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| Baby Noah and his mother Glendy at the shelter |
Two baby boys born a month apart have become the latest residents of Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge, highlighting its valuable contribution to keeping distressed migrant workers in Hong Kong safe and sheltered.
The babies’ mothers, a Filipina and an Indonesian,
both have pending court cases, and Bethune House has not only helped assure
them that they can remain in Hong Kong and give birth while they sort out their
legal problems, but to also be surrounded with many caring and loving people.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
The births, the latest of which happened only last
week, coincided with this year’s launch of the 2025-2026 Coins for Bethune
House, an annual fundraising project started 14 years ago.
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| Baby Noel is still at the hospital, as he was born through C-section |
Bethune House executive director Edwina Antonio
explained part of what they do, during the fundraising launch on October 12: “May
Cantonese lesson, computer lesson, first aid, basta lahat ng makakatulong sa
inyo dito sa Hong Kong while may kaso
kayo.”(anything that could help you stay in Hong Kong while you’re facing
court cases)
She added, “Once
na terminate kayo, di ba jobless at homeless kayo, wala kayong tutuluyan, at
madalas hindi pa binayaran ng amo. At dahil hindi kayo pinapayagan ng HK
government na magtrabaho, crucial ang shelter para sa pananatili ninyo at
makamit ninyo ang justice dito sa Hong Kong. Kasi kung hindi, uuwi na lang kayo
dahil hindi kayo makakatagal sa mahal ng gastusin dito.”
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
(When your services are terminated, you become
jobless and homeless. You have nowhere to go, and often, your employer did not
pay you. The Hong Kong government does not allow you to work, so the shelter is
crucial in allowing you to remain here while you fight for justice. If you don’t
have a place to go, you’ll be forced to go home because it is expensive to
remain here).
Antonio explained that beyond giving shelter and legal
and moral support advice to its clients, Bethune House also covers the cost of
transportation for those who need to work on their cases, as well as their visa
extension fee, which was recently raised from $230 to $330 each time.
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| About 100 people join Coins for Bethune 2025 launch at St John's Li Hall |
Even in the middle of the night, she said Bethune House sends out volunteers or staff members to rescue workers who have been thrown out of their employers’ houses after being given notice of termination for whatever reason.
At no other time was this help shown to be most
crucial than during the 2020-2023 Covid-19 pandemic, when dozens of migrant workers
were driven out into the streets all throughout the day, after testing positive
for the virus. Bethune House, together with other support groups for migrants,
found places where they could stay and recover.
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| Edwina says BH helps distressed migrant women every step of the way |
Through nearly four decades, Bethune House has stood as a beacon of hope for migrant women facing all sorts of challenges, not least the victims in some of the worst abuse cases ever recorded in Hong Kong. They were not only sheltered, but were also helped to attain justice and regain their self-worth.
They include Indonesian worker Erwiana, who was taken
to the airport for her flight home, barely able to walk from the abuse
inflicted on her by her employer. She was brought back by the Mission for Migrant Workers, which helped put her
employer in jail while she sheltered in Bethune House, and eventually went back
to college and graduated with honors.
There was also Grace, who was made to sleep in the
toilet and was rescued by Bethune House volunteers amid a Typhoon 8 signal;
Marsha, a human trafficking victim who stayed at the shelter for three years
while facing a case for breach of condition of stay; and many others, including
rape victims who found in the shelter the ray of hope they needed in a time of
despair.
Amazingly, Bethune House has done all these good
works without funding support from any government, be it Hong Kong, the Philippines
or Indonesia.
But it has not been without challenges. Every so
often it would send out an SOS to private donors saying it was in danger of
closing down because of a shortage of funds, and each time, lots of people would
come together, from local artists to Disney performers and young professionals,
and extend it a lifeline.
The Coins for Bethune House project is one of those
constants, and perhaps most meaningful. For it is when migrant workers come together
to support their own that Bethune House finds more reason to continue its
advocacies.
