Sunday story | Philippine maid Monica lives in a foreign land in Hong Kong

some people joke that Hong Kong can do without high-speed rail and the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge, but absolutely cannot do without Filipino domestic helpers!

as I hurried past Victoria Park in Hong Kong on Sunday morning, it was hard not to notice the Southeast Asian women sitting on the ground, either chatting in a circle or sharing their food. some even talk about the rise, turn on the play button on their mobile phone, turn on the volume, and dance to the music.

on Sundays, such scenes are not uncommon in Hong Kong.

they are foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, mostly from countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. However, in the entire Hong Kong labor market, Filipino maids (hereinafter referred to as Filipino maids) and Indonesian maids account for 98% of the population. Sunday is their day off, and Filipino domestic helpers scattered all over Hong Kong come here to gather and relax with their fellow villagers in their unique way.

as early as the 1970s, there were only about 50 Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, mainly employed by Anglo-American families living in Hong Kong. The popularity of Filipino domestic helpers occurred after the 1980s. With the take-off of the Hong Kong economy, Hong Kong women went out to work, and housework required "fake hands". Many Hong Kong families began to employ Filipino domestic helpers.

some people joke that Hong Kong can do without high-speed rail and the Hong Kong-Macao-Zhuhai Bridge, but absolutely cannot do without Filipino domestic helpers! Filipino domestic helpers are popular because they graduate from universities, have a high level of education, and generally have no low quality; moreover, English, as their second language, does not have the problem of a language barrier when communicating with their employers; coupled with their professional housework training, the status of "Filipino domestic helpers" has become a gold-lettered signboard. All these have become the reasons why Filipino domestic helpers have been "popular" in Hong Kong for a long time.

Monica is one of a large number of Filipino domestic helpers. She is 52 years old and has been in Hong Kong for more than 10 years.

background

overlooking the mountains, the vast green forest is pleasing to the eye

Monica comes from an ordinary family on Baohe Island in the central Philippines and majored in accounting during her college years. With twelve brothers and sisters, the natural family situation is not much better, and her father can only barely pay her tuition fees. Like all her classmates, she also needs to work on her own to maintain her daily expenses during school.

doing odd jobs in the library during the day and studying in class at night has become the composition of her daily life. Working in the library, she has an academic advantage over other students-six people need to read a textbook, and she can enjoy it the first time.

at that time, Monica was confident, beautiful, and ambitious, hoping to be a strong woman who scolded Fang and, at worst, a clerical job in the local office. Just then, she met a young man named Fernand, and the two quickly fell in love. It was a happy and sweet day with Fernand, but the sweetness came at a price: a year later, she was pregnant.

at the age of 21, Monica was forced to give up her studies, married Fernand hastily, and moved to a one-bedroom, one-hall thatched cottage in the country to start her husband-and-wife life. her daily chores are making coffee, cooking, cleaning the house, and ironing clothes. Before long, my parents-in-law's restaurant officially went bankrupt. Fernand's salary of $45 a month on the farm became the entire source of income for the newlyweds.

religious elements can be seen on the roadside

because she is a devout Catholic, birth control and abortion do not exist in her life dictionary. Fifteen years later, Monica is already a mother of ten children. To support her family, she struggled to work two jobs, earning $55 a month. But life is still very tense, the first thing to open my eyes every day is to run for life, "begging the boss to pay in advance" has become a common occurrence.

by the year 2000, there were still 1 /4 of the population in the Philippines struggling below the poverty line.

but Monica saw her two neighbors go to Hong Kong to work as Filipino domestic helpers, and the money sent back not only successfully sent their five children to college but also built two-story houses.

Let's go

the Philippine overseas Labor Organization released a set of data that showed that 10% of the population in the Philippines worked overseas, using overseas income to support families, mostly women, and engaged in foreign labor services. The president praised them and boasted that they were national heroes and made great economic contributions to the country. But at the same time, it has also led to the separation and fragmentation of countless families and the stay-behind of 9 million children.

the photo of one of the daughters in the vegetable market has been taken by Monica

back home, Monica announced her plan to work as a servant in Hong Kong. Each child reacted differently: the 9-year-old daughter pulled her by the corner and sobbed softly; the 11-year-old daughter said: "the big city is dangerous, a lot of bad guys, don't go." The 15-year-old daughter vowed to walk to school later, to save a lot of money and not to go to Hong Kong, while the 17-year-old daughter was the most realistic and asked her bluntly, "will you send back a lot of money?" Can I wear Levi's jeans in the future? "

No matter how much the children beg, they are determined to work as Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong. For Monica, the short-term goal is to send all ten children to college. In the long run, these children will also get married and have children, and countless practical problems need to be solved with money.

the next step is to solve the visa problem. Monica went to a travel agency to apply for a tourist visa to Hong Kong. A week later, she was refused a visa. Monica got the answer: if you have a family and children, if you go to Hong Kong to play, you will certainly be suspected of having an ulterior purpose.

after traveling months later, she reapplied for a tourist visa. Unlike last time, she highlighted her financial strength: first, she borrowed 10,000 US dollars from a friend to deposit in a bank account. She also issued an on-the-job certificate of "a partner in a foreign trade company." The purpose is to go to Hong Kong for leisure, vacation, and shopping.

A week later, I finally got a visa. Monica immediately began to pack her bags and told her children to study hard and listen to her father, and let her husband curse and swear that she would wait for her to come back. After a few more favorite meals, she set off for Hong Kong, an international metropolis where gold can be found.

work

after a smooth flight to Hong Kong and exit, she took a double-decker bus to Tsim Sha Tsui and lived in a 4-square-meter single room in Chungking Mansion. It is not that there are no relatives. A distant cousin works as a Filipino maid here. In Hong Kong, only families with a well-off standard or above can hire Filipino domestic helpers. And my cousin's host family belongs to this kind of family with good living conditions, and the living area alone has reached 90 square meters, which is already enviable. But after all, Hong Kong has an inch of land and money, and my cousin lives in the master's locker and workers' room, so there is no place to stay with her.

Monica counted the day. She had a short rest in the hotel on Saturday and was taken to the agency by her cousin who had a rest on Sunday. She has no intention of enjoying the scenery of the city because she knows that every minute she spends on her own money before she finds a job.

two days later, there was news that a Hong Kong family had chosen Monica. After the successful interview, the contract was signed for two years. After moving into the host's house, she began to take the initiative to work after settling down. During the two days of waiting for the news, Monica sneaked in while her cousin's owner went to work during the day and asked her cousin to demonstrate the way Hong Kong people clean the house: for example, how to wash clothes of different materials separately; for example, how to use an electric iron; for example, how to clean and bright the glass; and how to take the subway and change the right route in the right place.

and her daily work is mainly to take care of two-year-old and four-year-old children, while cleaning the house, with a monthly salary of HK $3500.

the latest welfare benefits for foreign domestic helpers announced by the Hong Kong government

Monica misses her children especially in the dead of night, as a mother's instinct, she projects her love and thoughts for her children on these two children: take her children to the park to play with them during the day and tell them fairy tales askew at night.

before long, she spent far more time with Monica than with her parents, and the children became emotionally dependent on her. When it thundered and rained at night, the children would run to Monica's room, wrap their arms around her neck, or curl up in her arms, asking for her protection. And she had already treated them as if they were her sons.

two years later, Monica asked her host for a raise and was turned down. The pressure of life forced her to find another job. On the day she left, she lied to the children and wanted to go back to the Philippines to see her family. She would be back in half a month. In front of the flat, they waved goodbye: "Monica, come back quickly!" We miss you! " Monica waved goodbye, too, and when she didn't look away, she burst into tears.

the new employer is a single woman with a lot of money. Monica's job has changed from taking care of the children to cleaning the house and cooking for her who is occasionally at home. The job was much easier than before. Monica, who wanted to save more money, negotiated with her employer and found a part-time job to take care of the elderly.

taking care of the elderly is no easier than taking care of the children. Monica is busy on both sides, not only to ensure that the single hostess's home is as clean and tidy as a five-star hotel but also to match her schedule. Before the impatient urging of her family, she should be able to arrive in time to take care of the elderly.

while taking care of the elderly, she learned the basic knowledge of life-saving, the use of a ventilator, and the skills of carrying the elderly.

none of this is difficult, the most difficult thing is to appease the emotions of the elderly. Because the old man suffers from Alzheimer's disease, all conversations need to be repeated more than three times before the other person can barely understand. And like children, he is very resistant to taking a bath, yelling every time, "Mary, I don't take a shower!" I'm calling the police! Let the police take you away! " Monica comforted him as she quickly washed his body with shower gel: "all right, the police will come and take Mary in a minute!"

after the old man was finally arranged for deep sleep, Monica looked at her watch and found that she had only a pitiful three hours of sleep tonight. Early in the morning, she had to take the first minibus from the village house back to her master's house, because the hostess decided to have breakfast at home today.

Family

across the South China Sea, Monica is "powerless" over her children. All she can do is get in touch with them as much as possible. Every week she goes to the store to buy an international call card and calls the children at 9 p.m. because this time is free: dinner has been finished, but it is not time to go to bed. Each call takes a total of 20 minutes, and the four close daughters each talk to Monica for five minutes. The question revolves around "is everything all right at home?" "How have you been studying lately?" "Is everything all right?".

the men who stayed behind have long been accustomed to this kind of "leisurely" days.

the second daughter especially knows that Monica is not easy. When her father is not in the house, she will whisper to her, "Mom, please send the money to Grandma. Dad used your money to buy drinks!"

hanging on the map of the world at home, children often use their fingers to measure the distance between the Philippines and Hong Kong

remember the first rest day. At that time, Monica was taken by her cousin to the "Filipino maid square" to reunite with her fellow villagers. After a while, Monica took her cousin to the post office and said, "I have something to send back to my hometown." Then she took out drinks, chocolates, biscuits, toilet paper, headphones, clothes that the hostess did not wear, and cheap bracelets strung together with plastic beads. These are the "gains" that Monica has saved for a week, and she wants to send them home as gifts for her daughters.

husband occasionally goes out to sell balloons

besides taking care of his children, there are many relatives to deal with. Since she came to Hong Kong, rumors about her in her hometown have become more and more outrageous. Relatives think that she is now a standard rich wife-wearing gold and silver every day and feasting on Bao Shen's belly like those rich in Hong Kong. More and more people come to borrow money from home, but they don't mention when to repay the money. While her husband was busy dealing with these relatives, he gave them a small amount of money.

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Monica has been in Hong Kong for five years, and she hasn't come home a day in the past five years. She didn't even see her father for the last time, but when she was in a foreign land, she decided to give her father a dignified funeral. Of course, it also means that it will cost a lot of money. She and her sister, who worked as a Filipino maid in Australia, shared all the funeral expenses, including the medical expenses owed before her death, the funeral expenses, and the food and accommodation of relatives. After the money was spent, she felt a little less guilty.

Monica doesn't go back to the Philippines for another reason besides money. She doesn't want to be Amura (Airport-Airport): this is a word coined by teasing Filipino maids who come and leave in a hurry-they drive home from the airport, spend a few hours with friends and relatives, and then rush back to the airport to catch a plane back to work.

the only good news is that Monica no longer has to spend money on international calling cards. She uses her smartphone to make face-to-face videos with her daughters on Whatsapp every day. It's just that children are becoming more and more numb to their mother's life in a foreign country, and everyone's life is getting busier and busier, from 15 minutes of phone calls every day to finding time to talk to Monica.

Monica still got her surprise on her birthday: four daughters made a birthday cake with her name on it, lit candles, wore the clothes she sent them, gathered around the cake, and recorded a video while singing a birthday song. Monica, who can only look greedily across the screen, is still sweet in her heart, firmly believing that no matter how hard and tired she is for her children, she is even more glad that she chose to work as a Filipino maid in Hong Kong ten years ago.

in the future

Monica has gradually adapted to the fast-paced life in Hong Kong, can also understand Cantonese, and is even more familiar with the local cuisine in Hong Kong. Her dress is also becoming more and more fashionable and urbanized: when choosing underwear, she pays special attention to brand and quality, and attaches great importance to the effect of gathering and promotion; in the selection of outfits, she has advanced from the night market in Temple Street to large brand clothing stores; now she wears some light makeup even when she goes out; when she meets with fellow villagers on weekends, she will match the appropriate necklaces, earrings and bracelets according to the color of the clothes.

you don't have to think about it. After years of separation, her marriage to her husband has long been nominal. During the video, she quietly asked her daughter, "is your father dating another woman?" The daughter chose silence on the other side of the phone. Monica finally decided to end the chicken-rib marriage in 2013.

after she agreed to divorce her husband, she was a little lost and relaxed. What was lost was that the love she had with her husband since college had come to an end. It was easy for her to regain her freedom and be able to date a man again.

"maybe we can marry a local man in Hong Kong. after getting a green card, we don't have to worry about visas anymore. We can go home and visit our family at any time." With this in mind, Monica is full of longing and expectations for the future.

she believes that through her efforts, she has improved the lives of her children, and good luck will also happen to her.