Young Filipinos in Hong Kong on racism and discrimination they have faced and a video project that aims to raise awareness
- Despite more Filipinos being raised in the city, with many able to speak Cantonese and read and write Chinese, rampant discrimination still prevails, some say
- Support group Section Juan interviewed young Filipino Hongkongers on their feelings of identity for a recent video project to create more visibility for them
Ysabelle Limsiaco remembers standing outside a piercing studio in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok area in early April waiting for her sisters to finish their appointment when a local Chinese teenager dashed inside, urging the piercer to hurry up.
“She looked like she was in a rush,” Limsiaco says. “So she started getting irritated.”
The teenager came outside and Limsiaco heard her swear under her breath and send voice recordings to someone in Cantonese saying: “These Filipinos love to take their sweet time. They’re in my way.”
Born and raised in Hong Kong, 20-year-old Limsiaco is a proud Filipino Hongkonger who went to local schools and can speak fluent Cantonese. So when the teenager, for some unknown reason, started videoing her standing there, Limsiaco decided to confront her. But in response, the teenager says she would never record “trash”.
“She then said some derogatory term commonly used to target Filipino domestic workers and went on about us being unworthy to even speak to her,” Limsiaco says.
“I was so mad that the shop owner had to lead me out of there so that I could calm down. She was so understanding.”
