Christmas brings joy and nostalgia for Hong Kong’s foreign domestic helpers
Some lucky and elated to go home, others stay in city due to financial reasons
Jocelyn Lapurga was carrying a large suitcase full of gifts and a big smile on her face while posing for a photo in Central in front of a red billboard filled with Christmas wishes and greetings. This year she had plenty of reason to celebrate: It’s the first time in 15 years that she’s going to spend Christmas with her family in the Philippines.
Lapurga, 43, is one of some 300,000 foreign domestic helpers – over 170,000 of them from the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country – working in Hong Kong.
“For 15 years working abroad, this is the first time I have the chance to spend Christmas with my family,” she said. “I don’t have words to explain how happy I am.”
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In Tarlac, a province about 125km northeast of Manila, her parents, sister, husband, three children – aged between 18 and 25 - and a grandson were eagerly waiting for her. All of them were to receive gifts from Hong Kong. “Even my neighbours and all the babies will receive gifts, because my country is poor and I want to give a happy Christmas to everyone,” she said in Central outside of World-Wide House, which contains a three-storey shopping mall featuring businesses catered to Filipinos.
Although Lapurga has worked in the city for six years, certain Philippine traditions remained fresh in her mind. “We cook a lot of food, like pancit [noodles], spaghetti, bread and ham, pork adobo [pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic], and barbecue,” she explained of typical holiday preparations. “It’s a big party.” She expected more than 20 people to visit her home on Christmas Eve.
On the same day, Bing Daclitan and Lyn Calise, also from the Philippines, were set to be in Hong Kong helping to prepare meals for their employing families. Like many others, both decided to stay in town to earn extra money.
“I would prefer to be with my family,” said Calise, 39, originally from Manila. “It doesn’t feel like Christmas in Hong Kong. The spirit is very different.”