A dramatic film about the cost of an oil spill to a fishing village in…
The Amahs of Hong Kong
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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This film explores the lives of Filipino maids in Hong Kong. Forced by mass poverty and continuing economic crisis to leave their families and homeland behind, the amahs send 70-85% of their earnings back to the Philippines. The women often suffer horrific abuse from their employers, and the sacrifices they make are enormous, but so are the potential rewards: money to educate their children and to improve their own living when retired.
'Appropriate...for advanced high school, college or university classes dealing with labor, gender, and global migration.'
Nicole Constable, Asian Educational Media Service
'Express(es)...women's desire for independence, self-sufficiency and the important role of having a voice in the process of decision-making...fast paced, yet informative...geared toward the advanced high school student and above...has a place in all video collections in the areas of Women's Studies, History, Sociology and Anthropology. Highly Recommended.' Belinda L. Robinson-Jones, MC Journal
Citation
Main credits
Edwards, Anastasia (film producer)
Rankin, Stuart M. (screenwriter)
Cheung, Shelly S. K. (film director)
Other credits
Camera, Siv Ki Yip.
Distributor subjects
Anthropology; Asian Studies; China; Globalization; Human Rights; Humanities; International Studies; Pacific Studies; Philippines; Reproductive Rights; Social Justice; Women's StudiesKeywords
WEBVTT
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[music]
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[music]
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These are Evelyn\'s children.
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In the last three and a half years, they
have seen their mother a total of 12 weeks.
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Evelyn is but one of over 1,30,000
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Filipino overseas domestic workers
making a living in Hong Kong.
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Her children miss her very much.
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I came from uh… village in
northern part of Manila.
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And uh… we are eight in out
family, I\'m the fourth one.
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And my… my mother and father
was already in Hong Kong
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and three of my sisters. And
my employer provide me…
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one flat and I stay there alone. I
enjoy my life here in Hong Kong
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because I have a good employer,
he\'s very helped me.
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Still I feel homesick sometimes because it\'s
very hard to… to be away with my family
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and especially my children.
I know that they needs
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uh… the love of, and care of the mother.
And I know that
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uh… they miss me a lot and I miss them a
lot. So I always send them some pictures so…
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so that will not uh… forget me.
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As commonly said Hong Kong is the,
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is a paradise for Filipino workers.
Paradise in the sense that
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uh… among the different
countries that overseas work
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is often to the Filipinos, Hong
Kong is a better place to go.
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If there are abuses, harassments
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and some illegal activities that
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uh… are done to the Filipino workers,
it means the, most minimal I guess.
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Oh, my boss subscribe me a Readers Digest
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uh… he pay., he subscribed me
from, she subscribed it for me
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and uh… it\'s uh… it\'s
almost two years already
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that I have this.
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So I have a collection of British (inaudible)
and sometimes also I read (inaudible).
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This is the book of a Mormon
because I\'m a Mormon.
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And… and the literature (inaudible).
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And I have collections of… Yeah.
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Umm… The thing with Hong Kong legislation is
that one having a contract is good enough,
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that\'s uh… very good in terms of uh… having
a migrant person going to another place
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and uh… wouldn\'t know
what their rights are.
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But having a… a contract that has a…
a number of (inaudible) is also bad.
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So, and couple coupled with
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uh… a strong restriction which is a two week rule
that is impossible. The immigration department
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that makes the whole situation
of a migrant worker
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uh… difficult in the sense that
whatever difficulty there is
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umm… she has to bare that until she is able
to make sure that she can prove herself to be
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uh… a person able to explain the situation
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and to be believed by the authorities.
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Uh… (inaudible) was imposed in 1987.
Prior to that,
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once you enter Hong Kong and start on a
contract, you have an umm… years of Visa.
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And if that contract is
terminated for whatever reason,
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you continue having that uh… Visa be able to
find a new employer carry on with the case
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if you have a case against your previous employer.
And that\'s not a problem but we have two week rule
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uh… you\'re only allowed to stay in Hong Kong
for two weeks from the time the contract
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is terminated for whatever reason,
even if it\'s not your fault,
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you have to explain, you have to prove that it\'s not your fault.
Second, basically you are not allowed to find another employer.
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That two week is just taking you a chance to
pack up your things and prepared to go home.
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I thought Hong Kong will be,
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is a land of broken handy but unfortunately
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I got, I got the worst employer.
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I come here to help my parents
and my… my nephews and nieces
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because when my sister is already a widow.
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Uh… She is only earning
uh… a little so she can
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umm… she can afford, you know,
to send her children to school,
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good school. That\'s why I
want to help as possible.
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I still want to work here if… if I find
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umm… an employer who will be kind
enough, who… who will be human in our,
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to take me then I\'ll continue working.
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Another deterent to
Domestic workers reporting
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the human rights abuses that they suffer is
that the burden of proof rests with the worker,
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thus if she wishes to win her case,
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to be granted permission to process her papers in Hong
Kong, she must often subject herself to further abuse
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in order to attempt to document it. Page 5,
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4th Quarter, 1993, \"Migrant focus.\"
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One evening employer uh…
take my (inaudible)
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because uh… she said the amount, the
amount is obviously (inaudible) much.
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When I (inaudible) to her
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uh… because I said, uh…
I want, I want to leave
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uh… some for my… my… my,
the man the husband
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because the husband usually
uh… eat… eat uh… late…
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late at night. So that\'s for him
because no food left in the fridge.
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So uh… she… he uh… the man can have that.
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But then when I listen that uh… she
said, she said, I… I want to kill you.
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From then she get the chopping knife
in the kitchen drawer and then she…
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she lift up me and then she… she
really intend to kill me but didn\'t.
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I mean, she maybe realized that she\'s
doing wrong and the daughter is there,
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maybe she realized. Also the…
the… the daughter could see it.
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She stopped from doing that. And then
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umm… (inaudible)
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until her husband umm…
arrives form the office.
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In my different speeches during Sundays,
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I always tell the crowd,
mostly composed of this women
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that they should work as domestic
but never think like a domestic.
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In fact, when I was still
a domestic helper,
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I used to preach to my
uh… neighbors in that.
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You should not be sad with our situation,
just pretend you are actresses.
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That if you\'re in words successful
then you are the best actress.
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[music]
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I risk my three small children.
I left a very
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(inaudible) professional.
I should not (inaudible)
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because of this, which I thought
He\'ll us from (inaudible).
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Article 4 of the international bill of human
rights states that no person shall be held in
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slavery or servitude.
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In a sense Philippines is a (inaudible)
society because uh… it\'s a societal problem
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in the Philippines that most men
are very dependent on women
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and very indecisive because
they were trained as such.
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They depend too much on woman that when
adversity comes, it\'s the women who rescue
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the family from that bad situation.
And I guess that\'s
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the reason also why most
Filipino women become strong.
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[music]
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The two week rule is seen by many
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to be the major stumbling block
to creating a humane working
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and living environment
for domestic workers.
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Baby, unaware of this political act may yet feel its repercussions or might possibly
be blessed with a family that doesn\'t need to see economic relief overseas.
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In any event, baby will be part
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of a matriarchal system that not only provides the means
by which to eat but also the means to self courage
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and the ability to celebrate
life despite the hardships.
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[music]