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Victoria Park offers ‘fun, useful’ ways to take time out, gain valuable experience
With her long ponytail, gambler hat and cozy plaided shirt, Anisa does not look like a typical Muslim woman in her late 30s
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ith her long ponytail, gambler hat and cozy plaided shirt, Anisa does not look like a typical Muslim woman in her late 30s. She may be known as a domestic helper to Hong Kong families, but for many young Indonesians she is the beloved guitar teacher who appears at Victoria Park on Sundays.
For the large amount of time invested in organizing the sessions and a thick hand-written music book, Anisa offers classes at HK$350 (US$ 40) per student, but what money cannot buy is her eight years of experience working and living in Hong Kong.
“I always give advice to young people about following the rules here in Hong Kong, about not overstaying the visa, not spending too much, and staying away from drugs,” says Anisa, whose guitar classes often turn into jam sessions and experience-sharing.
Anisa’s students, with their edgy hairstyles and hip-hop outfits, are a group of bold and energy-filled Indonesian teenage girls unlikely to be spotted on Indonesia’s streets. The youngest is 18-year-old Dewa, who calls Anisa “Shi Fu” (meaning guru or master).
Having just started working in Hong Kong last year, Dewa recently spent HK$800 ($102) — almost a quarter of her monthly salary — on a guitar, her only form of entertainment during her time off.
“Yeah, it was expensive, but music is fun. I don’t care about other things,” Dewa says.
But Victoria Park offers young Indonesians like Dewa many other options besides guitar lessons. On Sundays the park becomes an open-air classroom of free hijab-binding lessons, book sales, knitting classes and makeup workshops. It may be too overcrowded for pedestrians or tourists, but for Indonesians in Hong Kong, it is a jubilee gathering point on their only day off, and most importantly a unique space for some precious learning opportunities.
Jeny and Titik Suparyani run a makeup class next to the busy pedestrian walk next to Victoria Park.
Resembling the hectic preparations prior to grand events, Jeny and Titik’s classes teach young girls how to dress for traditional Indonesian weddings.
About 10 women join Jeny and Titik for wedding preparation workshops every Sunday, spending hours pinning “sangggul” to their hair, decorating themselves with complicated jewelry, painting faces and putting on traditional wedding dresses.
A few minutes’ walk away, Anis runs a free hijab-binding class for a circle of between six and 10 girls every Sunday. Previously employed in Singapore, Anis speaks good English and knows a lot about Muslim fashion. She goes around the circle to check if her students have put their hair pins in correctly.
“We don’t wear the hijab every day because employers don’t like it here,” said Anis, “but many girls still want to learn. Muslims have fashion, too.”
Anis has a handful of fashion magazines for Islam girls that are hugely popular among her students.
Among those striving to help young Indonesians to learn extra skills is also Bayu Insani, a prolific author of 12 books and a domestic helper who has worked in Hong Kong for six years. Bayu usually talks to people about her books next to her friend’s suitcase book stands near Victoria Park every Sunday.
Part of Forum Lingkar Pena Hong Kong (Hong Kong writers’ circle forum), Bayu says she hopes to relay positive messages to Indonesian girls in Hong Kong through her writing.
Her most popular work is TKW Menulis (Women migrant workers write), which Bayu wrote with Ida Raihan based on their own experiences.
“I wrote this book because I wanted my readers to feel the positive activities. Here too many people smoke, [become] lesbians and eat pork [which is against Islam],” Bayu says. However, her love of writing does not make Bayu a full-time writer.
“It’s too unstable. At least we have a salary every month as domestic helpers.”
A worker at the Indonesian Embassy in Hong Kong, who calls himself “Martin” said these were “all good activities”.
“They keep the girls busy. It’s also a good way to express themselves, and learn to appreciate beauty,” he added.
Martin usually walks through Victoria Park on Sundays and speaks with the crowds of Indonesians with his colleagues.
Commenting on underpayment problems in Hong Kong, Martin said the embassy was “aware, but the most difficult challenge is still adjusting to different cultures here.”
However, he said Hong Kong was still better than some other places where Indonesian migrants go to work. “There are no holidays in Singapore,” he said.
