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Image by Quiplash! via FlickrMANILA, Philippines — An organization of Filipino workers in Hong Kong on Wednesday decried the alleged discrimination against foreign domestic helpers as officials moved to control the spread of the A(H1N1) flu virus.
“It is SARS all over again. With the swine flu epidemic, the threats of racial profiling and discriminatory treatment against foreign workers in Hong Kong loom once more," the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK) said in a statement.
Dolores Balladares-Pelaez, Unifil chairperson, referred to the HK government’s call for employers of foreign domestic helpers to control the days off and mobility of their employees following the first reported case of Filipino migrants who contracted the swine flu virus.
On Tuesday, Hong Kong health authorities announced that four Filipinos who returned to Hong Kong from Manila last week have tested positive for the virus. The Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong also confirmed that the infected Filipinos include a 15-year-old girl and her 8-year-old sister, a 28-year-old domestic helper and a 33-year-old contractual worker, the Philippine Consulate said.
In China, four other Filipinos have been placed under quarantine on suspicion that they were carrying the new flu virus after getting into close contact with an infected person.
HK Undersecretary for Health Gabriel Leung was quoted in media as saying that Filipino domestics may be carriers of the swine flu virus and that employers should consider switching days off for them.
Balladares pointed out that the first reported cases of swine flu were not from the Philippines but from countries like the USA, UK, and Australia. “But do nationals from these countries get the same degrading treatment and profiling that Filipino maids get?" she said.
She also said swine flu cases already run in the hundreds among local residents, but they are merely advised to observe proper health care.
“Why is there restriction for FDWs (foreign domestic workers)? The nightmare on migrants’ rights is being resurrected, just like the time of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) years ago," she saidd.
Balladares reported that following the government officials’ statement, some of their members informed them that their employers have ordered them to stay away from places where migrants congregate, or have informed them of plans to change their day off.
“When will HK health authorities become more racially sensitive and desist from issuing statements and advices that adversely impact on the rights of migrants as workers and as human beings?" she added.
“While prevention of the spread of A(H1N1) virus is also our concern, we find it absurd for Undersecretary Leung to project FDWs, Filipinos in particular, as carriers of such virus. How can restriction of our mobility prevent the H1N1 from spreading when said restrictions are not applied to the rest of the Hong Kong people who are also susceptible to the virus? This is such a baseless racial profiling and discriminatory to boot," she stressed.
According to Balladares, stereotyping of Filipino domestic helpers as carriers of disease also occurred early this year when HK health officials “irresponsibly declared" that Filipinos are more prone to the ‘Superbug’ virus.
Balladares said that instead of creating “paranoia," HK officials should ensure that medical and health services are made more accessible to everyone, including migrant workers. Preventive measures such as masks and vitamins should be made available for free especially to the disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of the society, she said. - GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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