Migrant worker unions in Hong Kong are up in arms about the casually racist Facebook post of a property agent who captioned images of headscarf-wearing Indonesian domestic helpers as “Hong Kong Isis-style”.
According to the SCMP, the unions are demanding a public apology from Jackie Valiant Syed, who shared two photographs of two women in headscarves eating in a walkway believed to be in Mong Kok.
The groups argue that the photographs, posted on Dec. 20, are defamatory and discriminatory, and could mislead members of the public to think that the women were Islamic State terrorists.
Syed clearly hasn’t seen the error of his ways, however, as he reportedly told one complainant that he won’t remove the images as they were a “joke”. Let’s hope he’s not planning to go into stand-up anytime soon.
He has apparently previously described Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong as the “most peaceful Isis on earth”. Hilarious.
The organising secretary for the Hong Kong Federation of Asian Domestic Workers, Leo Tang, likened the post to hate speech, adding that it “sends a very bad message to the public”.
Syed refused to comment when approached by the SCMP, and would not clarify whether he was implying that the women were members of Isis, or whether he was ridiculing those who cannot distinguish between Muslims and terrorists.
Eni Lestari, spokesperson for the Asian Migrants Coordinating Body, said that Syed’s comment indicates that Hong Kong is becoming an increasingly “unfriendly place” for domestic helpers.
We have a feeling it’s also going to become an increasingly unfriendly place for a certain estate agent.
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