“I promised my son a toy. I promised him a pair of shoes. I promised him clothes. That’s why I’m here…”Those simple dreams said in lucid prose are not dramatic snippets from a seasoned writer’s work but statements of a simple Filipino mother who decided to leave her son when he was 3 years old to seek a better future overseas for the child.
The narrative “I Promised My Son a Toy” by Eunice Sacliwan is just one of 18 short stories, poems and essays written by foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong to express their feelings as they carry on with their daily struggle in a faraway and often hostile city.
The works were compiled by HelperChoice, an online platform that helps employers connect with domestic workers, and launched the collection as a free-to-read ebook titled Wishing Well: Voices from Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong and Beyond.
HelperChoice says the ebook “gives readers a rare insight into the lives of foreign domestic helpers – one of the most marginalized worker groups in the region”.
“Domestic helpers hailing from countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia are an integral part of the fabric of society in better-off Asian countries. But while they play major roles in the functioning of families and communities, their plight is often ignored and their astonishing stories remain untold,” the group said in a press release.
The literary pieces were written by domestic workers for the second edition of the “Be a Journalist” writing competition, which was organized by HelperChoice in April this year with the support of news website Coconuts.
The works offer 18 original real-life accounts and anecdotal stories of domestic workers launched in open-access publication with forewords by HelperChoice founder Laurence Fauchon and the book’s co-editor Ju-chen Chen. The eBook can be found at https://issuu.com/helperchoice/docs/wishing_well_domestic_workers.
“The quality of the submissions we received was astounding. The stories offer heart-wrenching yet uplifting insights into the complex lives of migrant domestic workers, many of whom leave their families behind so they can secure a better future for them,” says Fauchon, a Frenchwoman who has been a resident of Hong Kong for several years.
The eBook has two parts: Part I, Portraits, is a collection of celebrative and upbeat stories and poems reflecting the authors’ efforts to meet social expectations and be exemplary workers.
Part II, Whispers, includes pieces that underscore the processes and internal struggles associated with meeting – and sometimes challenging – such expectations.
“We hope that by reading this book, the public – and specifically employers – will gain a deeper understanding of the emotional journeys that their domestic helpers go through,” Fauchon says.
“These are incredible women who have given up so much to support their families. By understanding the adversities they endure, hopefully employers will be encouraged to treat their domestic workers better.”
The three winning stories from the “Be a Journalist” competition were published in April this year. Instead of letting other high-caliber entries go unseen, HelperChoice decided to publish the eBook and make it easily accessible.
To promote the book and the message it conveys, HelperChoice is sharing short excerpts on social media platforms such as Facebook (HelperChoice’s page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/helperchoice/), Instagram (@helperchoice), Twitter (@HelperChoice) and LinkedIn (https://goo.gl/rK8VGv).
The book was co-edited by Ju-chen Chen and Min Lee. Chen is a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Department of Anthropology, whose research covers migrant workers in China and foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong.
Lee is a freelance translator and editor who has a Master of Arts degree, with focus on anthropology, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Most foreign domestic workers come to places like Hong Kong to support their families back home or fund their studies, sometimes even leaving behind stable jobs such as teaching positions in the hope of earning better salaries abroad. To the determined helpers like Sacliwan, there is no turning back until they have achieved their goals.
“I have started, and I’ll carry on. No matter how its much it hurts, no matter how many tears and how much sweat I shed, I will keep these promises,” Sacliwan writes.
