MANILA - No Filipinos were hurt after a gunman killed at least 21 people in a Thailand shopping mall on Saturday afternoon, the Philippine Embassy there said Sunday.
The embassy, in a statement, urged Filipinos in Nakhon Ratchasima, a 4-hour drive from Bangkok where the besieged Terminal 21 mall is located, to heed local officials' advise to stay indoors.
"We offer our prayers and solidarity with our Thai brothers and sisters in this time of grief," the embassy said.
According to a report of ABS-CBN News correspondent Goldie Saurin, six Filipinos were evacuated from the mall at around 2 a.m., Sunday.
"Wala na po siyang hawak na hostage. Siya ay naglalakad sa loob ng mall. Lahat ni-lockdown ang rooms at dahan-dahan nailabas ang customers at staff," Saurin told radio DZMM on Sunday morning, describing earlier activities of the gunman and those trapped inside the mall.
("He doesn't have any hostage anymore. He is just walking around inside the mall. All rooms in the mall have been locked down, and customers and staff are slowly being brought out.")
First Secretary and Consul General Val Roque was on his way to the area to check the condition of the Filipinos who were rescued from the mall, according to the Philippine Embassy.
Authorities earlier identified the gunman as a junior army officer named Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, who was killed after a nearly 24-hour ordeal.
The city - better known as Korat - is known to be frequented by Filipinos and is home to one of Thailand's largest barracks in a country where the military is enmeshed in politics and society.
Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world.
Several shootings at courthouses late last year renewed concern about gun violence in the Southeast Asian country.
--With Agence France-Presse
HONG KONG—As Hong Kong entered its 20th weekend of anti-government demonstrations, triggered by the now-withdrawn fugitive bill, some Filipino domestic workers say they are facing termination as their employers have decided to relocate overseas.
Hong Kong on Wednesday, Oct. 23, formally announced the withdrawal of the extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects it does not have an extradition treaty with such as Macau, Taiwan, and mainland China. The demands of the protests have since grown, among them an independent probe into alleged police brutality, amnesty for arrested protesters, categorizing the protests as riots as those convicted could face a hefty jail term of up to 10 years, and universal suffrage.
Among those preparing for her termination is "Roberta" (not her real name), a Filipino domestic worker who has been with her Indian employers for eight months.
Her employers are due to relocate to Singapore within the year, as their family would often find themselves caught in the crossfire between police and protesters in Kowloon. Roberta has been working in Hong Kong for eight years. She is due to return to the Philippines this month for a two-week vacation and will then break the news to her family. Her employment ends on Nov. 24.
"Actually mga June ganyan, nag-uusap na mga amo namin. Maglilipat na sila ng lugar kasi tinanong na rin nila ako kung nakapunta na ako ng Singapore. Sabi ko, hindi," said Roberta. "Nagbigla din ako kasi nagsabi siya na pupunta na daw silang Singapore, na humanap na daw ako ng bagong amo," she added.
(Actually it was around June when my employers talked about it. They're going to move, because they asked me if I've ever been to Singapore and I told them I've never been. I was taken aback when they said they would move to Singapore, that I needed to start looking for a new employer.)
Despite the current political and economic climate in Hong Kong, Roberta is hopeful she will be able to find new employers here. Singapore, for her, is not an option as domestic workers are paid higher in Hong Kong at 4,520 Hong Kong dollars while Singapore does not have a minimum wage set for maids.
The situation is a double-edged sword for Libeth A.C. and Marie M. who arrived in Hong Kong in May and July, respectively.
Libeth and Marie are colleagues who work for a British-Chinese man, who is a lawyer, and Hong Kong Chinese woman hotelier, a married couple in their 80s.
The couple, who owns a 4,500 square-foot house in Clear Water Bay in the New Territories, has told Libeth and Marie's other colleague that they are due to relocate to the United Kingdom this January. The couple employs three maids and two Chinese drivers. They are unaware of the fates of their male colleagues.
While the Filipinos have avoided much of the weekend mayhem, as their rest days are usually on weekdays, but with no fixed day, they consider the termination a blessing because they have complained of abuse from their elderly employers.
"Minsan nanduduro ’yung mga amo namin, hinahagis ’yung plato na aluminum. Nagdadabog. ’Pag may mga basura itatapon sa amin," Libeth told ABS-CBN News.
(Sometimes they would point their fingers at us, throw aluminum plates at us. They would throw tantrums. When there's trash, they would throw it in front of us.)
Marie added: "Masaya po (ako) para makalayo sa kalupitan."
Both domestic workers have children they left behind in the Philippines. They are hopeful they will still find luck in Hong Kong. Prior to Hong Kong, Libeth worked for some years in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while Marie had spent some three years in the Middle East and two years in Malaysia.
If worse comes to worst, both domestic workers are eyeing Singapore as their next destination.
"Gusto ko sana du’n na lang sa Pilipinas ulit pero wala pong budget. Negosyo mag-umpisa sana kahit sa maliit pero wala pang ipon," said Libeth.
Marie added: "Sa Pilipinas? Mahirap doon. Walang makukunan ng pagtustusan."
For long-time domestic worker Aurora Villahermosa, a mother of one who has been working in Hong Kong for 27 years, the situation has not affected her French employer of 12 years. But she empathizes with friends who have lost their jobs and are no longer in Hong Kong because their expat employers were forced to migrate elsewhere due to the unrest.
"Napakarami dito na affected talaga. Marami na nga nag-ano . . . ’yung mga expat . . . Dami ng mga kaibigan ko nawalan ng trabaho. Mga iba Korean ang amo at Japanese. Mostly Korean," said Villahermosa.
(Many are affected. I have many friends who've lost their jobs, some have Korean employers and Japanese. Mostly Korean)
Villahermosa told ABS-CBN News she also has siblings working for Chinese employers. But all appeared to be well with them, too.
" ’Yung mga kapatid ko Chinese mga amo nila s’yempre nag-uusap kami araw-araw. Napag-uusapan ’yang ganyan bagay. Wala naman. ’Yung amo nila wala naman sinasabi sa kanila na sooner or later," said Villahermosa.
(My siblings have Chinese employers. Of course, we speak with each other every day. We talk about these things, but there's nothing. Their employers have not said anything about losing their jobs sooner or later.)
For Rowena Libunao, an OFW in Hong Kong for 19 years now, says she has been with her employer for 12 years. They've also discussed developments in Hong Kong, but are not letting go of her just yet.
"Sabi niya (employer), if comes things worse (sic), maybe 5 to 10 years, no more helper. But I don't know kung ano totoo. Basta sabi niya, we are safe still. Sabi niya don't worry. You have family here because you stay here for so long. You are my family," Libunao told ABS-CBN News.
(My employer said if things worsen, maybe in five to 10 years, there'd be no more helpers. But I don't know what's true. My employer says we're safe. She said don't worry. You have a family here because you've stayed here for so long. You are my family.)
"’Pag ayaw pa ni amo at sabihin safe ako, stay pa rin dito kasi walang . . . Ewan ko kung may trabaho roon sa Pilipinas na naghihintay. Kung meron, why not, di ba?" Libunao said.
(If my employer doesn't want me to leave yet and I am safe, I'll still stay here. I don't know if there's work waiting for me in the Philippines. But if there is, why not, right?)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Hong Kong is bracing for more demonstrations this weekend, with protesters threatening to disrupt transport links to the airport, after embattled leader Carrie Lam's withdrawal of a controversial extradition bill failed to appease some activists.
Protesters plan to block traffic to the city's international airport on Saturday, a week after thousands of demonstrators disrupted transport links, sparking some of the worst violence since the unrest escalated 3 months ago.
In an advertisement on Friday in the South China Morning Post newspaper, the Airport Authority of the Asian financial hub urged protesters "not to disrupt the journey of tens of thousands of travelers who use the airport every day".
Other rallies are planned on Friday evening across the city, at sites such as subway stations and near government headquarters.
On Wednesday, Lam announced the withdrawal of the extradition bill, conceding one of the protesters' five key demands, although many said the move was too little, too late.
The bill, which would have allowed people in the former British colony to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party, triggered mass protests that have since widened into a backlash against the Hong Kong government and its political masters in Beijing.
The massive, and sometimes violent, protests present Chinese President Xi Jinping with his greatest popular challenge since he came to power in 2012.
The turmoil is also pummeling Hong Kong's economy, which faces its first recession in a decade. There is evidence some funds are being moved to rival financial centers, such as Singapore.
On Friday, ratings agency Fitch downgraded Hong Kong's credit rating, citing the continued unrest.
Many protesters remain angry over Lam's refusal to grant an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality against them. Police have fired tear gas and bean bag rounds at protesters, who, in turn, have thrown petrol bombs and bricks at them in running battles.
The protesters' 3 other demands are: retraction of the word "riot" to describe rallies, release of all demonstrators arrested and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
Many residents fear Beijing is eroding the autonomy granted to Hong Kong when it was handed back to China in 1997.
China denies the charge of meddling and says Hong Kong is an internal affair. It has denounced the protests, warning of the damage to the economy and the possible use of force to quell the unrest.
Legislation addressing China's actions in Hong Kong will be among the top priorities pushed by US Senate Democrats when Congress returns to work after a recess next week, their leader said on Thursday.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Hundreds of Hong Kong university and school students swapped classes for democracy demonstrations on Monday, the latest act of defiance in an anti-government movement that has plunged the Chinese-ruled city into its biggest political crisis in decades.
The boycott follows a weekend marred by some of the worst violence since unrest escalated more than 3 months ago, with protesters burning barricades and throwing petrol bombs, and police retaliating with water cannon, tear gas and batons.
Riot police on Monday patrolled the subway, known as the MTR, where some of the most violent clashes have erupted.
Hundreds of students gathered outside the Chinese University of Hong Kong, one of the city's largest, taking turns to make speeches from a stage with a black backdrop embossed with "Students in Unity Boycott for our City".
"I come here just to tell others that even after summer holidays end we are not back to our normal life, we should continue to fight for Hong Kong," said one 19-year old student who asked to be identified as just Chan.
"These protests awaken me to care more about the society and care for the voiceless."
Images posted on social media showed rows of teenagers lined up outside secondary schools holding banners. Many primary schools were closed because of a typhoon warning. Monday was the first day back after summer holidays.
Matthew Cheung, Hong Kong government chief secretary, told reporters that schools were no place for protests.
Protesters had called for a general strike but most people appeared to return to their daily lives with shops open, trains operating and workers making their way to offices across the global financial hub.
Thousands of protesters blocked roads and public transport links to Hong Kong airport on Sunday in a bid to draw world attention to their attempt to force Beijing to give greater autonomy to the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Airport authorities said 25 flights were cancelled on Sunday but transport services were largely back to normal.
ANGER AT CHINA
After leaving the airport on Sunday, some demonstrators targeted the MTR subway station in nearby Tung Chung district, ripping out turnstiles and smashing CCTV cameras and lamps with metal poles. Police moved in and made several arrests.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, a lightning rod for protesters' anger at a city government they say is controlled by Beijing, said on her Facebook page on Monday that 10 subway stations were damaged by "violent offenders".
Police and protesters had clashed on Saturday night in some of the most intense violence since unrest escalated in mid-June over concerns Beijing is eroding the freedoms granted to the territory under a "one country, 2 systems" agreement, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary.
John Lee, government secretary for security, told media that nearly 100 petrol bombs were thrown in various locations on Saturday with 2 found on a 13-year-old boy who was arrested inside an MTR station.
The unrest began over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people in the city to be sent to China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party, the latest example of what many residents see as ever-tighter control by Beijing, despite the promise of autonomy.
The turmoil has evolved over 13 weeks to become a widespread demand for greater democracy. China is eager to quell the unrest before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1.
China denies meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and accuses Western countries of egging on the protests. It says Hong Kong is an internal affair.
With Hong Kong facing its first recession in a decade, China has also warned of the damage the protests are causing to the economy.
Shares of Hong Kong rail operator MTR Corp Ltd fell as much as 3.9 percent to HK$43.65, their lowest since Feb. 15 and on track for their third consecutive session of decline.
With protesters and authorities locked in an impasse, speculation has grown that the city government may impose emergency law, giving it extra powers over detentions, censorship and curfews.
Lam has said the government would consider using all laws at its disposal to bring unrest to an end. (Reporting by Jessie Pang, Joyce Zhou, Farah Master, Donny Kwok, Clare Jim and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Joe Brock Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Hong Kong braced for more disruption Monday with calls for a general strike and university students threatening a boycott of classes after a weekend featuring some of the worst violence in 3 months of anti-government protests.
The financial hub has been thrown into chaos by a largely leaderless movement that has drawn millions onto the streets to protest against what they see as an erosion of freedoms and increasing interference in their affairs by Beijing.
Authorities have given permission for 2 rallies on Monday, but it is unclear how well supported they will be, or if they will spill over into violence as most recent gatherings have done.
Universities are due to resume classes Monday after a summer break, but students -- who make up the backbone of the protest movement -- plan a 2-week boycott, and a rally in the afternoon.
The protests started in opposition to government plans to allow the extradition to the mainland of people wanted by Beijing, but have widened to include broader demands.
Chief among these are for the extradition bill to be formally scrapped, for the territory's chief executive to quit, and for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality during the protests.
"This is a leaderless campaign where the like-minded students gather and make class boycott happen," said a boycott organizer, requesting anonymity.
Monday's strike call comes with the city still recovering from a weekend of clashes that saw at least a dozen flights cancelled Sunday after protesters blocked routes to the airport.
On Saturday, hardcore protesters rampaged through the city center, setting fires and throwing petrol bombs at riot police in defiance of a rally ban.
Police hit back with tear gas, baton charges and water cannon laced with chemical dye.
Video footage captured by local media showed elite police charge and beat a crowd cowering inside a train carriage, with Amnesty International calling their actions "horrifying".
In early August, a city-wide strike -- a rare occurrence in a freewheeling finance hub where unions traditionally have little sway -- brought transport chaos to the city.
Hong Kong' flagship carrier Cathay Pacific has warned staff they risk being sacked if they joined Monday's strike after the last walkout was supported by the airline's flight attendant union.
Cathay has already fired at least 4 staff -- including 2 pilots -- for supporting the protests.
Hong Kong's reputation as a stable place to do business has been shaken by the ongoing protests.
Visitor arrivals have plummeted, hotel vacancies have soared and retailers have reported huge losses as a result of the protests, but the government has offered little in the way of concessions or suggestions on how to end them.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was arrested on Friday ahead of another weekend of planned protests in the Chinese-ruled city which is grappling with its biggest political crisis since its handover to Beijing more than 2 decades ago.
Wong, the face of Hong Kong's push for full democracy during protests in 2014 that paralyzed parts of the city for 79 days, was released from jail in June after serving a five-week term for contempt of court.
"He was suddenly pushed into a private car on the street," Wong's political party Demosisto, which advocates for greater democracy in Hong Kong, said on its official Twitter account.
"He has now been escorted to the police headquarters in Wan Chai," it said, adding its lawyers were working on the case.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Unrest in Hong Kong escalated in mid-June over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts.
It has since evolved into calls for greater democracy under the "one country, 2 systems" formula, which guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent judiciary.
On Thursday, China brought fresh troops into Hong Kong in what it described as a routine rotation of the garrison.
Chinese state media stressed the troop movement was routine and Asian and Western diplomats watching the People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces in the former British colony had been expecting it.
Chinese soldiers stationed in Hong Kong are not there merely for symbolic purposes and they will have "no reason to sit on their hands" if the situation in the city worsens, an editorial in the China Daily newspaper said on Friday.
Police have refused permission for a pro-democracy march on Saturday, but organizers have appealed against the decision.
The protest would mark 5 years since Beijing ruled out universal suffrage for Hong Kong and comes as Hong Kong faces its first recession in a decade, with all its pillars of growth under stress.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed off his Sept. 1 deadline for 10 percent tariffs on remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and other consumer goods, in the hopes of blunting their impact on US holiday sales.
The delay which, affects about half of the $300 billion target list of Chinese goods - along with news of renewed trade discussions between US and Chinese officials - sent stocks sharply higher and drew cautious relief from retailers and technology groups.
Trump's 10 percent tariffs will be effective from Dec. 15 for thousands of products including clothing and footwear, possibly buttressing the holiday selling season from some of the fallout from the protracted trade spat between the world's 2 largest economies.
"We're doing this for Christmas season, just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on US customers," Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "Just in case they might have an impact on people, what we've done is we've delayed it so that they won't be relevant to the Christmas shopping season."
The US Trade Representative's Office announced the decision just minutes after China's Ministry of Commerce said Vice Premier Liu He conducted a phone call with US trade officials.
Liu agreed with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to speak again by phone within the next two weeks, the ministry said.
Trump has said the 2 sides may still meet in early September as scheduled.
APPLE SHINES
The delay in tariffs on a substantial portion of a $300 billion list of remaining Chinese imports sent US stocks surging, after steep losses in the past week, with the Standard & Poor's 500 up 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gaining nearly 2 percent.
Shares of market bellwether Apple Inc soared 4.2 percent on news that its core iPhone, tablet and laptop computer products would be spared from tariffs for the time being.
But the Trump administration still plans to impose 10 percent tariffs on thousands of Chinese food, clothing and other consumer electronics products beginning Sept. 1.
Among these are Chinese-made smartwatches from Apple and Fitbit, smart speakers from Amazon.com Inc, Google and Apple, and Bluetooth headphones and other devices, a category estimated at $17.9 billion last year by the Consumer Technology Association.
Flat screen televisions from China, a category worth $4.5 billion, also will face 10 percent tariffs on Sept. 1 after being spared from Trump's first round of tariffs more than a year ago.
Live animals, dairy products, skis, golf balls, contacts lenses, lithium ion batteries and snowblowers will also get tariffs on Sept. 1
Based on a Reuters analysis, the delay could extend to around half of the $300 billion list of remaining Chinese imports. Chinese imports subject to the tariffs on Dec. 15 totaled about $156 billion last year, according US Census bureau data.
Most retailers would have stocked their holiday merchandise before the earlier September deadline, some might have faced the tariffs for fill-in orders late in the holiday shopping season.
Still, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said "removing some products from the list and delaying additional 10 percent tariffs on other products, such as toys, consumer electronics, apparel and footwear, until Dec. 15 is welcome news as it will mitigate some pain for consumers through the holiday season."
The Consumer Technology Association applauded the delay on some items, but added: "Next month, we’ll begin to pay more for some of our favorite tech devices – including TVs, smart speakers and desktop computers. The administration should permanently remove these harmful tariffs and find another way to hold China accountable for its unfair trading practices."
The 21-page-list of products that will not get hit with tariffs until December also includes baby monitors and strollers, microwaves, instant print cameras, doorbells, high chairs, musical instruments, ketchup dispensers, baby diapers, fireworks, sleeping bags, nativity scenes, fishing reels, paint rollers and food products.
A separate group of products will be removed from the tariff list altogether, the USTR said, "based on health, safety, national security and other factors." It did not immediately identify these items.
Trump announced the Sept. 1 tariffs less than 2 weeks ago, blaming China for not following through on promises to buy more American agricultural products during talks in Shanghai at the end of July. That move was met with a drop in China's yuan currency a few days later, prompting the Trump administration to declare Beijing a currency manipulator and sending markets tumbling for several days last week.
Since Trump's Aug. 1 tweets announcing the new tariffs, the US benchmark S&P stock index has dropped more than 4 percent.
The tariff delay, combined with renewed talks with China, suggest Trump may be willing to compromise.
In a sign the administration may be expecting something in return, Trump tweeted on Tuesday: "As usual, China said they were going to be buying “big” from our great American Farmers. So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!" Trump tweeted.
Trump's tariff delay comes amid growing concerns about a global economic slowdown. Goldman Sachs said on Sunday fears of the US-China trade war leading to a recession were increasing and Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the two countries before the 2020 US presidential election.
Trump has also personally criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to do more to stem sales of the synthetic opioid fentanyl amid an opioid overdosing crisis in the United States.
The USTR office plans to conduct an exclusion process that could allow more items to be removed from the 10 percent tariff list.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
As a tear gas canister clatters onto a street in Hong Kong, a pro-democracy protester wearing heat-proof gloves and carrying a traffic cone sprints from the crowd to put it out.
Police have ramped up their use of the crowd control measure as two months of rallies in the global financial hub have turned increasingly violent, peaking with 800 rounds fired on Monday in what protesters called a "tear gas buffet".
Hardcore demonstrators are responding with ever more creative methods to neutralize the threat, harnessing everything from traffic cones to kitchenware.
Their arsenal includes several must-haves: heat-resistant gloves, so they can pick up searingly hot canisters, and respirators that have been dubbed "pig snouts" in Cantonese.
Online forums host discussions on which models of 3M respirator filters work best against tear gas, and which local hardware stores still have the preferred models in stock.
"I really need to get one! The good masks are already very hard to find on the street," wrote one commenter.
On the streets, protesters compare notes on their equipment and offer tips.
After police fired tear gas at protesters hurling bottles and bricks on Monday, one bystander gasped and rubbed his eyes, attracting the attention of a passing demonstrator who handed him a mask.
"This one's not the good one but it will work," he said. "You've always got to carry one!"
TACTICAL RESPONSE
Demonstrators have formed special "units" in charge of tackling tear gas, which leap into action as soon as a canister is fired.
Some wrap their arms and legs in cling wrap to prevent the painful skin irritations that the gas and pepper spray can cause, and they carry saline to rinse the eyes of anyone affected.
Canisters are sometimes picked up and lobbed back at police or extinguished straight away with water bottles.
Some carry traffic cones, which can be popped on top of canisters to contain the gas before protesters douse them with water.
Months of street battles against police have allowed protesters to develop a sophisticated response to crowd control techniques, said Tony Davis, a Bangkok-based security analyst with IHS Jane's.
"What's happening in Hong Kong allows the protesters to learn and they're developing skills," he said. "They're becoming in a sense, an organised army, which they certainly weren't in the first phase."
They might be an "army", but their equipment is mostly improvised, with one recent tool of choice coming straight from the kitchen.
When police fired tear gas at residents in the working class neighborhood of Wong Tai Sin, a local grabbed a cheap aluminium wok lid to snuff out the gas.
The cooking lids have now become standard issue for some protesters -- part of an arsenal that also includes umbrellas and even swimming goggles to protect against pepper spray.
While tear gas is a common crowd control method worldwide, it had rarely been seen in Hong Kong before the latest protest movement.
Its use during the Occupy Central blockade of city streets in 2014, the city's last period of civil unrest, caused widespread outrage.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Every Sunday in Hong Kong, the city's army of domestic helpers packs into parks or onto pavements, bridges and walkways on their one mandatory day off.
With a marginalized position in society and low income, the force of more than 300,000 maids, mainly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, can find it hard to access public facilities like libraries and leisure centers.
Some NGOs say as well as difficulties meeting the cost, helpers also face discrimination -- especially if they are in groups -- and can have difficulties providing information for membership such as proof of address if their employers do not supply it.
But Marilyn Maliglig has found an alternative way to spend her day off -- confronting her water phobia at a free swimming class for domestic helpers in Hong Kong.
"I cannot float, that's the problem," the 41-year-old told AFP before her first class.
"I really can't swim in the water at all."
Although the city depends on domestic helpers to keep it running, some maids are barred from using swimming pools for their own leisure at the residential complexes where they work.
They are only entitled to one day off a week which they spend setting up temporary camps around the city with music, food, prayers and dancing.
British swimming enthusiast Simon Holliday said he was inspired to set up swimming classes for domestic helpers after he spotted a group one Sunday, looking bored and sitting on cardboard boxes on the pavement.
"Many people feel strongly about helpers and their contributions to Hong Kong society. They want to give them an opportunity to do something for themselves," Holliday told AFP.
His charity Splash offers free swimming lessons for marginalized communities in Hong Kong, including refugees.
Helpers say they cannot afford paid-for lessons and the class gives them a chance to learn a new skill and to relax after a trying six-day week.
"We want other things to do. Because we always do the same things at home," said Jasmine Arcana, from the Philippines, who has been working in Hong Kong as a helper for eight years.
Nearly 1,200 domestic helpers have taken part in the program since it began three years ago.
Some have gone on to be open-water swimmers, taking advantage of Hong Kong's many beaches.
Russelle Vertudazo was afraid of the water until she started at Splash two years ago -- now she dons a wetsuit and goggles every Sunday morning to swim with a dozen other helpers along the southern bays of Hong Kong Island.
Vertudazo, 31, said the main reason she started to swim was to make new friends -- like many helpers.
"Most of us in Hong Kong don't have many places to go," she told AFP.
"I like how I can swim as far as I can. I feel free."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
