Families of Indonesian helpers who died in Tai Po fire struggle to break news to kids

Relatives of Indonesian maids killed in Hong Kong fire face heartbreaking task of telling children and fending off scammers targeting compensation. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Families of Indonesian helpers who died in Tai Po fire struggle to break news to kids

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Grieving relatives of eight Indonesian domestic workers killed in a devastating fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district are struggling to break the news to the victims’ young children, even as they fend off scammers seeking to steal their compensation from Hong Kong authorities, a workers’ rights advocate has revealed after a trip to Indonesia. Esther Tse Yan-yin, an organiser with the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, traveled to Indonesia in January to visit the immediate families of the helpers who died in the inferno at Wang Fuk Court. She said the relatives, many of whom live in rural villages on Java and Sumatra, face an agonizing dilemma: how to tell children as young as four that their mother will never return. Some families have delayed the conversation for weeks, hoping to shield the youngsters from the full weight of the tragedy, while others have sought help from community elders or religious leaders to soften the blow. The fire, which broke out in the early hours of a December morning, ripped through a subdivided flat in the public housing block, killing eight women who were sleeping after a long day of work. The victims, all Indonesian domestic helpers, had been employed by families in Hong Kong, often sending home the bulk of their wages to support children, parents, and siblings. The tragedy has highlighted the precarious living conditions of many migrant workers in the city, who frequently share cramped, illegal subdivided units to save money. Beyond the emotional toll, Tse said the families have been targeted by scammers posing as lawyers or government officials, promising to expedite compensation payouts from Hong Kong’s Labour Department in exchange for upfront fees. Several relatives have reported receiving phone calls and messages demanding personal bank details or cash payments. Tse warned that the scammers are exploiting the families’ desperation and lack of familiarity with Hong Kong’s legal processes. “These are poor, rural families who have never dealt with foreign authorities. They are vulnerable and grieving,” she said. The Hong Kong government has pledged to provide financial assistance to the families,...

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Categoria: cronaca