Just at the time when Hong Kong, a non-state adjunct of China, is presuming to impose sanctions on the Philippines over the deaths of tourists at the hands of a bus hijacker, more and more evidence is coming to light of the Hong Kong government’s willful refusal for years adequately to protect the legal and human rights of domestic helpers in the territory, nearly half of whom are from the Philippines.
The recent case of a helper who was so brutalized that she fled home to Indonesia and hospitalization for serious wounds drew international attention and shame on Hong Kong. As a result the government has been forced to promise improvements in the administration of the helper system, But these are likely to have only marginal effect.
Although welfare bodies and NGOs have long drawn attention to abuses in Hong Kong, these have yet to receive the international attention that their scale in a society which has a per capita income of Germany and boasts a superior legal system, deserve. That helpers consider conditions in Hong Kong are generally better than in Singapore and vastly better than in Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries does not excuse current official attitudes.
Three departments of the Hong Kong government – Immigration, Labour and the Police – are mainly to blame for a system which promotes brutal exploitation and makes it very difficult and in some cases dangerous for those exploited to seek the protection of laws which the government itself makes scant effort to enforce. Full story...
Related posts:
The recent case of a helper who was so brutalized that she fled home to Indonesia and hospitalization for serious wounds drew international attention and shame on Hong Kong. As a result the government has been forced to promise improvements in the administration of the helper system, But these are likely to have only marginal effect.
Although welfare bodies and NGOs have long drawn attention to abuses in Hong Kong, these have yet to receive the international attention that their scale in a society which has a per capita income of Germany and boasts a superior legal system, deserve. That helpers consider conditions in Hong Kong are generally better than in Singapore and vastly better than in Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries does not excuse current official attitudes.
Three departments of the Hong Kong government – Immigration, Labour and the Police – are mainly to blame for a system which promotes brutal exploitation and makes it very difficult and in some cases dangerous for those exploited to seek the protection of laws which the government itself makes scant effort to enforce. Full story...
Related posts:
- Abusing maids is Hong Kong's shame...
- Beaten and exploited, Indonesian maids are Hong Kong's modern day slaves...
- Hong Kong couple jailed for torturing maid who was 'forced to wear diaper'
- Hong Kong finds new maids to exploit...
- Malaysian couple sentenced to 24 years in prison for starving...
- Ethiopian maid in Lebanon who was beaten and filmed kills herself....
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