Mother's Day is approaching, and many people choose to spend the festival with their mothers. However, many foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong have been separated from their families for many years in order to make a living.
This year’s Mother’s Day, Rong Xiaoshe, an organization that supports foreign domestic helpers and their children, invited Xyza Bacani, an internationally renowned photographer, to share her experience as a left-behind child when her mother came to work in Hong Kong when she was young.
Xyza's mother hugged the little girl to say goodbye, while Xyza's father comforted Xyza's niece.
This photo was taken when Xyza briefly returned to his hometown on April 21, 2017.
(Photo provided by Rongyoushe/Photo by Xyza Bacani)
Xyza Bacani, who worked as a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong for nearly 10 years, was inspired by her employer to discover the potential of photography, and then devoted herself to conveying moving stories through her photography works.
In 2014, his street photography work was reported by the New York Times photography website Lens, CNN and other international media, and was selected for the Magnum Foundation Human Rights Scholarship. Since then, he has been a full-time photographer.
Xyza is currently studying for a master's program at New York University, where she is researching different theories about postcolonial memory and storytelling with the theme of hope, and says she misses Hong Kong very much.
Xyza Bacani, who worked as a foreign domestic helper in Hong Kong for nearly 10 years, was inspired by her employer to discover the potential of photography, and then devoted herself to conveying moving stories through her photography works.
(File photo/Photo by Xu Weijin)
Hope the parting story can be seen and heard
Xyza, who comes from a Filipino family, recalled the images of her mother saying goodbye to her Filipino family when she was a child. "My father and niece looked at my mother and hugged my sister who was tearful."
She described this scene as a "normalized" scene for her family. "We have been moving and saying goodbye since childhood, but the pain of separation has not diminished."
Xyza admits that some people say that people can easily adapt to various emotions, such as fear, sadness or pain, "but for a mother to be separated from her family, it is not only painful, but the trauma is lasting. For me, it is a moving and emotional image. "
When Xyza was 8 years old, her mother went to work elsewhere and became a left-behind child. When she was growing up, her mother was almost absent, and she admitted how difficult it was to be separated from her mother.
She described the impact of migration on people's lives in different aspects. She believes that her story is not unique, but one of countless stories of left-behind children because their parents went to work abroad.
Xyza said that he only hopes that these stories can be seen and heard. "As an insider of the left-behind children problem, as a record worker, I have the responsibility to carry these stories, and I hope to be a channel for spreading these stories."
In order to make a living, many women leave their hometowns to become foreign domestic helpers.
(file picture)
Bless foreign domestic helpers to know how to take care of themselves
In order to make a living, many women leave their hometowns to become foreign domestic helpers. Xyza said that she hopes that these mothers can have better communication and closer ties with their children.
"I hope separation doesn't cause more grief, and I hope that one day these mothers and their children will come together and have a better place in life. I hope their separation was worth it." Although many foreign domestic helpers may not be able to reunite as a family on Mother's Day, Xyza still sent them blessings, "Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made for your family, please don't forget to love yourself and be a hero in your life, mother. Happy Holidays."
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