The pain and sorrow of foreign domestic helpers
外傭的傷痛
This photo, taken by Carol, was selected as the finalist in WYNG organized photo competition on the theme of Gender and Poverty held in 2012. It has also been exhibited in the following exhibition: Floating Lives: The Life of Migrant Workers, “Changing Lenses: an Invitation to Visual Sociology”, Hong Kong University 9/2013 – 10/2013
此圖為周佩霞所攝，曾入圍WYNG舉辦的攝影比賽性別與貧窮組公開組比賽。此圖亦曾於2013年在香港大學舉辦的 Floating Lives: The Life of Migrant Workers, "Changing Lenses: an Invitation to Visual Sociology" 攝影展展出。
What comes first to your mind when you think about overseas domestic workers?
提起「外籍家庭傭工」，你的第一印象是什麼呢？
Centre member Carol Chow is making a documentary on Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. She first met Jude (not her real name), the main character of the documentary, in a beauty contest. “I went to church with her the week after,” Carol said, “I was shocked by the charismatic church service. People were dancing fervently, waving their hands and screaming aloud. I first thought it was a cult!”
本中心成員周佩霞博士正在製作一部關於香港的菲律賓籍外傭的紀錄片。她在一次選美比賽中認識片中主角Jude（化名）。周佩霞說；「就在我認識她的下一週，我陪她一同去了教會。我被這靈恩派教會崇拜嚇了一跳。眾人都在熱情地跳舞、揮動雙手、高聲呼叫。我起初還以為是某種邪教！」
Such initial shock is common for anyone crossing cultural boundaries. “Once I get to know her better,” Carol added, “I realized that the church is an important source of emotional and spiritual support for the domestic workers, who depart from their family for years to work aboard. Jude, for example, has to leave her own infant child at home in order to care for her employer’s.”
這種衝擊在跨越文化隔膜的初時十分常見。周佩霞補充道：「當我更了解她後，我發現教會是離鄉別井工作多年的外傭的一個重要的精神和靈性支柱。以Jude為例，她要為僱主照顧嬰孩，自己的嬰孩卻只能留在故鄉。」
Through visual means like documentary and photography, Carol seeks to empower marginalized migrant workers and show their stories to a wider audience.
通過紀錄片和攝影等視像媒介，周佩霞期望能為被邊緣化的外傭群體賦權，並向大眾展示她們的故事。