Exclusively HK

While taking a needed break from chanting and blowing whistles, a trade unionist remarks:

"Only nine members voted for the amendment. As a Hong Kong citizen, I feel sad and ashamed."

If someone who is not directly affected by the exclusion of foreign domestic workers or FDWs from the statutory minimum wage can feel that way, what more for those who are the ones excluded.

After over a year of discussions and lobbying it can now be said again that for all the hoopla of Hong Kong being liberal or a wonderful city for foreign workers, discrimination against those who are already at the gutter of this society is institutionalized.

In a society like Hong Kong that treats free market capitalism like a god, a successful campaign for a legislated minimum wage is a significant victory for the worker's movement. It could have been sweeter if only FDWs – numbering around 250,000 – are not sidelined.

The FDWs chant "we are workers, we are not slaves" encapsulates the various reasons why they assert their right for inclusion to such an important law. Their labour is as important as any worker in Hong Kong. Their labour also builds Hong Kong. Their labour makes it possible for these high and mighty LegCo members to sit in their plush offices and halls and debate how best to marginalize in law those who already have less in life.

Considering though the composition of the LegCo – majority coming from the business sector, some from a trade union who doesn't deserve its name, some more from "democratic" groups whose concept of democracy is quite selective – we were already uneasy on how the vote will go. When it came, it was as appalling as we thought it would be.

Good thing there was this unionist – and there are more of them – who felt the same as the FDWs.

Hope, indeed, still floats.

10 for 10

This time next month marks my 10th year of being in HK.

Probably because I needed something to help me recoup my blogging ante, I thought of writing 10 posts for the past decade that I have been here. Considering my recent lackadaisical efforts to write on this blog, this will really be a tall order.

But then again, it may very well be worth the time to think about some stuff that I've learned and experienced within the period that my hairline receded for at least half an inch, my weight jumped by 30 lbs more (three pounds a year, not that bad actually), and my Chinese vocabulary improved from swear words to ordering my favorite dish, chiu pa fan.

Just to kick off, here are some random and trivial bits that I picked up along my 10-year, and counting, journey with friends, colleagues and compatriots in Hong Kong:

• When you want to meet a friend who is not familiar with HK on a Sunday, just ask him/her to go to Black Man. It is a place that is at the heart of HK but is not really identified in any official map. Only Filipinos know about it.
  
• An alley is a narrow street. But the alley-alley is a place to shop for cheap clothes and various knick-knacks. It is sometimes called alley-mall.
  
• When a Filipino domestic worker says she just came from doing aerobics, do not look for leotards.
  
• HK Bank (HSBC main building) has one the biggest concentrations of Filipinos on Sundays. In one day of petition signing, we gathered about 2,000 signatures from the habitués of the place.
  
• Winter has started when manangs sell coffee while summer commences when now-you-see, now-you-don't halo-halo stands sprout.
  
• Singing is really a passion for Filipinos – be it outdoors in Chater Road or in videoke bars in little nooks and crannies of Central. And no, Born Free is not part of the repertoire. More of Carpenters and Abba.
  
• If you are invited for a couple of parties on a single day, expect to eat loads of pancit from sunup to sundown.
  
• The nominal wage now of foreign domestic workers in HK is HK$280 less than 1999. Real wage is most probably much less.
  

Alright, that last bit is not really trivial. It may even be one of the major reasons why I'm still here after 10 years … and why I may still be here for 10 more.

A virus like no other

Together with the rising cases of swine flu in Hong Kong, another threat looms above Filipino domestic workers: that of racial profiling. This one can prove to be even more virulent than A(H1N1).

Our kababayans have not yet fully-recovered from getting tagged as 'Superbug' carriers a few months ago. Now here comes the HK government declaring that Filipino domestics – after one has been diagnosed with it together with three others who just arrived from the Philippines – are carriers of the dreaded A(H1N1) virus and has called for employers to restrict them in their days off and their mobility. What a lot of bull!

Alright, I don't mean to downplay the seriousness of the rapid spread of swine flu. Even the World Health Organization has declared it as an epidemic already and they are already stonewalled on its origin and how to effectively stop it from spreading. We do need to seriously take precautions and probably, foreign domestic workers are as concerned as most of us because their work is their family's bread and butter.

Still, why zoom in on Filipinos? To set the records straight, the first cases of swine flu in HK were not Filipinos and most of the recorded cases now are also not Filipinos; not even domestic workers to boot. So why are Americans, Australians, British and the whole dang HK population not given the same advice as a preventive measure?

In reality, foreign domestic workers are not as exposed to crowded places as the rest of the people in Hong Kong. They only have one day off in a week for chrissake! The only time they leave their employer's house for the rest of the week is either to go to the market or send and pick up their wards from school. They also do not have the capacity to travel outside of HK whenever they want to. If truth be told, who is really more prone to this epidemic?

Already, some people I know of have been warned by their employers against going to the places they frequent during their days off, were ordered to go out on a different day, or were commanded not to take a day off at all. They have already been uprooted from the Philippines and now they are again uprooted from their communities, friends, families and social practices – a whole way of life.

Public health is indeed the public's concern. But when it gets racist and discriminatory, it breeds a sickness to our humanity that is an epidemic of probably even greater proportion.

How to lose your social life in 10 hours

You woke up feeling refreshed after a relatively good sleep. Good because your mind was not filled with what should be done the next day for everything has been set in motion.

The evening, you thought, would be quite easy for your usual schedule has changed and you could probably swing by the bar and meet your friends for drinks.

Then your morning workload hit. You held your plans at bay and put your mind on the job at hand. Like a predator zooming in on a prey and thinking about how you could bring it down the fastest and easiest way. You wouldn't want to be too tired to enjoy your feast later.

Lunch time came and you set off for your favorite Nepali restaurant. Good food, good price and a place to have an easy conversation over a can of Coke and a stick of cigarette.

You went back to the office to do the remaining stuff in your list simply marked as TTD. The hours ticked.

Then Chip Tsao apologized. And you found it wanting.

Sorry but I'm just misunderstood. Sorry but English is an international language open to interpretation. Sorry but it was really a satire. Sorry but it was fictional. Sorry but it was not my intention. Sorry but blah, blah blah.

Why couldn't it be just 'sorry I was wrong'?

You realized you got to do more against racism and class discrimination.

Thus, you stayed in the office until 1:00 am. Then you remembered that April Fool's Day just passed you by.

Between agitation and titillation

I want to blog about sex and love.

But it's hard to have a titillating blog when you are confronted with the face of Chip Tsao splattered in the internet, print media and TV. How can I think of blogging when all I want to do is wash that oh-so-innocent smile off Tsao's face and tell him that there's a big difference between satire and a distasteful piece, a witty article over a racist writeup against a whole people and a particular sector who have been eating abuses and discrimination for breakfast?

Tsao can go the whole stretch of defending his column but at the end of it, Filipinos and the Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong felt demeaned.

If he made fun of GMA instead, I'll probably cheer him on. If he espoused a change in the situation of domestic workers in Hong Kong, I'll sincerely invite him for a cup of tea.

While Tsao's face haunts me for a couple of hours a day, another blood-curling news that keeps me from blogging comes by: foreign maids are not included in any statutory minimum wage for HK workers. The reason given by the Labour Advisory Board was that since maids work for 16 HOURS A DAY, they cannot likely give them its equivalence of HK$12,480 in a month!

Hmmm, so is the problem with the wage or the working hours?

So after a series of meetings with government agencies who gave them hope they'll be considered in this process, foreign domestic workers are again left in the ditch. Typical Hong Kong.

Maybe next time I'll really blog about sex and love. As long as my libido and romanticism hold up against my agitation at looking at Tsao's photo and dreading the next bad thing to happen to FDWs.

This Sunday and beyond

This Sunday will have the first major protest action of OFWs in Hong Kong against the ban on direct hiring imposed at the start of this year.

I mentioned the issue in a previous post and the points remain unchanged. The new rule still sucks. It sucks not only for domestic helpers in Hong Kong because it covers everyone in all countries and even professionals as it stipulated that direct hiring for them shall only be allowed for 10 employees per company.

A couple of things though came up after the issue has been brought to fore.

First is the barrage of statements from no less than the people responsible for rule that have not helped at all but instead muddled the basic flaw of the rule. Ranging from the ridiculous reason that only a few will be affected – yeah right, so let the overzealous recruiters have these precious few to get overcharged as well – to the even more ridiculous and made up distinction between name hiring and direct hiring.

Then there's also the matter about rehires and those applying with new employers. The memorandum does not make any distinction and so even if agencies currently say that these OFWs are not included, there's no telling when it will finally become a blanket rule. Probably if protests fizzle out.

To top it all off, there is this Administrative Order 247 recently issued also that directs recruitment agencies to be more aggressive in seeking out labor markets for Filipino migrants. Considering that the Magna Carta for OFWs explicitly said that the government does not promote labor export, this order obviously says otherwise.

While a growing number of OFWs get laid off from work, have their wages reduced or are facing non-renewal of contracts, there is still no clear program of protection and services established to cushion the blow of the raging crisis to Filipino migrants.

What we have are OFWs from Taiwan who got fired last year and are still waiting in vain for that promised assistance package. What we get is the news that an OFW in Hong Kong got hit by a bus and died reportedly because he was walking dazed and disoriented after getting the axe as well.

What we do now have is this ban that offers OFWs to unscrupulous recruiters in a silver platter.

So yeah, a major protest action is called for. Surely won't be the last in the very near future.

*****

On a more personal note, I've been slacking recently. I'm still managing but I do need to up my ante if I am to pull off what I should be doing in the next few days.

Time to resort to what I have learned whenever I'm jittery and dreading what is about to come: it will happen and all I can do is prepare myself so that by the next day, I can still say that "it ain't that bad".

Again, again, again

If a policy can be called the "undead", I think ban of direct hiring can qualify as such. It just keeps on rearing its ugly head every time you think it is dead.

Around this time last year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) issued Memorandum Circular No. 04 that prohibited direct hiring or sometimes called name hiring of Filipino migrants. Direct hiring is processing without going through recruitment agencies, thus exempting the applicant from paying placement fees that run up to more than P100,000 for DHs even though the legal limit is only the equivalence of a month's salary. This policy also carried the ridiculous employment bond brouhaha.

Due to the uproar MC-04 created, it was withdrawn after one month.

Now, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued a memorandum, (again!), banning direct hiring. But this time only targeting domestic helpers while for white-collars, direct hiring is limited to up to 10 employees per company. Like a broken record player, DOLE justified the rule to (again!) "protect OFWs."

Such a reason and such a rule are not new. In 1994, POEA issued MC-41 that basically said the same thing and also aimed for the same protection mantra. For years OFWs, especially in Hong Kong, campaigned against MC-41 and in 2001, DOLE issued Department Order No. 11 that revoked MC-41.

Now, DO-11 said: "In line with the State policy to afford adequate protection to Overseas Filipino Workers, POEA Memorandum Circular No. 41, Series of 1994, is hereby revoked".

What kind of a convoluted mind can use the same reason to justify two opposing sides – banning direct hiring and allowing direct hiring?

What is tricky about the new DOLE order is that it now focuses mainly, as I said, on DHs. This is probably because they were shaken by the reaction of the white-collar workers on the MC-04 and thought that professionals will now be more accepting of the ban.

But targeting only DHs should not make the ban more acceptable. In fact, it makes it more condemnable for it withdraws government responsibility to protect DHs who are very vulnerable during this time of crisis. It transfers such responsibility to recruitment agencies who we all know are mainly a blood-sucking bunch concerned only on how they can make the most from the migration process.

Agencies that provide a semblance of protection to OFWs and services to those in need are as rare as an honest word from GMA. But on second thought, honest and GMA don't really mix. So just think of Edward Cullen's family in Twilight.

But like in the same story, even "immortals" can die. They just need to get chopped into little pieces and burned to ashes.

This is probably what the ban also deserves.

Ayokong magmura, pero …

Namputcha naman!

http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20081215com1.html

Nang mabasa ko ito, hindi ko napigilan ang mainis. Hindi lang ito simpleng gimik. Walang kahihiyang panloloko na ito.

Sa mga susunod na buwan eh nanganganib na mawalan ng trabaho ang libo-libong mga OFWs. Ang balita nga, mahigit 1,000 pa ang mapapauwi mula sa Taiwan ngayong buwang ito. Sa Macau ay may 500 na ang natanggal sa trabaho sa construction sector at may mahigit pang 12,000 na migrante ng iba't ibang lahi na nagta-trabaho sa casino ang hindi na raw ire-renew ang kontrata. Meron pang 500 sa property sector naman sa UAE ang nawalan na ng trabaho.

Kung sa kada 100 mapapa-uwing OFW ay magpapa- photo-op si Gloria, sana ay tamaan na sya ng kidlat sa pagiging sinungaling.

***

Namputcha naman ulit!

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=42044632270

Ilang linggo ko na ring nababasa ang hinggil sa isyu na ito: ang pagkakait ng tenure ng Sociology Department ng College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) ng UP Diliman kay Prop. Sarah Raymundo.

Ni ha ni ho ay walang sinabi ang puno ng departamento kung bakit. Basta na lamang sinabihan si Prop. Raymundo na hindi na nya kailangang magturo simula noong Nobyembre 6 at matatanggal na sya sa unibersidad pagkatapos ng kanyang kontrata sa Marso. Sampung taon ng nagtuturo si Sarah sa UP at naabot na nya ang mga rekisito para maging tenured faculty – may MA, magandang ebalwasyon ng kapwa-guro at estudyante, at may mga na-publish na sa mga kinikilalang journals.

Dahil wala namang iba pang maibigay na rason, simple lamang ang pagsusuri ng mga kapwa-guro, kaibigan at kasama ni Sarah: aktibista kasi sya.

Malayang kaisipan sa malayang pamantasan. Diba? Diba?!

Sa personal na antas, kilala ko na si Sarah noong estudyante pa lang sya. CNS sya at LFS ako. Kabatak, kaibigan at kasama. Bakla sya kung baklaan ang usapan pero hindi rin sya umuurong sa seryosong mga talakayan.

Ano na ba ang nangyayari sa UP Diliman?

***

Pagkatapos ng aking mga rants, Pride naman.

Wagi sya. Yun lang. Sa susunod na Pride March ulit …

(Salamat kay Kiks sa pagpapahiram ng larawan)

The Search for Ms. Charity – HK!

Etchos lang ang title. Here is the real story:

They say charity starts at home but it can also go TO a home. Especially to those without one.

Bethune House Migrant Women's Refuge is a temporary shelter for domestic helpers in distress. It is a charitable institution that not only houses but provides a home for those who have no place to stay while they have ongoing cases in HK.

You see, migrants who have filed cases against their employers are not allowed to work for the duration of their case. Length of case resolution varies from three months for simple labor matters to years for the more complicated ones such as rape and physical abuse.

So the obvious question is: how can one survive while the justice system takes its time to decide?

Back in the 80's, the Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW) has already noticed such a problem when they saw DHs with terminated contracts sleeping in parks or under footbridges and flyovers. Thus they created the Alternative Shelter Scheme – which, for a painfully obvious reason, took the acronym ASHES instead - wherein individual friends of the Mission take in and host homeless DHs for a particular period of time.

But it came to a point wherein those in need could not be accommodated by MFMW friends anymore. There were just too many of them compared to the number and capacity of those people willing to open their homes to strangers. Thus the Bethune House was born in 1986.

Currently, Bethune House has 50 residents though there are only 20 beds. As one of its volunteers said, you can't put them away when they knock on your gates lugging their striped bags and other belongings.

While its main service is giving food and a roof, Bethune House also does paralegal assistance to its residents. There are also volunteers who give seminars and trainings from basic Cantonese to cooking.

Though Bethune House is in HK, it doesn't mean that it is drowning in funds. Charity for the migrants is not that popular for the biggie foundations here. So Bethune House has to approach churches, women's organizations, migrant's groups and kind-hearted individuals for its sustained operations. It ain't a stroll in the park to raise about HK$12,000 for food alone in a month.

Thus, the above invitation to celebrate its anniversary together with an auction for charity. To be auctioned off are paintings like Kik's portrait that takes cubism as inspiration or my own face painted as abstract art. Kidding! Some Filipino HK-based artists have contributed their works for the auction while others are still being wooed to do so.

Ok, so this post is not really a story but an appeal for support to the shelter - attendance, donations, spreading this invitation, contributing an item for auction like your grandma's false teeth, or any other thing you can think of.

The real stories are in the shelter and its residents. Stories of travails, happiness and yes, even inspiration.

If you want to hear the stories, join the HK-wide Search for Ms. Charity on September 20. And yeah, it's tax-deductible and tax-free.

In the larger scheme …

In the larger scheme of things, 0.30 centavos out of 200 is no big deal. Such an amount can hardly be missed.

In the larger scheme of things, 150 from P10,000 is also not that much. Of course it is not an amount that one can just leave lying on the floor. It's already equivalent to one meal at Jollibee or a couple kilos of rice.

But still in the larger scheme of things, it hardly matters.

In the larger scheme of things, the 0.15% documentary stamp tax on remittances may not even be noticeable. Probably that was why it did not get attention until it was implemented.

In the larger scheme of things, remittance charges are also small. Here in Hong Kong, it ranges from HK$20 to HK$30. But in other countries like those in the Middle East, it gets higher as the remittance increases.

In the larger scheme of things, at least according to GMA, the EVAT is necessary for her so-called brand of progress. For an OFW who sends 10k, for example, for the basic needs of the family, that is P1,200 that goes EVAT.

Considering the economic conditions back home, it is safe to say that families of Filipinos abroad are probably the bulk of the population who still have purchasing capacity. Thus, the evident drive of businesses to expand to the OFW market.

In the larger scheme of things, if we believe La Gloria, it again does not matter for everyone shall benefit in the end.

In July last year, the first Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) was convened in Belgium. Some of its most telling conclusions include:

1. That remittances to developing countries are one of the largest sources of external finance for developing countries, and can represent a large share of GDP for some of them. The World Bank estimates that recorded remittances to developing countries (i.e., excluding informal flows) reached $206 billion in 2006, almost two-thirds of foreign direct investment ($325 billion), and almost twice as large as official aid ($104 billion) received by these countries. Remittances are also considered to be more stable and evenly spread than other financial flows such as ODA or FDI, and are also considered to be countercyclical.
2. That remittances cannot be appropriated by governments, but their positive impact on development can be increased through options, incentives and tools designed and implemented by governments in partnership with other relevant actors.

This year the second GFMD will be in Manila. While it reeks of motherhood statements on “rights”, the DST, EVAT and remittance charges are serious indicators of what the GFMD is really gearing for. And with the Philippines as host, it means commodification of migrants and intensified labor export.

Not much different with other goods for trade. Only migrants can be traded again and again as long as we are good.

But then again, in the larger scheme of things...Oh, wait. There's probably nothing larger than this scheme.

Karerista

Marami akong kinarir nang nakaraang linggo.

Nangarir ako ng pagiging tibak.

Buong linggo halos na hindi namin tinantanan ang isyu ng pag-suspinde ng levy. Eh kasi naman, kabuhayan ng mga DHs ang nakataya dahil kung hindi kasama ang ongoing contracts sa suspension, tiyak na magiging sunod-sunod ang termination dahil gugustuhin ng employer na ma-exempt na sa pagbabayad ngayon pa lang.

August 1 ang proposal na magsimula ang suspension. Para na kaming maiihi kung ano ang magiging pinal na desisyon.

At syempre, kasabay pa ito ng SONA na kabit sa bituka ng mga Pinoy sa labas ng bansa. Ayoko nang magpahaba sa kung ano ang tingin ko sa SONA. Marami na akong nai-post tungkol kay Gloria.

Kaya noong Linggo, dalawang magkasunod na rally ang naganap. Sa gitna ng kainitan ng araw eh nag-martsa kami papuntang konsulado at nag-programa ng maigsi. Tapos, bumalik para hintayin ang mga migrante ng iba pang lahi para naman pumunta sa Central Government Office ng Hong Kong.


Nangarir din ako ng pelikula.

Pinanood ko ang The Dark Knight pero saka na ang review. Basta nag-enjoy ako sa kanya. Ayoko munang pag-isipan kung bakit.

Sa gitna ng muni-muni sa mga kailangang sulatin eh kinarir ko rin ang mga pelikula ni John Lloyd at Bea. Mga mushy pero disente naman. Pinatos ko rin pala ang My Best Friend’s Girlfriend ni Richard at Marian. Marami pa akong kinulimbat na pelikulang Pilipino kasama na ang Dear Heart at PS I Love You ni Sharon at Gabby pero hindi ko pa pinapanood.

Halos puro love story pala ang pinanood ko. Pelikula lang talaga ang love life ko.

In between, may iba pa akong mga kinarir.

Nangarir ako ng librong nabasa ko na. Kinarir ko rin ang aming aso na si Banci. Pinatulog ko sya sa kama ko pero, I swear, wala kaming ginawang masama. Kinarir ko rin ang pag-setup at pag-operationalize ng bagong computer dahil sumusuko na ang 3-year old laptop ko. Kinarir ko ang pagle-layout. Kinarir ko rin ang gym.

Kinarir ko rin pala ang pagtawag sa nanay ko. Miss ko na sya.

Kaya Gibo, hindi pa ako magsasara ng blog.

Naging busy lang sa aking karir.

PS. Tingin ko ay walang sense ang sinulat kong ito. Pero ang alam ko, may sense naman para sa akin ang mga kinarir ko kahit paano.

V is for

Victory.

Not yet full but still a success. Just a while ago, the Hong Kong government has announced the suspension of the HK$9,600 levy it collects from employers of foreign domestic workers. After two years, the decision shall again be reviewed.

Though it is not the same as abolition, the two-year suspension is still a cause for celebration.

In broad strokes, the levy was implemented in 2003 by the HK government supposedly to finance efforts to retrain local workers for domestic work to face the unemployment issue of HK that time.

The levy was introduced at the same time as the monthly salary of foreign maids was cut by HK$400. It doesn't take a mathematician to see that the total amount cut from the wage of FDWs for a two-year contract is exactly the same amount as the levy. Thus, it has always been the position of FDW groups that the levy is an indirect taxation to them.

For years, FDW groups have campaigned for its abolition. Rightly so for their experience has also shown that as long as the levy is in place, their wage is also held hostage. Despite HK's economic boom, FDWs have only received mere pittance for a wage hike.

Early last week, the monthly wage of FDWs was increased by HK$100. At first glance, it may look like another victory. But if one can see that it is actually only HK$4 per day or 25 cents per hour, one shall be bound to agree with FDWs who say that it is too little.

Besides, the cumulative wage hikes for the past four years are not even enough to recover the amount slashed in 2003 and 1999. FDW wage now stands at HK$3580 per month. Nine years ago, it was HK$3860.

Developments like these are what reaffirm my belief in the movement and the people's militant collective action. They are not merely slogans nor dreams nor merely a 13-year old agitation borne by the idealism and impetuousness of the youth.

They may be small in the larger scheme of things - given the whole gamut of other issues that migrant workers have to confront - but considering the situation, any victory, however small, is a step forward.

V may take long in coming. When it comes, it fuels the people for more.


UPDATE:

Darn it. It seems like this government is still dilly-dallying as to the details of the suspension.

While it appears that the suspension is in the offing (by September), it is still isn't clear when in September, what to do about the unused HK$4.4 BILLION fund collected, and whether it will only apply to new contracts and to existing ones.

When it comes to cutting the wage, the HK government has a one-track mind. When it comes to giving relief to migrants ... mas makunat pa sa dilang makunat.

Banci (ban-chi)

Sya si Banci. Ang aming collective aso.

Ilang buwan pa lang sya nang ibigay sa amin ng isang Intsik na may mareklamong kapitbahay. Hindi ko alam ang breed nya pero who cares. Obviously she doesn’t.

Malambing sya. Nang minsang mawala kami ng lampas isang linggo sa bahay at naiwan sya sa ibang kamay, sumabog ihi nya pagkakita nya sa amin.

Hindi sya mahilig sa kanin. Yan ang kaibahan ko sa kanya. Matakaw sya sa dog food. Yan ang kaibahan nya sa akin.

Nang ibinigay sya sa amin, maraming habilin ang huling may-ari sa kanya:

1. Huwag pakainin ng buto ng manok. Busugin sa gulay at prutas.
2. Paliguan minsan isang linggo at putulan ng kuko minsan isang buwan.
3. Bigyan ng gamot para sa puso at para sa tapeworm. Wag kalimutang dalhin sa beterinaryo.
4. Gamitan ng dog shampoo at dog powder.
5. Gupitan ng buhok laluna kapag summer.
6. May kasama syang kulungan pero wag nyo syang ikukulong.

Parang last will and testament.

Ibinigay din nya sa amin ang bag na ito:

Ito ang gamit namin para maisakay sya sa bus, MTR at taxi. Dinadala namin sya sa beach, sa office at sa rally. Ang bakla-bakla ko pag bitbit ko sya dito.

Maraming batas dito patungkol sa mga alaga. Kailangan mo pa ngang palagyan ng chip na nakalagay ang detalye nya at kung sino ang may-ari. Andami ding mga grupo ng lokal na pangunahin eh animal welfare ang programa.

Pansin ng isa kong kaibigan na ex-Hong Kong, mas pinahahalagahan daw ang aso dito kesa sa tao. Naalala ko tuloy yung isang kliyente na syang unang nagpaiyak sa akin. Yung kumakain kasama ng aso. Pag tumae ang aso, kailangan nya munang linisin bago sya bumalik sa pagkain.

Meron din akong nakitang aso na nakasuot ng winter clothes na galing Burberry at worth HK$2,000 daw ang isa.

May punto nga siguro ang kaibigan ko.

*****

Kanina eh sumama ako sa rally dahil pagbobotohan sa Legislative Council ang proposed Race Discrimination Bill. Sobrang walang-kwenta ang proposal na kahit sa papel pa lang eh wala ka ng makikitang tunay na proteksyon laluna sa mga DH na syang pinakarami kung usapin ng ibang lahi sa HK.

May punto nga siguro ang kaibigan ko.

Mother, daughter, strangers

In just about five minutes and a 50-meter walk, I was again struck by how sad life can be for a migrant worker.

I walked home from our office with T and I asked her why she and her daughter didn't go to the movies. A couple of hours ago, V even invited us to tag along but due to some work I had to finish, I had to beg off.

Off-handedly T said that the movie starts at midnight and she decided to go back to the office instead. When I asked where V was, she said that she went straight home.

I jokingly said, "lagot ka, tampo na anak mo." Apparently, it hit a nerve.

You see, T has been a migrant worker for almost 13 years. She left the Philippines when V was only about eight. They only get to see each other every time T comes home for two weeks or she sends for her daughter here for vacation.

My friend admitted that she just doesn't know how to be with her daughter - with only the two of them - anymore.

She loves her daughter, that I am sure of. V also loves her mother, that I am also sure of.

But as with any other relationship separated by distance, it is bound to change through time and sometimes for the worse.

Some will say that the level of technology right now is so advanced that communication is just a phone call or a YM away. While it is true enough that migrant workers of the 70's or 80's had it harder with only snail mail and voice tapes to get by, nothing still beats being together to maintain that harmony in a dynamic relationship where people develop and change.

Still others will say that it is not the amount of time spent together that is important but rather its quality. True as well but quantity and quality have a dialectical relationship that to say one is more important does not diminish the importance of the other. They are two sides of a coin that are held in a precarious balance.

Still others may assert that if they love each other, nothing should have changed. On this point, I rest my case and just read Mills and Boons.

Now T has got to know her daughter all over again. Soon V will be going back to the Philippines.

It only took five minutes for T and I to cover the 50-meter distance from our office to our flat where her daughter was.

But the time of separation and the distance between that migration has forced on them is much longer and considerably wider.

Oh it's so just sad when a mother and daughter become strangers.