Shame, not Pride

About five per cent of the population of our city is made up of migrant domestic workers. It has been estimated that there is a domestic worker in every seven households. That's about 340,000 people. How many of those workers are abused and exploited is unknown. But in a city which prides itself on its judicial system and emphases justice for all, the treatment of migrant domestic workers is often a matter of shame, not pride.

Most domestic workers leave their homes and come to HK because they need to earn money to support their families and cannot find work in their own countries. In May, two such workers were invited to speak at Resurrection Church about their employment.

One lady said she was chased by her agency for service fees even though her job in Hong Kong had not yet been secured, and after she was laid off with no reason given for her dismissal. Christian Action followed up her case and successfully stopped the agency chasing that worker for service fees. The other worker said she had accumulated debts in Indonesia and came to Hong Kong to earn a higher salary and repay debts. Instead, she was indecently assaulted by her male employer and her contract was terminated.

There were also good employers who shared how they treated their helpers like friends at the same service. In spite of some very unfortunate stories there are many good ones.

After listening to those touching stories, congregation members were moved and the pastor of Resurrection Church has fully supported Christian Action in raising funds for the two ladies who were trapped in situations through no fault of their own. We have also made use of our Emergency Fund to ease their immediate financial needs.

Hopefully, our Government will provide legislation to protect the innocent against those who behave shamefully in our society.