This book was full of stories about migrant workers seeking new jobs in hong kong for a better life. It does so movingly, with tales of individual women who have migrated to improve life for themselves and their families. Maid to order ending abuses against migrant domestic workers in singapore. Stories of migrant workers by nicole constable nicole constable, in maid to order in hong kong. Multinational maids by anju mary paul cambridge core. Before i went there, a friend told me to read the book maid to order in hong kong, written by nicole constable. But today over 120,000 women from the philippines, over 90,000 from indonesia, and thousands more. The wage of the migrant domestic workers in hong kong has. Multinational maids offers an indepth investigation into the international migrations of filipino and indonesian migrant domestic workers. Interweaving her analysis with anecdotal evidence collected in interviews with individual domestic workers, she shows how power is expressed in the daytoday lives of filipina domestic workers. As middleclass chinese women have entered the hong kong work force in unprecedented numbers over the past two decades, the demand for foreign domestic workers has soared. American anthropologist the combination of analyses of the social structural forms of domination and the individual forms of resistance makes constables work insightful and useful.
Maid to order in hong kong nicole constable published by cornell university press constable, nicole. Pdf on jan 1, 2011, wes harry and others published maid to order in hong kong. Maid to order in hong kong looks at domestic work historically, locally and contextually, within a capitalist world system. Sundays in central district are a spectacular sight. There are between 5067 million migrant domestic workers mdws worldwide 15, the majority between 73. A decade ago some foretold the decline in foreign workers and the influx of mainland workers. Our members are a diverse group of expertis with accreditation from consulates and embassies. Hkfp is only answerable only to readers, not shareholders. At the beginning of 2018, i did an internship at the european chamber of commerce in hong kong. Hong kongs domestic workers are often treated like slaves. The word amah may have originated from the arabic amah meaning female slave the word amah may have originated from the portuguese. Maid to order ending abuses against migrant domestic workers in. The domestic worker who moonlights as a migrants rights.
Middleclass chinese women in the global city of hong kong have entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers over the past three decades, and the demand for foreign domestic workers has soared. Founded in 20, the association of hong kong agencies for migrant workers limited takes pride in its contribution to the business of foreign domestic workers from different countries. Globalization and migration does it affect identity. Singapore is still far behind hong kong, which includes. Surveillance, discipline, and the ins and outs of prison. Stories of migrant workers, second edition paperback \ vrhgd9lmxsf6 created date. This ethnography is an indisputable contribution to both asian studies and anthropology and a pioneering work in the field of transnational migration studies. Standard contract for migrant domestic workers in hong kong pdf file 5 pages, 9 kb. Borders and the exclusion of migrant bodies in singapores. Currently, more than half of filipina overseas workers are placed in service occupations, mainly as cleaners, caretakers, and domestic helpers national statistics office 2002. Founded in 2015, hong kong free press is a nonprofit, englishlanguage newspaper run by journalists and completely independent. The case of the tortured indonesian domestic worker in hong kong is an apparent offshoot of policies that have become increasingly antimigrant over. Stories of migrant workers, cornell university press, 2017. I strongly recommend this lively and readable study of the complex lives of domestic workers in hong kong as a textbook for use in a variety of classes.
Hong kong migrant domestic workers tell their stories. Stories of migrant workers describes the physical and psychological lives of those domestic workers in the homes of chinese in hong kong, their attitude towards their own lives and work, and the attitudes of the workers and the chinese toward one another. There in hong kongs most celebrated financial district, amidst awesome highrise structures, towering hotels, and dwarfed colonial government buildings, crowds of domestic workers, mainly from the philippines, but also from other regions of south and southeast asia, gather to socialize, to attend to personal matters, and to escape the. Migrant mothers and the politics of international labor. Maid to order in hong kong is a stimulating and compellingly written book. Forced labour common among hong kongs domestic helpers. This ethnography is an indisputable contribution to both asian studies and anthropology and a pioneering work in the fie.
Hong kong is home to more than 340,000 foreign domestic workers, who can be found in one of every seven households. Interweaving her analysis with anecdotal evidence collected in. Approximately 150,000 individuals now serve on twoyear contracts, and the vast majority are women from the philippines. Ligaya lindiomcgovern, globalization, labour export and resistance. This article examines the conditions foreign domestic workers face, the policies governing their employment, and the challenges in. Filipina guest workers flooding into hong kong are implicitly compared to chinese domestic workers and found wanting. Migrant motherhood, failed migration, and the gendered. Hong kong medical workers continue to strike for border. The author taps on her rigorous study of more than 1,200 subjects migration trajectories to reveal how these migrants work in a series of overseas countries to improve their lives and, in some cases, seek permanent residence in another country. A study of filipina migrant domestic workers in global. Migrant domestic workers are employed in low, middle, and highincome countries worldwide, and both southtosouth and southtonorth migration patterns are seen, as there is a demand for labour in both low and high development.
Pdf on dec 1, 2009, elisete schwade and others published maid to order in hong kong. Hong kong sex workers fight long arm of the law dailymotion. Despite efforts by the governments of hong kong and top sending countries, these workers remain uniquely vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Association of hong kong agencies for migrant workers limited.
Domestic workers are a major part of the migrant labor force from the philippines. Perceived stressors and coping mechanisms of female. How hong kongs maid trade is making life worse for domestic workers throughout asia. As middleclass chinese women have entered the hong kong work force in unprecedented numbers over the past two decades, the demand for foreign. Stories of migrant workers, second edition constable, nicole on. Stories of migrant workers is a result of field research the author, nicole constable, has conducted since mid1990s. In the 1970s, hong kong experienced remarkable economic growth. Filipino domestic workers in hong kong as case study free download as powerpoint presentation.
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