OFWs march in HK despite columnist’s apology

By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 16:51:00 04/05/2009

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) More than 1,000 Filipinos marched through Hong Kong Sunday in a demonstration against a local magazine columnist who had described the Philippines as a “nation of servants” in a satirical article.

Columnist Chip Tsao had issued a public apology last week, saying he did not intend to insult Filipinos with what he characterized as a satirical piece poking fun at Hong Kongers’ poor treatment of their maids.

But hundreds of Filipinos still protested Sunday in the Central financial district. Marching peacefully, many wearing red T-shirts, they carried signs that said “No Chip shots at Filipinos” and “We are workers, not slaves.”

About 130,000 Filipinos work as maids in Hong Kong to help support their families back home. They make a minimum monthly salary of P22,000 (3,580 Hong Kong dollars or $462).

The United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil), one of the organizers of the protest, said that although Tsao had apologized, it was important for Filipinos in Hong Kong—particularly the domestics—to express their collective position against all forms of racism and discrimination.

“Tsao has done damage to us as a people and as a sector. However, the more decisive fight against racism and discrimination goes beyond him and his despicable piece. It extends to the very vulnerability of the condition we are in [and which we expect] to worsen as the global crisis hits Hong Kong and the Philippines,” Unifil chair Dolores Balladares said in a statement to the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

The protesters stressed that the bases for racism and discrimination against domestic helpers in Hong Kong lay in government policies that permit and even encourage such treatment. They include the Two-Week Rule, the low wages of domestics that was even excluded from minimum wage legislation, and the lack of job security.

Lift ban vs Tsao?

Meanwhile, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ed Malaya said Sunday the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong recommended that the ban on Tsao visiting the country be lifted after he apologized and “indicated an interest to visit the country some day.”

Tsao had raised hackles by writing that Manila’s claims to the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea were ridiculous in the face of Beijing’s rival territorial claims.

“As a nation of servants, you don’t flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter,” he wrote, which angered a large chunk of the Filipino population who work in Hong Kong, mostly as low-paid domestic workers.

Equal rights for women

Cynthia Abdon-Tellez of the Hong Kong chapter of the women’s group Gabriela said racism and discrimination against migrants in Hong Kong also transgress the rights of women to be treated equally.

“Women compose majority of domestic helpers in Hong Kong and they are already harmed by gender discrimination and stereotype. To make them victims of racism and class discrimination is beyond cruelty,” she said.

The protesters also said the Philippine government should also share the blame for Tsao’s erroneous perception of Filipino domestics.

According to Unifil’s Balladares, while the harsh working and living situation in Hong Kong is the stage for racist treatment and discriminatory practices, “the vulnerability of Filipino migrants is rooted in the deep-seated problems of Philippine society reinforced by the aggressive export of Filipino labor.” With Agence France-Presse, Associated Press reports