HONG KONG [SE]: Many domestic helpers were sent out on to the streets by their employers after testing positive for Covid-19 during the ongoing exponential surge in cases in Hong Kong. Stories of domestic helpers emerged as many of them were made homeless and had to seek shelter with a few charities.
The charity organisation, MercyHK, reported on March 2 that it has provided emergency accommodation for 49 homeless domestic workers, of whom 20 tested positive for Covid-19.
Oblate Missionary Father John Wotherspoon wrote on his blog on March 1: “Last night MercyHK was providing emergency accommodation [including meals, Covid tests, temperature checks, medicine etc.] for 35 Covid domestic helpers from the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Thailand. One of the cases was a Filipina who had spent two nights sleeping at a park in Tokwawan… but they have nowhere to go and the government cannot look after them. The more that Hong Kong’s Covid situation deteriorates, probably the more domestic helpers will be homeless.”
According to Father Wotherspoon, the greatest difficulty now is in finding accommodation for the rising numbers of homeless. He says that many affected families booked hotel rooms so that affected members could isolate, and there are no more rooms available in hotels.
She was told to stay in her employer’s car while waiting for the official result. She was given food, water, blankets, trousers and socks. However, she was given no chance to leave the car even to go to the toilet, so she wet her pants
Following is the story of Rose [not her real name], a Filipino worker who was infected with Covid-19 and now under quarantine in a shelter. She shares her ordeal of being tread as “dirty,” and shares a little advice for her fellow domestic helpers: “First, pray and trust in God and do not lose hope.”
She came to Hong Kong five months ago after finishing her second vaccination dose. Sharing her story with the Sunday Examiner, Rose said she developed symptoms of fever, headaches and chills around noon on February 20. The result of her self-test was negative at that time, but her employer, worried that she may have caught the virus, brought her for a swab test at a government community testing centre that day.
She was told to stay in her employer’s car while waiting for the official result. She was given food, water, blankets, trousers and socks. However, she was given no chance to leave the car even to go to the toilet, so she wet her pants. She could not leave the car park as she could not pay the parking fee and her employer did not respond to her messages. Those were the coldest days this year, with temperatures as low as nine degrees Celcius and she could not sleep in the car.
On the following day, February 21, at 8.00 pm, her self-test result was positive, so she contacted the Philippine Consulate for help. They contacted the employer and told him about his legal responsibilities and that it was illegal to terminate the contract under this situation. The consulate contacted HELP for Domestic Workers who gave her food and clothes, and referred her case to Father Wotherspoon, who offered her shelter.
I should have had more courage to ask them for what I needed if they had not shouted at me, treated me as an outcast and looked at me as if I were the dirtiest person in the world
Rose
On February 25, the government informed her that she had tested positive. However, by that time, her fever had subsided and she only had a running nose and coughs. She could sleep well and eat well. However, her rapid test result was still positive.
When interviewed on February 26, Rose said she planned to leave Hong Kong and go home because she was afraid of getting infected again.
She cautioned her fellow domestic helpers who face similar situtions to “Get the hotline numbers of the Philippine Consulate and other organisations ready. Call for help. Be aware of your rights, as your employer is responsible for taking care of you when you are sick. Do not be afraid to tell your employers what you need.”
She could forgive her employers for forcing her to stay their a car for more than 30 hours due to their lack of experience in handling the case, but she hopes that employers can be more understanding of their workers.
“I should have had more courage to ask them for what I needed if they had not shouted at me, treated me as an outcast and looked at me as if I were the dirtiest person in the world,” she said.
Thirty-eight-year-old Jennie [name changed] and her two friends found themselves at a loss at the airport after they tested positive two hours before they should have boarded a flight. She was on her way back home after finishing her contract.
He asked, “How can we turn our backs on them when they are sick and need our help? Taking care of your sick domestic workers is not only your obligation as their employers, but also a duty as a responsible citizen to prevent the pandemic from spreading, despite any fear of infection.”
Ricky Chu Man-kin, chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission
After the three were informed of their positive results, a nurse at the airport told them to go to the hospital. But they said they could not even afford to call a taxi. Helpless, they were stranded in the cold weather and the heavy rain.
She contacted the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, which referred them to HELP for Domestic Workers. The non-government organisation came that evening, bringing them food, clothes, medicine and shelter.
She was later admitted to the shelter provided by the government at Penny’s Bay, Lantau, on February 25. Speaking to the Sunday Examiner on February 26, she said she felt all right with only mild symptoms of a runny nose and her rapid test result was already negative.
She hopes for the generosity of kind-hearted people who can help her book a flight to go home.
In a February 24 press release, The United Filipinos in Hong Kong, urged the Philippine Consulate to set up its own isolation facilities instead of relying on the support of non-government organisations as the consulate should have enough funding from consular fees, and that the situation will only get worse considering the increasing number of confirmed cases every day.
The Equal Opportunities Commission [EOC] also raised concerns over the news of foreign domestic workers being fired and turned out of homes upon testing positive for Covid-19.
EOC chairperson, Ricky Chu Man-kin, said that under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance [DDO], Cap. 487, it is unlawful for an employer to dismiss an employee on the grounds of their sickness, whether presumed or confirmed. It is also a violation of the Employment Ordinance.
Chu added, “This is a difficult time for everyone in Hong Kong including foreign domestic workers who have always been supportive and keeping our families safe and healthy.”
He asked, “How can we turn our backs on them when they are sick and need our help? Taking care of your sick domestic workers is not only your obligation as their employers, but also a duty as a responsible citizen to prevent the pandemic from spreading, despite any fear of infection.”
