By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Mary Jane's hand sticking out her employer's flat |
In the end, it all boiled down to a “misunderstanding”
and a “dispute.”
These were the words used by the police in describing
an incident this afternoon which was sparked by a photo of a hand sticking out
a window in some high-rise, holding a message written on a piece of paper appealing
for help.
According to various people who posted and reposted
the photo, the one holding the piece of paper was a Filipina domestic worker
who lives in Festival City in Tai Wai. She had asked people to contact her
sister whose name was written on the piece of paper so she could be rescued.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
As the photo quickly went viral, various stories and
speculations were floated. The one that kept getting repeated was that the
Filipina was being held against her will, that she was not given enough food,
and that her employer had taken away her mobile phone so she could not get help.
At least two reports were made to the police.
According to a police spokeswoman, the first call was made at 5:36 pm, but after
officers went to investigate, the incident was classified as a mere “misunderstanding.”
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A second call was made at 7:09pm, during which several
people also reported the incident to various officers of the Philippine Consulate,
including Consul General Raly Tejada. This time, officers who went to check on the
Filipina, Mary Jane, recorded the case as a “dispute.”
No one was arrested, and no one asked to be rescued, said the police spokeswoman.
Among those who quickly took action was Marites Palma, founder of Social Justice for Migrant Workers. She contacted Mary Jane’s sister, Maria Gracia, who told Palma that she had been contacted by her sister’s employer for the past year and a half, who assured her that everything was ok.
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Maria Gracia said the phone was passed on Mary
Jane, but she could not understand what her distraught younger sister was saying. This
sparked another flurry of speculations.
Palma then reached out to both Congen Tejada and officials
of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
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| Press for details |
In a message, Congen Tejada said, “the Consulate is
currently trying to reach out to her as well as our contacts in HK Police.”
Eventually, Palma learned what had sparked it all.
Mary Jane’s employer reportedly told OWWA’s welfare officer Virsie Tamayao that
the helper had taken photos of the employer's personal documents so she could take out a loan. That was why her phone was confiscated last Wednesday.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
One could only speculate what had happened since – why Mary Jane was not even allowed to contact her sister or friends, and why the employer waited until all that drama had taken place to explain her side.
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