Xyza Cruz Bacani came to Hong Kong as a domestic helper nine years ago-but it wasn't until she started shooting photos on the city's streets that she discovered her true passion. The Magnum Foundation fellowship winner and Hamdan International Photography Award finalist tells about the hardships of working in Hong Kong and how she hopes to use her photography to give a voice to the most marginalized in society.
Xyza Crus Bacani came from Nueva, Vizcaya, Philippines. She is the eldest among the three kids. Her father is here in the Philippines. And her mom still working in Hong Kong as a domestic helper. She is working with the same boss with Xyza for 20 years. Hong Kong is overload. Xyza loves the lights, the people always moving around so fast. She felt the vibe is awesome.
She say, she is officially jobless because she is applying for a visa to attend a course with the Magnum foundation at New York University. So she need to work harder. Her days needs to be filled with stuff to do. She is doing a project on domestic helper abuse "The 900 Square Feet of Hidden Hope”. Xyza want to show awareness to all because it seems that it is very normal for Hong Kong people to abuse their helpers.
Xyza want to tell the people that it is not okay to abuse their helper. So she want to go to places where the domestic helpers and immigrants stay at their day off, shoot their photos and tell their stories. Her documentary photography is different from her street photography. She say that her street photography is just something she love to do. And her documentary work is for people's stories to be heard.
In her documentary you can see someone who was burned on her back, and hit by employer.
We still can't imagine it is still happening in Hong Kong. The basic human rights of most helpers are violated, physically and emotionally. "We are not Chinese, but we are human too. You need to treat us like humans too". Some of the domestic helper who is abused by their employer, run away and are rescued by the Bethune House Migrant Women’s Refuge. Once they sue their employer, their working visas will be cut. Most of the domestic helper just give up and go home. So nobody knows about them.
One more problem of domestic helper in Hong Kong is the place to sleep. Space in Hong Kong is very expensive so most helper that Xyza meet in Bethune house have slept in toilets, in the kitchen. Once you apply to an agency, you pay six months of salary. You cannot get away from your abusive employer because you have a dept to pay and you need to send money to your family. It is the system that allows the abuse to happen. If only we have the option (for the helper to live apart from their employer) we can avoid some of the abuse.
But as of now, it is illegal to live outside. It is hard because you are controlled by your employer. You don't have basic rights. If your employer needs you at 1 A.M, you can't say no because you live with them.
The scary part is termination. You've just arrived, you have a huge dept, and your employer doesn't like your face and can terminate you. A typical day for helpers: wake up early, take the kids to school, go to the market, cook lunch, pick the kids up, clean the house, prepare dinner, then clean the house again. It never really ends. But I think Hong Kong is still good compare to other countries. Xyza say she don't know how to explain her photography. She just walk around and shoot, also she don't have emotional attachment to her street photos. She just love walking around and shooting.
Xyza Cruz Bacani rose to prominence when she was featured in the New York Time Lens blog in June 2014. Her street photography is a touching look at the city.
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