Foreign domestic helpers have a very good deal in Hong Kong
I refer to the letter from Oriana Galardi-Este ('Domestic helpers deserve better than having to relax on filthy streets', May 25).
I am sick of reading about the whinges of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong. Their lifestyle in Hong Kong is streets ahead of their counterparts in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Middle East.
When are we going to stop hearing that 'maids have to leave their home and families to work overseas'. So do other foreigners working in Hong Kong trying to scrape a living and having to pay rent and taxes and pay for food, transport and utilities. Take off these outgoings and the actual take-home pay will be significantly less than the wages that goes straight into the helpers' bank accounts every month. And the rest of us do not get a fully-paid return air ticket and travelling allowances from our employers after every two years of service.
Most Hong Kong people will spend their working lives paying off mortgages on their shoebox flats, whole foreign domestic helpers, after a few years' service can pay for their property.
The domestic chores and working hours of a foreign domestic helper are no different to that of a housewife in a local household. The significant difference is that the former gets paid, whilst the latter does not.
No, it is certainly not just Hong Kong people who were born with opportunities. The real difference is that the foreign helpers simply do not want to recognise, acknowledge and be grateful for their good fortune having the opportunity to be living and working in a city where the government and people are being excellent hosts. They have overwhelmingly favourable labour laws to protect them. They need not fear racial, religious or political persecution.