By Daisy CL Mandap
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| The news comes as a blow to the thousands of Filipino domestic workers stranded in Manila |
Travelers from eight countries designated by Hong Kong as A1 or “extremely high risk” may kiss away their hopes of coming here – not soon, anyway.
Latest reports say Chief Executive Carrie Lam
is not keen on the idea, and wants to focus instead on reopening Hong Kong’s
borders with the mainland.
The news comes as a blow to many whose hopes
were raised recently by reports that Hong Kong was planning to lift the ban
partially, by allowing those who have been fully vaccinated to come in to
reunite with family members or take up much-needed jobs.
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Among them are the thousands of Filipino domestic workers who have been stranded in Manila while waiting for Hong Kong to lift the ban it imposed starting Apr 20 on all passenger flights from the Philippines.
“Nakakalungkot
naman po, lahat kami umaasa na,” said M.R., on being told about the latest
development. (It’s so saddening, all of us had been looking forward to
leaving).
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She said she had been waiting for eight months
to be deployed to Hong Kong, from the time she left her hometown in Masbate for
Manila so she could start working on getting her papers ready. By the time the
flight ban was announced she already had an employer waiting for her here.
M.R. said she considers herself lucky as she
could live with relatives in Caloocan City while waiting for the ban to be
lifted.
“Kawawa
po yung mga kasamahan ko na transient, mga galing pa ng probinsiya at sobrang
laki na ang gastos nila. Araw-araw Php175 ang bayad nila para sa tirahan nila,”
she said (I pity my fellow workers who are transient boarders. They came from
different provinces and have already spent a lot of money. They pay Php175 a
day for their lodging alone).
Another, M.G., was more philosophical about
the unfortunate turn of events.
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“Wala na
tayong magagawa kundi maghintay na lang,” she said. “Mag pray na lang na
mag ok na sana. (There’s nothing we can do but wait some more. We should just
pray that things will turn out ok soon).
But she could not help but add: “Kawawa naman kami. Ang dami ng stranded mula
noong April pa.” (Woe to us. So
many people have been stranded as early as April).
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Over the past four months that no word had
come out from Hong Kong about when flights from Manila would be allowed to
resume, many of the workers had been pouring out their grief on social media.
Mostly, they said they had already run out of
money trying to stick it out in Manila so they could leave as soon as Hong Kong
gives the go-ahead. Apart from paying for their board and lodging, they also
had to pay for updating their medical check-up result.
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Many admitted to borrowing money from loan
sharks, and were scared that the interest charged them, which was hefty to
begin with, had been compounding each month that they remain stuck in the
Philippines.
At least one permanent resident who just went
for a short vacation in Manila is also among those desperate to return to Hong Kong.
According to her husband, T.S. was set to leave for Hong Kong exactly on the
day the ban was imposed.
Being away from her family and work in Hong
Kong for more than three months has weighed heavily on T.S.’ mind that she cannot help but feel angry that
no one seems to care that she is unable to go home.
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| Congen Tejada has appealed to HK officials to take the Philippines out of the A1 category |
In an earlier interview, Consul General Raly Tejada, told The SUN that he had been trying to ask for a meeting with Hong Kong officials so he could appeal for the lifting of the ban on the Philippines, which has a comparatively more stable Covid-19 situation than the other countries in the A1 category.
That chance came two weeks ago, during the resumption of the technical
working group meeting between the Consulate and representatives of Hong Kong's Labour
and Immigration Departments.
ConGen Tejada said the
Consulate asked the Hong Kong officials to reexamine the Philippines’ classification
as A1 designated place, given the recent drop in the country’s daily infection
tally, and the big number of Filipinos getting vaccinated each day.
“We also asked them to
allow our residents and workers to come back given their need to work as well
as the demand for their services,” he added.
In response,
the Hong Kong officials said they recognized the importance of the
issue and agreed that residents and workers need to come back.
However, no definite date was given as to when
this might happen.
Regardless, the head of an employment agencies’
group went ahead and said that FDWs with approved work visas could leave as
early as next month once they get fully vaccinated, but did not cite any source
for this fearless forecast.
Apart from the Philippines, the other
countries in the A1 category are Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Nepal, United
Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
With the recent surge in cases in many of these
countries, especially the UK and Indonesia which both saw their daily infection
tally soar past 50,000 over the weekend; and India which remains severely blighted
by the Delta variant, it is not likely that the ban will be lifted anytime soon.
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