The inside stories of our OFWs in Hong Kong

By Fr. Gary Thurman
(Pastor Gary Thurman, husband of my niece Marilie Fernandez, is in charge of the Church of the Holy Name in Hong Kong and the chaplain for all prisons in the Special Administrative Region or Hong Kong. As parish priest and prison chaplain, he writes about pathetic stories he has encountered with our overseas Filipino workers.)

HONG KONG - After almost seven years of serving the Church in Metro Manila, I have seen things I never imagined in my insulated upbringing in the States. Street children, acute poverty, government inefficiency – the things we all see every day but are too busy, too overwhelmed, or too hopeless to try to do anything about.

I thought i have seen it all

In almost five years of serving in Hong Kong as a priest and pastor to a Church consisting primarily of Filipina domestic helpers, I have seen a lot of things: Helpers given the space under the stairs for use as a bedroom; Forced to clean several houses and at the same time work in the family business – 18 hours a day!; or worst forced to work on their day off for no pay. Would you believe that some do not get enough food and even forced to eat food that had fallen on the floor (all judged illegal by Hong Kong labor laws, but commonly practiced by some employers here)!

Employment agencies usually work in collusion with employers to hire and fire as many helpers as they could to maximize their earnings. Everyone wins – except these poor helpers who usually have invested their life’s savings and borrowed from cutthroat finance companies just to get the job. Then later, after weeks or even days, she is declared "not suitable," and sent home.

The same agencies charge more than double or even triple the allowable fees for their services. When confronted, they say, "While we admit no wrongdoing in our dealings with Ms. Dela Cruz, we have pity on her situation, and we are prepared to offer her a charitable, non-required aid to the sum of P10,000." This in spite of the fact that their illegal overcharging amounted to a sum of P60,000 or more.

More than 100 Filipinos incarcerated in 27 Hong Kong prisons

Most of us do not realize it, but at any one time there are more than 100 Filipinos scattered in the 27 correctional institutions of Hong Kong. About 75 percent are women, probably because the vast majority of the Filipino work force in Honk Kong is female.

Early in 2005, my pastorate led me to being in contact with this sub-culture of Hong Kong society. Eventually, I was made the Chaplain for all prisons in the SAR (Special Administrative Region, China’s term for Hong Kong). From this position, I have come across cases that invoke the gamut of responses: from pity to indignation and compassion to incredulity.

The offenses range from immigration violations to drug trafficking to murder. While the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department runs facilities that are well maintained, well organized, and well staffed, it is still jail. It is no picnic. Your stay in the "Hong Kong Graybar Hotel" is designed to discourage you from making a repeat visit. However, almost 50 percent of released inmates do end up back in the "friendly confines" of the facilities with exotic names such as Tai Lam, Lai Chi Kok, Chi Ma Wan, or Chi Sun, even though non-residents are permanently deported upon release.

No one can work with a tourist visa while in Hong Kong

A tourist visa strictly prohibits conducting any work while in Hong Kong. For that, you need a work visa.

Lenore, Maria, and Tess (not their real names) arrived in Hong Kong from Northern Luzon under a tourist visa. Under the direction of a resident of Pakistani origin, they began to buy cheap second-hand goods from local charity shops, cleaned them up, and sent them home for sale in the Philippines. Sounds perfectly legal? Apparently not, for the room where they were working was raided and the three girls arrested. The charge was immigration violation.

The ladies were given jail terms of one month each, then subsequently deported. And where was the Pakistani man? He is still running his "business" in freedom. This case illustrates something common in Hong Kong – the authorities are very good at arresting the victims and setting the real criminals free.

Agnes, a pretty, young college-educated girl from the Visayas was lured into paying a large amount of money to get a tourist visa with the assurance of a job once she gets to Hong Kong. She was so happy that finally her dream would come true... only to find out that the promised job turned out to be in prostitution trade.

Frightened and discouraged, she ran away as soon as she could. Since the illegal recruiters were still in possession of her passport and her money, she spent several days wandering around Hong Kong and sleeping at Victoria Park at night. Eventually her hunger overcame her and she was caught trying to pinch snacks in a convenience store. When the authorities found out she had no passport, they ignored the shoplifting charges and instead focused on the immigration violation. She was stuck with a six-month sentence, while those who brought her into the situation were never followed up. Again, the criminals went free while the victims languished in jail.

What can be done for our Kababayan?

As a chaplain I can go inside the facilities and bring Christ to them via the Sacraments. This I do on a weekly basis. But long before I was given a Chaplain’s pass I had discovered many other ways to help them. A simple letter can mean so much to a prisoner. Many have no friends or family in Hong Kong. Some are afraid or ashamed to tell anyone of their plight. A visit can give encouragement and hope.

In each of the four Women’s facilities in Hong Kong there are well over 500 inmates, but the total number of Filipinas in each one numbers no more than 30 or so. In Lai Chi Kok, which opened only last month, there are currently less than ten. They are all scattered among a host of workshops and other detention areas, all segregated from each other, so that they are surrounded by mainland Chinese (80 percent of the inmates), Hong Kongers, Vietnamese, Indonesians – in other words, people who don’t speak their language. This leads to an intense feeling of solitude.

In addition, while each inmate is provided with good food and clean clothes, many of the things we take for granted must be paid for out of their meager earnings of about P35 per day. This only applies to those already convicted. For those awaiting trial, they are not allowed to work. They sit all day and watch Chinese television – ugh! This "whopping salary" must pay for such things as shampoo, hand cream, ball pens, or colored pencils. That means it can take two day’s pay for a week’s supply of shampoo, for example. So when a visitor (or chaplain) is able to bring in some of these items, the prisoners are so thankful and grateful for the gesture.

The Philippine consulate tries to support, but are grossly understaffed and underfunded

Other inmates need more practical assistance, such as: bail money; how to contact their family; tracking down a luggage; attend the court hearing; and clean clothes for the court date or when released. Then, there are the children back home or the follow-up care after release. The needs are many and the parish tries its best to help.

The Church of the Holy Name in Hong Kong has taken it as our calling to serve the Christ in those who find themselves in these circumstances. What about the Philippine government? What help can it offer? The Consulate really does its best. I have close contact with inmates from over a dozen different nations, and I can honestly and proudly say that the Philippine Consulate does far more than any of the others to support its overseas nationals in Hong Kong. But they are grossly understaffed and underfunded.

While there are a few personnel who only seem to be around when there is a photo-op and disappear when there is any work afoot, the vast majority really care, and try to help. But they can’t do everything that needs to be done.

Don’t the inmates deserve what they are getting?

Some may say, "Don’t the inmates deserve what they are getting? They are criminals!" That’s true, some are. I have found some of the inmates to be deceitful, manipulative, or just plain inconsiderate and self-centered to the extreme. Perhaps desperation have led them to be treacherous. But the majority are good people like you and me who just made one bad decision. Some of them are actually innocent.

To get theological for a moment (I am a priest, after all), Scripture tells us that ALL of us are shut up under unrighteousness, so that God may have mercy upon us ALL. He speaks peace to all those who are far off, and to all who are near. Who are we to question God?

Points of awareness when traveling or working in Hong Kong

For the readers of this column, I would like to raise the following words of caution and points of awareness:

When traveling or working in Hong Kong, pay close attention to the terms of your visa! If it is a tourist visa only, DON’T TRY TO WORK! The Hong Kong Immigration Department shows great zeal in protecting its citizens from the evils of such criminality. The triads may run rampant, but a visa violator receives no mercy.

Secondly, no tourist visa will be changed to working visa while you are in Hong Kong. A worker’s visa must be obtained before leaving one’s home country, not after. Anyone telling you otherwise is a con man and out for your money.

Lastly, NEVER be conned into carrying any package for anyone else into or through Hong Kong even if you are given a generous tip of a hundred or a thousand dollars. You might be carrying forbidden drugs or terrorist bomb in clever disguise. Be wise! Do you really think they will pay you hundreds of US dollars just to deliver "pasalubong"? Be smart!

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