Hong Kong maids need a break, but Covid-19 fears make it harder for them to gather on days off
- Some helpers say they end up working seven days a week when employers stop them going out
- Victoria Park no longer the cheerful meeting place it used to be, say Indonesian helpers
Every Sunday morning Indonesian domestic helper Eni Lestari gets dressed, puts on some light make-up and takes a bus from her employer’s home in Yau Ma Tei to Victoria Park, where she meets her friends.
This has long been her routine for her only day off each week. Lestari, in her 40s and a helper for 20 years in Hong Kong, always looked forward to spending Sunday singing, dancing and sharing home-made Indonesian food with her friends.
But a lot has changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With Hong Kong’s current fourth wave of infections, some want the city’s more than 398,000 domestic helpers to stay home on their days off.
Much of Victoria Park is now closed, and only about 2,000 to 3,000 Indonesian women turn up every Sunday, compared to about 10,000 who used to throng the open space in Causeway Bay before the pandemic hit Hong Kong a year ago.
Gone is the jovial atmosphere of the past, when women sat close together in their groups, with music in the air.
Tension and insecurity hang over the place now, says Lestari. They no longer sing, dance, or bring food to share. Everyone is masked and friends sit away from each other, sometimes using small speakers to be heard.
