'Hong Kong Isis-style' post on Facebook slammed by domestic helpers and migrant worker unions
Images criticised as ‘defamatory and discriminatory’ towards Indonesian workers in city
Migrant worker unions have demanded a public apology from a property agent for posting images of headscarf-wearing domestic helpers from Indonesia on his Facebook page with the caption “Hong Kong Isis-style”.
Jackie Valiant Syed posted two photos clearly showing the faces of two women in blue headscarves sharing a meal on what appears to be a walkway in Mong Kok.
This sends a very bad message to the public, misleading people to into associating Isis with domestic workers in Hong Kong
The images were posted on Syed’s Facebook page on December 20, and were still online on Wednesday despite complaints they were defamatory and discriminatory to the women and could mislead the public into believing the pair were Islamic State terrorists.
Syed refused to comment when contacted by the South China Morning Post, but did tell one complainant he would not remove the images as they were “a joke”. He is also said to have described Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong as the “most peaceful Isis on earth”.
“This sends a very bad message to the public, misleading people to into associating Isis with domestic workers in Hong Kong,” said Leo Tang, organising secretary for the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers, who described the post as being “like hate speech” and called on Syed to apologise.
