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Hong Kong
“Being a migrant is very hard because I am not in my own country. Now I am working with my employer but I always worry about tomorrow. I know that being a domestic helper is not a stable job. It's the same if I go back to the Philippines because I know that there's no job opportunity. In the first place, that's why I am here, all because of my children.” (Miguela Ramos, 33)
Women migrants share an oppressed and exploited lot. I myself am a woman. I myself am a migrant.
Working with distressed women migrants for almost 17 years now, I have been a witness to the brutality of economic displacement of women from poor countries: women who are forced to take the cudgels of bringing up their families because she or her husband could not find a decent job; women who are forced to live in a foreign land and speak a foreign tongue because the wages they receive back home cannot even afford the basic necessities and education of their children; women who are mothers and sisters who care for the needs of a foreign family and maintain their houses while their own houses remain in shambles and their families are broken up; women who become part of the global sale of labour of debt-ridden countries perennially in crisis.
Women of developing countries in Asia like the Philippines, Nepal, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand suffer poverty and the travails of living in a neo-colonial state. Women are one of the most vulnerable groups in these countries. They are traditionally the last to be hired and the first to be fired. They are commonly found in labour-intensive industries such as garment and semi-conductor companies, working under inhuman conditions or subjected to discriminatory working policies.
The 1997 financial crisis has resulted in the closure of tens of thousands of establishments, accompanied by retrenchments and mass layoffs. In the Philippines alone, more that 2,000 establishments closed shop within the first 10 months of 1998. Severely affected were women in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trades, and community, social and personal services. Contractualisation of labour is also rampant in these countries as exemplified by giant malls like Shoe Mart in the Philippines where almost 80% of workers (mostly women) are working under a six-month contract.
Aside from contractual labour, companies also engage in subcontracting which intensifies the exploitation of the home workers because they are paid on a piece-rate basis. Privatisation is also rampant in Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines.
In Nepal, 88% of the population live in rural areas where they have no access to basic services such as health, employment and education. As a wage earner, womem's participation is only 17.38% while the literacy rate stands only at 34%. Meanwhile, workers in Sri Lanka, especially in Free Trade Zones where women usually work, are not even allowed to form unions. Under these extreme conditions, poor women are forced to flee from their country with dreams of a better livelihood and better working conditions abroad.
Maids in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, most of the migrant workers are women who work as domestic helpers. Most of them come from the poor nations of Asia. Lured by the glittering lights of Hong Kong and the promise of a better life, these women leave their families to work abroad. Even if they come from different countries, women migrants � who are mostly peasants and workers - have one thing in common: unbearable economic hardship that has pushed them hard to seek 'greener pastures' away from their homeland.
“Here in Hong Kong, because of my work experience as a janitress, household chores are very easy for me. What I didn't expect was the terrible loneliness that engulfed me.”
According to the Hong Kong Immigration Department, there are 216,890 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. The breakdown is as follows: 124,720 Filipinos; 83,070 Indonesians; 5,330 Thais, and 3,770 from other nationalities (as of April 2004). 98% of these are women who work as live-in maids on a two-year contract. They work an average of 16 hours a day, six days a week and are always on call for 24 hours.
Cases of abuse and exploitation abound in Hong Kong. These range from physical or sexual abuse, substandard living and working conditions, non-provision of days-off, underpayment, illegal work and so on.
Judging from the daily average number of clients at the Bethune House, it can be gleaned that the foreign domestic helpers are treated badly in Hong Kong. Bethune House, on average, houses 30 distressed Asian women migrants per day despite its capacity of a maximum of 20 people only. Bethune House has served as the melting pot of experiences of women migrants of different nationalities who usually have common issues and cases.
Organising for Empowerment
First time residents of Bethune House usually come to the shelter down-trodden, disheartened, and feeling hopeless. But a lot of them leave the shelter with a stronger conviction and with tremendous belief in the capacity of migrant workers to organise themselves and take up the cause of migrant workers. The experiences of Filipinos and Indonesian migrant workers who are residents of Bethune House are shining examples of this. For the Filipino residents, most of them are members of the Friend of Bethune House (FBH-HK). The FBH was established in 1994 by former and present Filipino residents of Bethune House. Through the years, it was able to make its mark as an active organisation working for the defence of migrant workers' rights and wellbeing. It has also produced volunteers - they themselves are victims of maltreatment - for the shelter. The FBH also counts among its members non residents or former clients of the shelter. It is one of the active member organisations of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian residents and their friends have recently formed the Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers (AIMW) to answer the burning issues of the Indonesian migrants and have actively assisted Indonesian residents of Bethune House with their cases. It has also actively united with other Asian migrant organisations in various activities for the migrants.
Thais, Sri Lankans, Indians and Nepali migrants also have their own respective organisation and are also actively serving their compatriots.
We are Women, We are Migrants
“I cried many times because I was so frightened of my employer. At the same time, I missed my family terribly, especially my children. Back home I cannot even imagine that I will be forced to work even if I am sick. I really wanted to terminate my contract even during the first month of working here but I really cannot do that because I have so many debts in the Philippines.” (Luvelyn Valenzuela, 27, Filipina)
Countless stories about the lives of migrants have been told. Women migrants shall never tire of telling them again and again, for the condition of migrants in general and migrant women in particular have not changed, and have in fact worsened. The basic reason for leaving our beloved countries remains the same. We shall continue to raise our voice as women, as migrants, as humans.
Based on an article first published as “In Bethune House - Voices and Images of Women Migrant Workers,” 2003
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