I am from the Philippines, and I work as a foreign domestic worker to support my family, first in Singapore and now in Hong Kong. It is tough to get jobs in the Philippines: I majored in English at university and taught English in a secondary school, but I was not able to support myself and, later on, my family with the low salary I had. There were a lot of deductions from my salary. Working in Hong Kong as a domestic helper, my salary is three times as high. When you are used to the lifestyle here, you love your employers, and everyone is communicating, it is easy to work. When I was back in the Philippines, there was still a lot of work even after business hours: workdays were usually 12 hours long, and you still had to prepare for classes late at night and go to school very early in the morning. There are a lot of teachers who are overly occupied and stressed by their work, so I prefer my current job.
In Hong Kong, when it is my day off, I would rather stay at my home. The employees won't bother you, it's very comfy, and you can relax there. They don't tell me to come back early; they tell me I have to spend my whole day as long as I am safe. I live in Happy Valley, and I only go to Causeway Bay and Central because I always meet an old classmate of mine who lives in Yuan Lang. We usually look for used cheap clothes and try not to spend too much money on shopping – We Filipinos always think about our family back home. I don't have savings; I send everything back home, and this is fine with me. My priority is my family in the Philippines, especially my daughters. The only regret that I have about working overseas is that I cannot look after my own kids and that I did not see them growing up, going to school, and going to college. If I turned back the time and earned a lot of money, I would go back home. One time, my daughter said, “We don't want material things; we just want mommy.”
- Anonymous Interviewee
Central, Hong Kong
Interviewers: Katie and William
Editors: Katie and Wiliam
Translator: Cathy
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