these values. It is the values that connect individual grief that becomes collective grief. Participants still showed great concern about the socio-political changes in their hometown, and they maintained a strong Hongkonger identity which they perceived to be defined by values, including supporting freedom and justice. Shared values may facilitate their articulation of grief and mutual support among other Hongkongers but also motivate them to live and integrate into life in the UK. The findings have helped us to reflect on the role of values in shaping collective grief and how values may be addressed in supporting people with collective grief at individual and collective levels. Following the socio-political changes in Hong Kong, some Hongkongers left their hometown. We grieve but continue to live with the grief and our values genuinely.