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| Congen Israel (with glasses) and Social Justice officers award plaque of appreciation to Traditional Chinese Medicine lead Zoe Cheng |
Consul General Romulo M. Israel, Jr. has called on Filipinos in Hong Kong to try to project a positive image for the community, in the wake of a series of social media posts involving Filipino migrant workers brawling in public places.
Speaking at the 7th anniversary celebration
of Social Justice for Migrant Workers held in Jordan on Sunday, June 28, Congen
Israel said Filipinos should look out for each other instead of fighting one
another to earn the respect of other people in their host city.
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| Still shot from a viral video shows a Filipina being dragged down the stairs of the GPO |
At least two controversial videos had been posted
online earlier: one of a Filipina migrant worker being dragged down the stairs of
the General Post Office building in Central during a dispute over the right to
hang out in the area; and another of two Filipinas throwing kicks and punches
at each other on Chater Road, also in Central, reportedly due to an overdue
loan.
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| Another viral video shows a Filipina being kicked before onloookers on Chater Road |
Congen Israel said that Filipinos who are in trouble
should go the Consulate for help: “Be our guest,” he said.
Another basic guideline is for Filipinos in Hong Kong
to “invest in their future” as many are here only for work, and will eventually
return to the Philippines to resume their lives.
Lastly, he said Filipinos are “keepers” of each other,
so they must learn to live harmoniously, if not happily, together.
Congen also used the occasion to thank Traditional Chinese
Medicine practitioners who also celebrated their fourth year of involvement in
the Filipino community through the SJMW at the same event.
“This is a huge milestone because it speaks of the dedication
and commitment of Social Justice for Migrant Workers to promote one of the
effective methods of healing our physical bodies,” he said.
He added that even in the Philippines, the Health Department
is promoting the use of TCM because the country also has a huge Chinese
community.
TCM lead doctor, Zoe Cheng, announced that with a
recent increase in the number of licensed practitioners in her team, they are
now able to treat migrant workers three times a month, instead of the previous
two.
Cheng also said they recently broke new ground when
they were asked by the Migrant Workers Office at the Consulate to conduct a TCM
workshop.
Social Justice officers led by Marites Palma (leftmost) with their 3 NGO partners
Representatives of various NGO partners of SJMW also
spoke at the event, including Serene Clark who heads the volunteer team for
cervical screening booking; Ariel Lee of Kriya Lightning Foundation, Rachel Ng
of Be Priceless, and Joy Tadios-Arenas of Good Financial Ltd.
The other invited guests were Daisy CL Mandap and Leo
A. Deocadiz of The SUN Hong Kong and Aileen Alonzo-Hayward of Pagyao HK
Migrants Community.
SJMW was founded by Marites Palma in 2019, primarily as
an online support group for Filipino migrant workers who are terminated,
abused, sexually harassed or suffering from gender-based violence.
Palma, along with a group of dedicated fellow
volunteers who have been designated as administrators of their social media
page, help the disadvantaged migrant workers to speak up and be heard by the
community and the authorities.
