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After sharing this Coconuts Hong Kong story about a Filipina domestic helper’s space on our Facebook page, a Filipina Coconaut who also works as a domestic helper in the former British Colony, left a comment: “It’s the same room as mine, only I have to climb four feet up,” she says.
The lower part of her bed is comprised of two tiny cabinets for her things. The other side of the tiny room is her employers’ storage.
“The width is just like 1 x ½ standard size of a laundry hanger,” the Filipino, who refuses to be named, tells us. “That’s around 18 inches or three times the size of my palm,” she estimates.
“This is the top view,” she messages us a photo, apologizing for not getting a good picture. “The bed is too steep and I can’t hardly move.”
She tells us that she’s been living in Hong Kong for five years already, spending four of those years with her current employers.
They’ve recently moved to a three-bedroom Hong Kong Island flat. “There’s a master’s bedroom, the guest room, where the grandparents live, and the children’s room,” she says, explaining that her employers decided to build her a small room, for which she is thankful.
“At least I can have my privacy at night. Okay na sa akin ang maliit na quarters instead of sharing a room with the children or sleeping in the living area.”
An inconvenience, however, is beginning to show itself. It’s almost summer so her space is slowly becoming hot and humid. “Since nakadikit yung likod ko sa semento, I acquired a cold and fever just a few weeks ago.”
Yikes. She deserves to be called a bagong bayani, right?
