Permanent Filipino residents and some domestic helpers in Hong Kong joined the demonstration that swept the city, also known as the “Umbrella Revolution,” one of the most well-attended gatherings of native residents of Hong Kong and expatriates who wants reform from the government.
The Filipinos were just armed with cameras and brought along their children and joined the street uprisings on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. The Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong has paralyzed some of the busiest parts of the city since Saturday.
According to one of the protesters who was just identified with his first name, Mang Ben, he joined the demonstration because it is an opportunity for them. He was quoted as saying “We brought along our kids because this is a teaching opportunity for them to learn that, ‘You know, your freedom, you have to fight for it,” Mang Ben stated.
For the last four days of demonstrations in Hong Kong, the student-led protests demanded that China would allow the city for a fully democratic elections. The protesters increased in numbers after some police officers deployed tear gas on Sunday in an attempt to disperse protesters who had gathered in front of government offices in Admiralty district.
According to the Filipinos who joined the protests in Hong Kong, they were encouraged to join the protests because they realized that the student protesters were really organized and they really knew the issues.
Although the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong warned Filipinos not to join the protests some of the permanent residents showed their solidarity to the protesters. The Philippine Consul General Bernardita Catalla emphatically urged Filipinos to avoid protest areas in the city.
Based upon the data gathered by the Philippine government, there were around 185,000 Filipinos living now in Hong KOng, with 15,000 of them having permanent resident status and around 165,000 workers in the city were domestic helpers.
