A crowdfunding campaign for a Filipino domestic
worker reportedly fired after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer
had raised over 735,000 Hong Kong dollars by
Monday morning.
The domestic worker, named as Baby Jane Allas on her GoGetFunding
page, was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in the middle of
February and was shortly afterwards fired by her employer in Hong
Kong, according to the fundraising page.
Allas is no longer entitled to government medical care following her
termination, and is currently staying with her sister's employer,
Jessica Papadopoulos.
According to the fundraising page, before being fired Allas was
regularly denied adequate food by her employer and had lost 16
kilograms since arriving in Hong Kong in 2017.
Papadopoulos started the campaign on Allas's behalf and is helping
her coordinate medical treatment in Hong Kong, some of which will be
given on a pro bono basis.
Allas is pursuing legal action against her employer through Hong
Kong's labour department.
Hong Kong relied on the work of over 369,000 domestic "helpers,"
primarily women from the Philippines and Indonesia, in 2017 to work
in the home and care for children and elderly family members,
according to census data.
Legally required to live with their employer, cases of abuse are not
uncommon and can range from physical and verbal attacks to food and
sleep deprivation.
Many workers often live in converted closets, children's rooms, or
cubbies in a city renowned for minuscule though expensive
apartments.
In this picture taken on March 5, 2019, Baby Jane Allas, a 38-year-old mother of five Filipina domestic worker who was sacked after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, cries during an interview with AFP in Hong Kong