The Hong Kong riots are affecting people from all walks of life, from white-collared workers to blue-collared workers and everyone else.
And the minority groups are also equally affected. A case-in-point: The Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong.
You may think the foreign domestic workers form a small sub-group but there are more than 398,000 foreign domestic workers currently working in Hong Kong and many are seriously considering leaving Hong Kong for other countries like Taipei, Singapore or Dubai.
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Uncomfortable Change
Daisy Martinez, a 31-year-old foreign domestic worker from the Philippines wants to leave Hong Kong for Dubai once her current contract expires.
She shared with the South China Morning Post that foreign domestic workers like her are worried for their safety and their jobs.
She explained that they were free to go wherever they wanted on their off days, but now, with the current protests, many of the workers are staying home or returning early, even on their off days.
The same sentiment was shared by another foreign domestic worker, Grace, who has been working in Hong Kong for over nine years.
She explained that, just as she usually did, she took a train to Central, Hong Kong’s shopping hub, for her cousin’s birthday celebration.
However, right in the midst of the celebration, protestors dressed fully in black with hard hats, goggles and other gear stormed the area.
Scary. Talk about raining on your parade.
Protestors vandalised train stations, tore down banners, hurled rocks, set fire to barricades and threw petrol bombs.
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Dilemma
Some of the foreign domestic workers that the South China Morning Post interviewed said that they understand what the city has been through after four months of social unrest, but that they still need to keep their own interests at heart.
Ms Daisy Martinez said that it is a tough decision to make. On the one-hand, is the issue of personal safety and job security, but on the other hand, after working for 5 years for her employer in Hong Kong, she is reluctant to move.
She said that her Hong Kong employer treats her well, and she sees her employer’s nine-year-old daughter as her own baby.
What the Filipino Government is Saying
In an interview with CNA, a spokesperson of the Philippine Labor Office reminded Filipino workers in Hong Kong to be vigilant and stay away from protest locations.
Filipino workers are also advised to avoid wearing black or white clothing.
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The Filipino government has not ruled out a ban on Filipino workers deployed to Hong Kong should the situation worsen.
“As of today, the Philippines government is not considering any deployment ban of workers here in Hong Kong. However, we shall continuously monitor the situation and may impose a ban if needed,” the Filipino spokesperson told CNA.
If that happens, maybe the riots would stop…since the protesters need to stay home to wash the dishes? #justsaying
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