The Merry Maids of Hong Kong

Yesterday morning I went into town to meet a friend for brunch and walking from the station to the restaurant in Soho I almost tripped over some of the thousands of domestic helpers hanging around in town.

This is a regular sight on Sundays (the only days off for the maids) with thousands of maids (also known as domestic helpers) gathering in groups on every available free space around Central. Through heat, sun, wind and cold they sit in small groups on card board boxes sharing food and stories and playing games.

The majority of the approximately 240,000 domestic helpers in Hong Kong are Filipino, leaving behind their lives and families in hope of a better life and income in Hong Kong. Surprisingly, most of the domestic helpers have degrees and speak good English as a higher education degree is required in order to obtain a work visa for Hong Kong.

Most families in Hong Kong have a maid (some even more than one) and the majority of them are live-in maids. Considering that the average house in Hong Kong is the size of a shoebox you can imagine the living conditions of the maid.

I remember being told a story of an expat who was trying to apply for a work visa for his maid but didn’t have room for the maid to live in his home. When applying for the visa the government official refused to give the maid the visa unless she would be provided with living space in the house. When the expat responded that the house was too small, the official suggested that the maid could perhaps sleep in the kitchen!  

It’s quite a sight to see all these women around town and you can’t help but feel a bit sorry for them but when you look at their faces they seem to be enjoying themselves and making the most of the scarce free time they have. Good on them!

See you next time!