NGO Organises a Session for Filipino Migrant Workers After Findings of an Investigation

In a session that lasted nearly two hours, Raquel shared some of the main findings of the investigation that was focused on the recruitment of Filipino workers and the labour exploitation many faced in Poland. The name of the organisation which organised the event was the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos, which provides different forms of assistance to migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, including running a shelter.

Raquel worked together with graphics journalist Dan Archer on a printed zine that was distributed among the attendees. It used comics to tell the story of two Filipino women who endured labour abuse in Poland, based on the pieces they published on Al Jazeera and Drawing the Times.  

Several migrant workers raised questions about illegal recruitment, safer routes of migration, and labour exploitation. At the end of the session, one woman who has been working as a domestic worker in Hong Kong for about one year said she had applied for a job in Poland and was currently waiting for her work permit. She said that after the presentation she was more aware of the risks she faced and that she had learned about how to better protect herself.

The director of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos said that the investigation on the recruitment of Filipino migrant workers to Poland offered valuable insights to the community in Hong Kong. The presentation of the concrete results "enlightened and hopefully will facilitate a well-discerned decision for those considering going to Europe," said Corazon Demetillo.

After the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the top sources of visa applications from Filipinos hoping to work in Poland in recent years. The session was recorded and will be shared with other groups of migrant workers in Hong Kong and beyond.  This investigation received support from Journalismfund Europe’s Modern Slavery Unveiled Grant Programme.

Read the investigation here. 

© Raquel Carvalho