Patricia’s Notebook

Demystifying the Sunday Crowds in Hong Kong

During a trip to Hong Kong, I was struck by the dense crowds of women that can be seen on Sundays. Some of these gatherings are in public spaces, such as parks. Others are found in city spaces that are usually heavily trafficked during workdays, such as the steps outside large office buildings. The largest crowd that I observed was under the covered walkway of a subway station. Initially, I thought that these women were gathered for a political demonstration of some kind. In Latin America—the world region I’m most familiar with—large gatherings of people almost always mean that a protest march, political rally, or labor strike is about to begin. But there were no men to be seen anywhere in these Hong Kong throngs! In addition, they didn’t seem to be protesting anything. Rather, they happily chatted, ate, styled one another’s hair, and played cards.

Later, I learned that these women were in fact maids enjoying their day off. For several decades now, women from the Philippines have migrated to Hong Kong to work as domestic servants, doing chores for and looking after the children of the families who hire them. Wages in Hong Kong are much higher than back home in the Philippines: a major pull factor. However, working conditions can be far from ideal, involving hard physical labor and long hours. Reports of abuse of Filipina servants by their employers are numerous. If a servant is fired, she will be deported if she cannot find another job quickly. The stress of long separations from husbands and children back in the Philippines has led to the breakup of families. In addition, some of these women find themselves coerced into Asia’s booming sex industry. Knowing this makes me think twice about these happy-looking women. Though being a domestic servant isn’t a pleasant or highly paid job anywhere in the world, Filipina maids in Hong Kong certainly seem to face a number of pressures, ranging from labor conditions, family circumstances, and the lack of good job alternatives. While the news coverage of domestic servants in the United States seems to be mostly about their status as documented or undocumented workers, there are obviously additional factors to keep in mind. These factors complicated my picture of these women, who, at first glance, seemed happy and carefree as they enjoyed their day off.

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