CNS STORY: Macau church officials worry casinos lure students away from school

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CNS Story:

MACAU-CASINOS Mar-3-2005 (820 words) With photo. xxxi

Macau church officials worry casinos lure students away from school

By Catholic News Service

MACAU (CNS) -- Three months before his graduation, Ah Wai quit school and abandoned plans to become a social worker in favor of dealing cards at a newly opened casino in Macau.

In January, the 23-year-old Macau resident was promoted to manager; he now monitors operations at gambling tables in the casino, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.

"My parents have been unemployed for a long time, and I have a mentally disabled younger brother to look after," Ah told UCA News. "Although I would like to pursue studies in social work, relatives and friends have urged me to take up a job with high pay to improve my family's income."

Macao, a special administrative region of China, has 17 casinos, and more are planned. As the "Monte Carlo of the Orient" continues to add casinos, church officials expressed concern that students may be sacrificing their future and long-term security by forgoing their education for the quick cash provided by casino jobs.

Choi Chi-u, principal of Jesuit-run Star of the Sea College, warned that this phenomenon is having negative effects on the character of local students, who end up with a skewed vision of what money means.

Young casino workers see money changing hands quickly, with gamblers wagering tens of thousands of dollars at a time. They may think money is a means of entertainment, Choi said.

"Compared with the gamblers' stakes, employees may feel their salaries too small, and that would arouse a pressing desire to earn fast money," he said.

The nature of a dealer's work is monotonous, and the training he or she receives deals merely with techniques for table operations, Choi said. Also, the shift system effectively keeps casino employees from pursuing formal studies at the same time, he added.

But casino workers receive salaries higher than those otherwise available in Macau for the same skill level. A dealer's monthly salary is about $1,500-$1,900, almost equivalent to that of a junior civil servant, who is required to have a university education. Casinos also provide all necessary training, which attracts young people without much work experience or higher education.

Salesian Father Peter Pong Ping-fai, chairman of the Catholic Schools Council in Macau and a school principal, said he advises young job seekers to consider more than just the salary a job offers. He asks them to also consider aspects such as job satisfaction, the possibility to exercise one's potential and the meaningfulness of the work.

Father Joao Evangelista Lau Him-sang, parish priest at Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady, said the church should draw up a plan for providing pastoral care to those working in the gaming industry. Even people who are not Catholics have approached the church for spiritual support and guidance, he said.

The church can help people maintain a proper attitude toward the gaming industry and its employees, he said.

"As long as we stay rational and responsible, entertainment is good for a person and acceptable to the church," the priest said.

"The church should witness and emphasize one's outlook of life, morality and responsibility to get rid of temptations and addiction," he said.

Kou Cheng-un, a teacher and career counselor with a Catholic secondary school, said some students have quit school, giving up the hope of studying in universities, after securing casino jobs.

"Once, a parent came to school to seek permission to allow his daughter to drop out right before the preliminary school finishing examination so that she could take up a dealers' training course," Kou said.

The minimum age for employment in Macau is 16, but casinos hire people in the 18-35 age range. They first screen candidates, sending those who pass for a six-month training course, followed by a formal recruitment test. Those attending the training are given an allowance.

Choi said his school has responded by seeking to strengthen morality through religious studies and life education, teaching students that the pursuit of wealth is not a proper basis for a value system.

Closer teacher-student relations would enable teachers to be more sensitive to students' psychological condition and provide needed counseling, Choi said. He recommended that schools encourage students to participate in activities and volunteer work to understand that work not only satisfies personal wants but also serves others.

Ah said that, despite the good pay, working in a casino has a down side.

"Working in this U.S.-invested casino is meaningless to me, except for the good income. I seldom have a chance to talk to colleagues or build friendships with them. The top management is filled with foreigners, making me and other local staff members feel inferior," he said.

Moreover, the job "does not provide a written contract," he said, expressing fear that he would have trouble defending himself "in the case of a labor dispute."

Asked about plans for the future, he said he had none.

END

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