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| Gemologa has been in hospital since Feb 10 |
When it rains, it pours.
This is how a 35-year-old Filipina domestic helper
is feeling right now, as she remains in hospital nearly a month after she was
hit by a private car in Fortress Hill as she was rushing to bring food to her
ailing employer at Tseung Kwan O hospital.
Nely Gemologa, who is married and has a teen-age
daughter back in Cagayan Province, had started working for her employer only
five days before the accident, which happened on the first day of the Chinese
New Year.
The car’s impact was such that Nely suffered from internal
bleeding and a broken pelvic bone that prevents her from walking on her own until
now.
“Excited akong
maghatid ng pagkain sa amo ko na nasa ospital kaya napatakbo ako sa pagtawid at
hindi ko nakita yung parating na kotse,” Nely recalled. (I was excited to
bring food to my employer so I ran to cross the road and did not see the
approaching car).
Unfortunately she was already beset with problems at
the time. A sibling had fallen down a cave back in their hometown, her
16-year-old daughter had to be taken to hospital for a suspected kidney problem,
and her grandfather had just passed on.
While she has worked in Hong Kong for five years,
she just recently moved to her employer, which means she has yet to be paid a
salary, and may not even be entitled to sick leave allowance.
Worse, she now fears she will be fired as soon as
she is released from the hospital, just when she badly needs money for her and her
family members’ medical needs.
Compounding Nely’s woes are the many anxious days
she has spent – alone – in four hospitals so far.
After being rushed to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan
Chai, she was transferred to the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital which
was better equipped for the injuries she suffered, then to Tseung Kwan O
Hospital, and now to the Adventist Hospital in Tsuen Wan where she is undergoing
physiotherapy,
As her employer is herself sick, Nelly has never
seen her since she was admitted to hospital. Her few visitors included Beth
Lizardo from the foreign domestic helpers’ group Social Justice for Migrant
Workers and a Filipino resident known as Iron Rock Jermice, who gave her a
wheelchair.
Through The SUN, Nely has asked that she be visited
by officers of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as she is uncertain
what she should do when she’s allowed to leave the hospital. She also wants it
known that there are no visiting hours at the hospital she’s now at, so anyone
who wishes to see her to extend help and comfort could do so.
Nely said she’s hoping she will still be allowed to
remain in Hong Kong as she is desperate for work. But if that is not possible,
that she will still be paid some salary, despite what she admits was her
contributory negligence in the accident.
Amid her woes, Nely learned she might be able to get
compensation from a little-known fund administered by the Social Welfare Department
for traffic accident victims in Hong Kong.
The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme provides
compensation, provided the accident was reported to the Police, the victim was
legally permitted to remain in Hong Kong at the time of the accident, the
application must be made within six months after the accident, and the victim
died/sustained permanent disability or the injury resulted in the victim being
hospitalized for at least three days.
Nely could also apply for payment under the Employees’
Compensation Ordinance, which obliges employers to pay compensation for injuries
sustained by their employees in the course of work. The payment will depend on
the age and salary of the worker, and the extent of injuries suffered.
But to navigate through all these, Nely needs help,
so she’s imploring staff at the Consulate or migrant support organizations to
visit her as soon as possible. She can be contacted directly at the Adventist
Hospital in Tsuen Wan, or through the Facebook account of Social Justice for Migrant
Workers, care of administrator Beth Lizardo.
