W

hen Erwiana made international headlines, the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong came under sharp scrutiny. Many domestic helpers took to the streets in front of the Indonesian consulate and government offices were occupied by both Indonesian and Filipino migrant workers.

Erwiana spurred cross-nationality unity over issues of equality and treatment for domestic helpers.

Currently, Erwiana is in Hong Kong to appear in the court as a witness. She was assigned to stay at an Indonesian consulate'€™s shelter, which upset the Mission for Migrant Workers. Apparently, the union is keen to have Erwiana stay at its shelter. Some are saying that her stay at the Indonesian consulate'€™s shelter was against her wishes and she has been caught throwing away food given by the consulate.

Then something interesting happened, I saw a photograph posted to an Indonesian community Facebook group of Erwiana'€™s untouched food.

Apparently, a member of the consulate staff was very upset about it and decided to post the image to Facebook.

Of course, as many people know, there is very big gap between domestic helpers and other members of the Indonesian community here in Hong Kong, thus, the post successfully attracted attention and many commented on how rude Erwiana'€™s behavior was.

I was aware the effect of this post could lessen the support for Erwiana, support which she desperately needs.

This is the sad reality of the Indonesian community in Hong Kong. Of course, not all are like that but the majority is. I asked myself: Why can these people not unite and support the helpers?

At first, I tried to raise awareness that the consulate lady'€™s post was dangerous because it would divide support for Erwiana. It shows that we are not united. However, as I think about this Facebook drama more, the bigger issue here is how it all started from the consulate.

In comparison to the Philippines, who by law waiver the training fee for domestic workers, Indonesian law allows employment agencies to cut domestic workers'€™ salaries by almost 80 percent to repay their training fee.

Most are only educated to the elementary or junior high school level.

They are the most vulnerable community in Hong Kong at high risk of abuse and exploitation, not just from the employer but also from their agencies.

Yeni Kittrell
Hong Kong