Misunderstanding Muslim Domestic Helpers

Many Muslim domestic helpers are misunderstood in HK

It was Christmas Eve, in the mid 1990s when I lived with my uncle and aunt in Hong Kong. They had a Filipina domestic helper who cooked, cleaned and looked after their two young children.

The helper had made some mistakes that day and my aunt was not pleased and wanted her to work longer as punishment, but my uncle intervened.

He said Christmas Eve was a very important time for Catholics like her and so they should let her go early to go to church for mass.

Employers assume helpers must obey demands

I don't know why I remember this, but it made me realise how important it was to be compassionate and understanding of others.

And now decades later after Hong Kong has brought in Muslim domestic helpers from Indonesia and yet some employers still do not understand or appreciate their employee's religious background.

Last week a Muslim domestic helper filed a HK$255,000 discrimination lawsuit against her former employers for requiring her to stop praying and wearing the jilbab, a full-length garment, if she wanted to keep her job.

According to the Quran, devout Muslims must pray five times a day, at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening.

Apparently these kinds of disputes are common, and unions and employer representatives are calling for more dialogue between the two parties to reach a mutual understanding before signing the contract.

Nevertheless, despite discussions beforehand, domestic helpers feel like they are in a weaker position and feel obligated to obey their employers' demands.

"[They will think:] 'I hired you because I need to you work,' and that praying five times a day, especially for Muslims, is a lot," said Sringatin, chairwoman of the Indonesian Migrant Workers' Union.

She said many domestic helpers stopped praying or wearing religious garments to keep their employment records clean for future jobs.

Domestic helpers only have Sundays off

Some tried to work around their employer, such as praying when they are not at home, and only wear the hijab or headscarf when they went outside on their days off or for daily tasks.

Thomas Chan Tung-fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies says the recent lawsuit suggests a lack of communication before the helper was hired.

"Many employers mistakenly think their homes are their private premises and have complete control over the area, but they forget their homes are also their helpers' workplaces," he said.

This just reveals how ignorant Hongkongers are when it comes to other people's religions and their lack of tolerance or respect of others. Their belief in being superior to Southeast Asians perpetuates to this day which shows Hongkongers' insecurity and inability to accept others.

It will be interesting to see how the lawsuit is processed through the courts.

Stay tuned.

Vatican Caught in Bind with Cardinal Zen

Zen holding mass at Holy Church Cross in eastern Hong Kong

Hours after retired Cardinal Joseph Zen appeared in court to answer to the charge of not registering the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the government, he held mass at the Holy Cross Church in Sai Wan Ho.

Many who came to see him dismissed the charge against him.

"We of course must respect the rule of law but wielding law as a weapon to oppress is by no means the goal of rule of law," a woman named Louise told AFP.

Zen along with four others pleaded not guilty

In his sermon, Zen again criticised a deal between China and the Vatican in 2018 which allows Beijing to nominate bishops for the pope's approval, calling it "unwise" despite being made with "good intentions".

The agreement was renewed in 2020 just as China was accused of suppressing Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Christian believers of underground churches.

At that time two years ago despite the pandemic, Zen traveled to Rome in the hopes of speaking to Pope Francis and persuade him not to renew the deal, but was not even granted an audience with the pope.

Vatican analyst and papal biographer Marco Politi says: "The Holy See does not want this thread of dialogue and communication [with China] to be broken. "It is clear that China is in a position of strength and the Vatican in a position of weakness."

After Zen's arrest on May 11, the Vatican has been relatively silent, and Pope Francis said he was "attentively" following the "often complex" life of Catholics in China without directly referencing Zen.

But up until this point, veteran Vatican commentator John L Allen said Zen had become "increasingly marginalised" in the Francis papacy.

Zen was rebuffed by Pope Francis in 2020

"Had China done nothing, Zen likely would have remained inconsequential," he wrote on the Catholic website Crux.com.

"Now, however, Francis can't afford to ignore Zen, because his arrest -- and whatever may come next in terms of a prosecution and even possible incarceration -- is destined to generate sympathy and activism on Zen's behalf all across the world."

Pope Francis may have wished he had granted Zen an audience, but it's too late now.

Either way he cannot ignore the seriousness of the situation Zen is in and pray that the rule of law will have mercy on him...