Erwiana’s Story
July 14, 2020
My name is Jade. I am an intern at Bethune House. While having my first visit to the shelter, I met Erwiana who warmly welcomed me. I recognised her at first glance because I studied her case at university. Later on, she agreed to share her story with us through the interview.
Do you remember Erwiana? Back to 2014, thousands of migrant workers and locals voiced for her in droves after seeing her injury on media. I remember the time seeing Erwiana on massive news reports. To the best of my memory, that was the first and only case that gained a proportionated attention regarding mistreatments to migrant workers. Upon finishing her study in Indonesia, she is back to Hong Kong as an intern and spends her spare time in Bethune House, where she once received help from.
Migrant workers involving in legal matters are not allowed to work because of the government regulations. In 2015, Erwiana stayed with Bethune House while in a three weeklong court trial as a witness. She had no income to support her life on that occasion. It was certainly tough to pursue justice under financial pressure. To help clients like her, Bethune House covers their expense in all means - including necessity, transportation, visa extension and, last but not least, a shelter to live in an expensive city.
At the time she came back for the trial, she was a victim in the shadow of fear and insecurity because her former employer severely and maliciously abused her. During her stay in Hong Kong, she participated in several stress release activities with clients in Bethune. The organisation provided psychological services like counselling therapy by making good use of donations. Everyone wishes to see the victims recover from different levels of traumas. Years after, she is confidently in the role of empowerment to assist women facing the same adversities as hers. Her change is astonishingly beautiful and motivating.
After work, Erwiana lives in Bethune House and helps with court cases. She also shares her story with women struggling in legal matters as this form of a heart to heart communication serves a symbolic value for empowerment. Essentially, she believes her change is a spiritual encouragement to the minority in a difficult time. Given the Covid19 pandemic, the court hearing was suspended for a few months. The migrant workers had no choice but to accept a longer journey to justice. But some gave up in defence due to financial difficulties.
Despite being a positive role model, she expressed concerns regarding the rarely changed situations of migrant workers. The clients in the shelter still face similar problems concerning physical abuse, wage offence and violation of contract. More alarmingly, part of them do not realise their rights protected by law. Bethune House organises 'Know Your Rights' section every week to raise awareness regarding labour rights and methods to seek help. Erwiana finds the participants have a better grasp of their rights than the general migrant workers in Hong Kong.
Vocational training is a significantly beneficial part for the clients in Bethune House as many of them would like to continue working in Hong Kong. Skill training such as cooking lessons, language lessons, elderly care and first aid programmers are provided regularly to enhance their chance of employment. Sometimes, volunteers would give them a yoga and dancing class for leisure. Erwiana also enjoys hanging out with the clients on weekends as they find a moment of peace in nature.
Although Erwiana is still struggling with her civil claim, she is eager to help in any means for those who are experiencing what she went through. She wishes nobody would ever get abuse like her in the near future.
Interviewing Erwiana was a treasured experience for me. The second time I learnt about her was in the classroom through the topic of law and ordinance. It was devastating to read through the abuse imposed by her former employer. Seeing the employer imprisoned eased my anger. At first, I was concerned if she would find it comfortable to be interviewed because of the trauma she experienced. However, she has become a different person from my impression. ‘Ask your friends to come to Bethune House’ she said genuinely. Her transformation makes me realise justice not merely functions as a punishment to the wrongdoer, but also serves as a meaningful validation to the victim.
Written by: Jade Yiu, Translation Student at City University of Hong Kong
