It is not only Filipinos
but basically all human beings in this planet have something to say in almost
everything. For Filipinos, this habit is
manifested by our love for gossip and this is evident with the kind of TV shows
and movies that we watch; mostly dramatic but not artistic. Thus, it comes as no surprise that many
Pinoys were gritting their teeth with the remark made by a Hong Kong lawmaker
about Filipinas working as maids in this former British territory but also
moonlighting as sex toys for their expat employers. We react sometimes without reason specially if we are convinced that our sensibilities as Filipinos were perceived to be attacked.
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| Image credit: South China Morning Post |
In a report
published in South China Morning post, Regina Ip Lau, an Executive Councilor in
Hong Kong voiced out that “Filipino maids are being turned into sexual resources for male foreigners." The remark was made as she criticized media
for biased reporting focusing only on the exploits and misdeeds of employers
but not on the hidden aspect on relationships between employers and the maids
and in her comment of foreign employers and Filipina maids in particular. What ignited
the fire further is that she would not dare apologize for her remarks.
This prompted Filipinos to storm the Internet and damn
her. Numerous Pinoys were angered with this
Hong Kong lawmaker remark as it is specifically directed to a particular
race. The stirred emotions were rather
ironic as many Filipinos are also racists. Mention the word Chinese and many
will still think of the “beho” and "tsikwas” of long ago; terms that were no
longer en vogue but at the back of Pinoys’ mind, these derogatory words
and corresponding images still linger. While
the remarks of Ms. Lau were uncalled for, it can also serve as warning bells
for her Filipino counterparts to launch an investigation on the veracity of
Filipina maids sexually servicing their foreign employers.
Truth hurts and reality bites; we subject our fellow when
we send them abroad to work for other citizens of the world. They are open to all kinds of vulnerabilities
and risk from sex to working beyond six, from fear to living without peer, from
simple harm to dangerous war, and so on. It is our
lawmakers’ obligation to protect OFWs not only from the harsh words similar to what
Regina Lau uttered but also from the claws of human exploitation other citizens
of the world are capable of doing.
Instead of attacking this Hong Kong lawmaker, Filipinos should launch an investigation team to prove Ms. Lau otherwise and sue her
later for her remarks. This should be
the right way to put things in proper order with regards to her supposed racist
remarks.
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