IT'S NOT AN ideal scenario to have your interviewee break down in tears in front of you; all you can do is offer a bit of cheery sympathy and tissues as the seconds take forever to tick by on the voice recorder.
But then, this is a big moment for Nena Cabacungan. In 1970 she was one of the first Filipino maids to arrive here; today she returns home for good. The Hong Kong she is leaving behind - almost 34 years to the day she arrived - has changed beyond recognition. So much so, that she can no longer recommend it to anyone.
'It's too tough here now. So many maids are made to suffer at home, while their salary is getting smaller all the time,' Cabacungan says, referring to the government-imposed salary cuts in April last year that reduced the minimum wage by $400 to $3,270 a month on new and renewed contracts.
It's a big moment for the legions of friends she leaves behind, too, who know her as 'Aunty Nena'. Cabacungan is an underground pillar of Filipino society in Hong Kong, taking so many distress calls that she once had to impose a ban after 10pm.
'Nena has been very generous to us, as has her employer,' says long-time friend Helen Serafica. 'Whenever we have a problem, we can run to her. There are times when we are down and need moral support, and we could always get that from Nena. She would also help us out financially. Whenever friends have had their contracts terminated, they have been able to stay with Nena. I will miss her; she is the sort of friend that you really treasure. It's very sad for us that she is leaving for good.'
When Cabacungan arrived in 1970, Hong Kong's Filipina presence was tiny and discreet. 'We never stayed in Victoria Park or in Central on weekends. We just went to each other's houses,' she says.
