 |
A moving funeral mass was said for Buhay at St John's by two pastors who knew her well
(photo from Eman Villanueva) |
Migrant rights advocate Esther “Buhay” Bangcawayan was
laid to rest Monday morning, after a moving funeral mass held at St John’s
Cathedral in Central, with Rev Canon Dwight dela Torre and Rev Dr Philip Wickeri
officiating.
About 100 mourners from the Filipino community,
non-government organizations and other sectors attended the mass, which was followed
by the cremation of her remains at Cape Collinson in Chai Wan.
Buhay passed on October 14, aged 66, after a long
battle with colon cancer.
In his homily, Rev Wickeri extolled Buhay’s tireless service
to the migrant community for more than 40 years, and quoted extensively from a
posted tribute from her friend and fellow migrant rights activist Eman
Villanueva.
Eman said Buhay’s advocacy began when she became a founding
member and leader of the Asian Domestic Workers Union, composed of domestic workers
from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal and India.
Later she organized migrant workers in South Korea
and Macau as part of her work with the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrant Workers, and those in Hong Kong through the Filipino Migrant Workers Union chapter on Chater Road which she co-founded.
Apart from her organizing work, she was also a case
officer at the Mission for Migrant Workers and a full-time staff member of the
Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, where she assisted distressed migrant
workers.
“For many of us, Buhay
was a migrant leader, an organizer, a case officer, and a trainer all rolled
into one — a true migrant activist and internationalist who dedicated most of
her life to the service of others, irrespective of nationality,” said Eman.
 |
| Fr Dwight delivering a eulogy for Buhay at the funeral parlor |
Earlier, a wake for
Buhay was held over two days at the Universal Funeral Parlor in Hung Hom, where
various friends and fellow activists joined her family in paying tribute to her
lifelong service to the migrant community in Hong Kong.
Cynthia Tellez,
general manager of the Mission, spoke of why she would never forget Buhay and
her passion for helping the distressed and the disadvantaged
“I remember you,
Buhay, when you cried with a client over a lost case. I remember when you
hesitated climbing up the stairs of Bethune House, hating on a case of
ill-treatment. I remember you spending long hours speaking to a client…I
remember you, Buhay.”
 |
| Fellow activists say final goodbye to Buhay before her cremation |
Speaking on behalf of
Buhay’s family was her niece, who poignantly pointed out that her aunt’s Hong
Kong friends knew more about her as she spent more than half of
her life overseas.
“I envy you because
you stayed with her and you knew her better than us,” she said. But she added
that her family was pleased to hear of her aunt being described as a “lifeline
to others,” as this indicated that like other migrant advocates abroad, Buhay
was willing to sacrifice her personal happiness to be of service to others.
 |
| People closest to Buhay, including her family members, gather post-cremation |
Several Bethune House
clients who developed a more personal relationship with Buhay as she lived with
them in the shelter, including a survivor of the massive Tai Po fire last year,
were beside themselves with grief in talking about how she had given them
comfort and strength, even as she faced her own devastating battle with cancer.
.jpeg)
