Foreword: One Way Ticket

Sunday
September 9, 2018

Central, Hong Kong



Helpers take prominence in the streets of Hong Kong during Sundays — their day off for the week.


Many of them take this unrestricted amount of time to touch base with relatives back home over text or video chat.




An ate (an endearing Filipino term for ‘big sister’) takes selfies with her selfie stick, which are most likely to go on Facebook.



Footbridges and typically-empty corners in Central turn into forts for the ates to congregate in for the day.


Remittance centres are packed on Sundays. A common routine for helpers is to go to one these centres after payday in order to send money back home.


The local government closes particular roads in Central on Sundays in order to segregate select spaces where helpers can converge.



The plight of the helper has always involved fairer access to human rights. Stories of substandard working conditions, such as their passports being held from them, helpers being made to sleep in toilets, and mental and physical abuse, are commonplace in Hong Kong.


A diverse range of collectives exist within the helper population, such as church groups, beauty queens, hiking clubs, and dance troupes.

Many helpers bring food they’ve prepared themselves to these gatherings. A usual set-up is where one ate cooks the rice, one makes the main course, and one prepares dessert.