Hong Kong’s domestic workers worry for their children’s futures, as many spend another Christmas far from home
- Pregnant domestic workers and those who are far from their children are among those struggling the most amid Covid-19 restrictions
- As many are forced to spend another Christmas away from their families, specialists warn of impact on their mental health and the need to better support them
Her pregnancy journey has been plagued by uncertainty.
“Being pregnant during the pandemic has been really tough. I knew that my employer could terminate [my employment]. I was afraid and I still fear what is going to happen next,” she said.
Mary is among thousands of female domestic workers in Hong Kong whose lives have been upended by the city’s strict Covid-19 restrictions.
As they spend yet another Christmas away from home, those who are pregnant or are far away from their children face increased pressure.
While they manage to cope with the growing workload and anxiety as to what the future may hold, many feel they are a lifeline for their children and extended family back home.
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“It’s been so hard during the pandemic. We could not do the yearly vacations and there are so many expenses in our country, because of lockdowns and bad business,” said Mary, who supports her son, her three sisters, and a few cousins with the money she earns in Hong Kong.
Before the coronavirus crisis, Mary used to send HK$1,500 (US$192) back to the Philippines every month, but her family expenses have almost doubled over the past two years.
“So many new costs, like with the online classes they need internet and money to do their projects. I sometimes send HK$2,500,” she said.
I am afraid of not being able to support my kids
Breaking the news to her employers that she was pregnant was daunting, she said, given the pressure she is under to support her family back home.
“Before it was very hard … I didn’t know how to explain it to them, and they were so disappointed, they didn’t expect this,” Mary said. “But now they just accept it.”
Once she has her baby, Mary plans to fly to the Philippines and leave the child with family.
That has already been agreed with her employer in the city, she said. What happens afterwards is anyone’s guess, however, given how unpredictable the coronavirus crisis has been.
“I’m afraid that I won’t be able come back to Hong Kong because of Covid-19 restrictions, I’m afraid of not being able to support my kids,” she said.
Mary is trying to hold onto her job, although the workload has increased amid the pandemic and her energy has dwindled during pregnancy. “It’s been so tough. I feel so tired even when I do a small job,” she said.
Torn apart
For Celeste Rinonos, 38, the pandemic has brought loss and longing.
“My life changed because since [Covid-19 emerged] it is really hard to travel. Sometimes, I feel depressed … we don’t know when this will end,” she said. “Before the pandemic happened, I used to go back twice a year and spend Christmas with [my family]. And now I have not seen them for two years.”
She has tried to focus on the reasons why she is abroad, however. “I support my daughter, my husband who lost his job, and also my mum,” said Rinonos, who has been in Hong Kong for about a decade.
The hardest blow yet came in September.
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“My father was a Covid patient and he passed away. It’s really hard when you lose someone you really love and you don’t get to see them for the last time,” Rinonos said. “He was one of my best friends … thinking I cannot see him any more when I go back to the Philippines is very difficult.”
Being far from her 14-year-old daughter for so long has also been a challenge.
“I miss her very much,” Rinonos said. “From the beginning, I have told her that I work so hard for her … I hope that she is able to finish her studies and have a stable job.”
Amid her ordeal, the silver lining has been her supportive employers in Hong Kong, she said.
“I am very lucky with my boss, they understand that I am far from my family, I just wished that all employers could see this,” she said.
“Sometimes there is racism, many employers cannot understand the situation of their helpers, they don’t even know the problems we have back in the Philippines. I wish employers talked to their helpers and tried to understand them.”
Indefinitely trapped
Karin Murallo, who has been with the same employer in Hong Kong for nine years, said she is also lucky to have found a good household to work for.
But she too has felt the pain of being apart from her family, including her two sons – one aged 22 and the other 12. “My children ask me: when will you come home, ma? When are you coming back?”
Murallo, 44, does not have an answer for them.
She has done her best to adapt to Hong Kong’s pandemic rules, while focusing her energy on saving money, taking online courses, and planning her next steps.
“If there was no pandemic, I could go home twice a year. I am waiting and hoping that next year will bring shorter quarantines and fewer tests. I hope it will be better,” she said. “But if not, [my employers] will let me go home for good – that’s my project.”
Murallo, who wants to quit being a domestic worker before she turns 45, said she plans to run an online shop in future and volunteer as a community social worker in the Philippines.
Catherine Gurtin, CEO of PathFinders – a charity group that is focused on migrant mothers and their children – noted that “2021 has continued to be an exceptionally challenging year for domestic workers in Hong Kong, many of whom are working mums too and have had to deal with an incredible amount of stress and anxiety both at work and in their own lives.”
For almost two years, she added, not only have they been unable to return home, but they have also “struggled to see their friends in Hong Kong, as they can’t find a clean and proper place outside to spend their days off together, and more crucially, to share care and support among themselves to safeguard their own mental health and well-being.”
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‘I don’t have a choice’
A survey conducted jointly by Médecins Sans Frontières and non-profit Uplifters showed last year that 72 per cent of the foreign domestic workers had experienced depression-related symptoms. About half of the respondents said they sought help from their fellow workers in Hong Kong.
“Worse still, many domestic workers are worried about losing their jobs in the current economic downturn, and feel anxious and uncertain about the future for themselves, their families and their children,” Gurtin said.
She noted that Christmas – “a particularly special and key festival for the Filipino community” – should be seen as a chance for the community in Hong Kong “to better care for and support the health and well-being of our migrant domestic workers during these difficult times.”
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Mary, Rinonos, and Murallo are all spending their Christmas in Hong Kong. But they cling to old memories of large family celebrations back in their home country.
Mary, whose heart aches for not being able to share food and play games with her 10-year-old, is planning to hold a video call with her family in the Philippines on Christmas Day.
“I miss my family and my son. He tells me: ‘mama you always buy that, give this … but you never visit me’. He complains sometimes. But I don’t have a choice.”
*Name withheld at interviewee’s request.
