Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, 23, the domestic worker who was tortured by her former employer in Hong Kong, urged abused maids to speak up about their suffering.
Though she is grateful that the Hong Kong government pursued her case, Erwiana said that it could do more by regulating agency commission fees and providing more information to domestic workers about where and how to seek help.
“We come here to earn money to support our families. We should be entitled to fair protection,” she declared.
In an interview with InmediaHK translated by GlobalVoices, Erwiana advised women coming to Hong Kong for work to research the laws in both their home countries and in Hong Kong so they know what to do if they need help.
She also recommended that such women seek help from non-profit organisations that assist migrant workers.
Despite her terrible experience in Hong Kong, she does not have bad feelings towards the city.
“In every country there are good people as well as bad people. It’s the same everywhere,” she said.
Erwiana said she no longer wanted to go abroad to work, and that her choice of work is limited due to her inability to perform labour-intensive work after the injuries she sustained at the hands of her former employer.
She is currently studying in Indonesia to become a teacher. Her hope is that her country’s next generation will no longer have to seek jobs abroad as migrant workers.
Photo: AFP
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