The Help – Lilybeth was forced to sleep on the floor, eat expired food and called a ‘lazy pig’

Welcome to “The Help”, a series brought to you in partnership with HK Helpers Campaign and Mission for Migrant Workers. These stories come directly from some of Hong Kong’s 320,000 foreign domestic workers. Everyone deserves a voice. 
 

Lilybeth Dimaya, aged 34, from Cagayan Valley, the Philippines

 

I first came to Hong Kong because my sister’s three kids needed money for school. I’ve just left my job with my fourth employer in Mong Kok because she was abusive and only gave me expired food, leftovers, or plain rice to eat. 

She told me, “It’s okay if they’re expired. Don’t you know that expiration dates aren’t true? They’re fine to eat for six months.”

So when I threw it away, she got it back out of the bin and told me to eat it. 

I told her, “Ma’am, I’m poor, but I don’t eat like that in the Philippines. Just give me rice. I don’t eat expired or rotten food.” I said, “Why do you give me this food? The dog’s food is more special than mine.” 

She told me, “Okay, if you don’t like the food I give you, you won’t have anything to eat. I’ll give you the food allowance and I won’t cook your food.”

So I carried on, eating my own food, but she was very angry and punished me for it. 

One of the rules of the house is that when we go out we shut the dog in the kitchen with a baby gate so it doesn’t make a mess in the house. But when she’s really angry, she says, “Okay, just leave the dog here, don’t put it in the kitchen.” 

When we come home, the dog has made a mess and I have to clean it up. She is very happy to see me humiliated like that. She treated me like I’m an animal.

I had to clean her mother’s house, her sister’s house, and every holiday [Sunday] I had to clean before I went out. And when I came back, I needed to clean until 1am the following morning.

She even pushed me and told me, “You’re a lazy pig.” My name in the house was “lazy pig”. “You’re stupid”, she told me.“I hired you because you are dark, fat and ugly.” 

The son also threw his clothes in my face. “F*ck you”, he said. 

On my last day I wanted to get back my passport. She [the employer] really didn’t want to give it me. When I finally got it back, the cover was separated from the pages, so now I can’t use it. 

My claim [against my previous employer] was for HKD11,000, but she didn’t want to pay it. I just wanted to get back my food allowance, because the food allowance she gave me wasn’t enough, and my salary. She never paid me the whole time I was there. 

In the end the judge awarded me HKD8,000.

My employer before her was strict but I could manage it. She made me cut my hair really short, but it’s only my hair. 

Their six-year-old son was also really wild and used to hit me, but when he beat me, they would punish the son. The stepfather even took him in front of the police station and said it was because he beat Auntie. Whenever he beat me the madam would give me presents and say, “Sorry, please, have more patience with my son.”

I was also looking after the grandma, and after just a few months we were friends. At first she wouldn’t share food with me, but then I bought her ice cream because I know she likes it. After that she started sharing with me.

I send boxes home because my family lives in a province in the mountains, so I send them things that they can’t eat there. Every time I get my salary, I buy things for them.

On my day off I would meet friends and go to a boarding house. Sometimes we’d go for a picnic or to the mall. My first employer even told me, “If you don’t have any place to go you can stay at home.”

With my first and second employer I had my own bedroom, but the third I shared with two kids. A four-year-old and a newborn baby. When the baby was six months old, he would crawl to me and sleep on my tummy. The last one I slept on the floor with no bed, and it was so hard and so cold. 

But all of this is okay. As long as the employer is good to me and looks after me if I’m sick, that’s all I really care about.

But with my last employer I got sick. I lost a lot of weight because of lack of sleep, lack of food and stress. I’m normally 75 kilos, but when I finished with the last employer I was 50.

I’m pregnant now with my first child. The dad is from the Philippines but working here. He’s a driver. I’m going to go back to the Philippines and will hopefully get a job teaching mathematics and English. 

After the last employer I told my sisters, “I can’t do it anymore.” We are seven sisters and two brothers, so I asked them, “Please can you help me?” 

They said, “Yes. Come home.”

 


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