Few symbols of colonialism are more powerful and universally recognized than the live-in maid. From the British trading post in Bombay to the cotton plantation in Mississippi, images abound of the olive-skinned domestic worker buzzing around the house, cooking, cleaning, ironing and bringing ice-cold lemonade to her masters griping about the summer heat. It is therefore all the more ironic that, for a city that cowered to colonial rule for one and a half century, Hong Kong should have the highest number of maids per capita in Asia. In our city of contradictions, neither a modest income nor a diminutive apartment is an obstacle for local families to hire a domestic helper and to live out the dream of a middle-class existence free of chores and errands.
On any given Sunday or public holiday, migrant domestic workers carpet every inch of open space in Central and Causeway Bay. They turn parks and footbridges into camping sites where cardboard boxes are their walls and opened umbrellas their roofs. They play cards, cut hair, sell handicraft and practice complicated dance routines for upcoming talent contests. It is one of those Hong Kong phenomena that charm tourists and fascinate newcomers. Local citizens, on the other hand, have grown so used to the weekly nuisance that they no longer see it or hear it. But when the night falls, the music stops and the crowds disperse. One by one the fun-loving revelers return to their employers’ homes for another week of mindless drudgery. And the weeks turn into months, months into years.
In the late 1970s, Hong Kong was experiencing historical economic growths and transforming from a manufacturing to a service-based economy. The colonial government found itself facing the twin problems of labor shortage and rising labor costs. In an effort to encourage local women to enter the workforce, the government eased restrictions on migrant workers and brought in the first batch of domestic helpers from the Philippines. In the decades that followed, the number of Filipino maids in the city continued to rise. More young women followed in the footsteps of their friends and relatives and moved here in search of higher pay and a chance to escape from their impoverished country. Other South East Asian countries soon caught on and joined in the labor export business. Today, there are roughly 140,000 Filipino domestic helpers in the city, nearly as many from Indonesia and around 4,000 from Thailand.
