It is a beautiful Sunday, and Lydia Villanueva is attending a meeting of the Ilocos Norte Association at a flower-filled public park in Admiralty. During the meeting of around twenty members, a dance lesson is taking place nearby. When the dancers are not jiving to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff blaring from a boom box, they are attempting some ballroom moves – no male partners though, just Filipino women stepping in line with other women. Still others are chatting and eating in the balmy afternoon heat.

Today, like every Sunday, has been a full day for Villanueva. She has already gone to church with her sister, grabbed a fast-food lunch at the IFC shopping mall and visited the remittance agency at World Wide House in Central, through which she sends money home to her family in the Philippines – a routine errand for many Filipinos living in Hong Kong. After shopping around Pacific Place mall, she arrived at the park, where residents from Ilocos Norte (Villanueva’s home province in northern Philippines) gather. She will meet up with her niece and cousin later in the day.

The Melting Pot

Villanueva is not alone in her life away from home. Many people from all over the world come to Hong Kong for better jobs and higher wages. They seem to adapt and form thriving communities, adding the richness of diversity to the city. While walking through Hong Kong’s urban areas such as Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, you are sure to notice the different languages spoken, and people dressed in ethnic garb abound.

It might be surprising to learn that 95 percent of Hong Kong’s population is ethnically Chinese. In less central areas of the territory, the populace is much more homogeneously Chinese. As with most large cities, more ethnic diversity can be found in the busiest areas. The largest minority population is Filipino, followed by Indonesians, Caucasians and Indians.

Hong Kong has a large number of foreign domestic helpers, making up about three percent of the city’s population. Over half of the helpers are from the Philippines, while most of the others are from Indonesia and Thailand. They come to work in Hong Kong for the higher wages compared to their home countries, or, as Villanueva puts it, “greener pastures.” The helpers live in their employers’ homes and are charged with household chores and taking care of the children. An overwhelming proportion of these helpers are female. Some of them pick up Cantonese, and many are fluent in English.

On Sundays, which is the holiday of most domestic helpers, a large number of them meet with friends in public areas. Crowds of Filipinos congregate in Central, especially around World Wide House arcade and the HSBC headquarters building. Here they chat, eat and play cards, enjoying their day off. In a similar fashion, Indonesians also have a traditional Sunday meeting place in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, where a large outdoor market is set up with clothing and other wares for sale.

There is also a large population of South Asians who are mostly of Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani descent. South Asians have a long history in Hong Kong and some families have been here for many generations, all the way back to the 1840s. During colonial times, Indians arrived with the British for trade and defence, and many established roots in the city. There are also a number of British citizens who arrived during the colonial era and are still here today.

As an international financial hub and trade centre, Hong Kong attracts people from all corners of the world who move here to further their careers. These people, most often referred to as “expats”, include many Europeans, Americans and Australians, a significant number of Japanese and citizens of many other countries. They often transplant their entire families to live and work in Hong Kong, sometimes for a few years, sometimes permanently into retirement.

Home Away From Home

Nancy Madrid, an American who has been living in Hong Kong for 17 years, describes herself as a “trailing spouse”, a wife who came along for the ride when her husband received a job offer in Hong Kong from a relocation and logistics company. She is not the least bit surprised that anyone would want to come to this city ripe with opportunity, citing its “tremendous human capital, a positive business environment and unprecedented economic growth in Asia.”

Madrid believes that it is possible for people of any background to find excitement in Hong Kong’s vibrant society. While here, she has befriended people from all walks of life who share her passion for hobbies such as music, horticulture and creative writing. She jokes, “If anyone complains about boredom in Hong Kong, I immediately check his or her pulse.”

Most foreign domestic workers say the money is their primary reason for living in Hong Kong, but the living environment is similarly rewarding for them and is the reason they call it home. “We like Hong Kong so much,” says Mel Guerrero, speaking on behalf of her Filipino friends. This seems to be a popular sentiment. Guerrero, who has been living in Hong Kong since 1992 and works as a driver, has worked in the Middle East and experienced treatment there which she compares to that of “slaves”. In contrast, Hong Kong employers provide good benefits, and workers are protected by rules and regulations.

Guerrero is head of the Ilocos Norte Association, which organises fun get-togethers but also relays important news from the Philippine Consulate to its members. She speaks with authority through a microphone during the meeting but is humble when recounting the enriching experience of working in Hong Kong. “We’ve learned a lot from our employers and [our employers’] kids – and our kids learn from us also,” she says.

Hong Kong has given much to its foreign residents, and every member of the minority populations has his or her own story and makes a different contribution to our multifaceted city. In July, the government passed an anti-discrimination bill that deems racial discrimination illegal. Although controversial, the bill is a step toward racial equality and improved race relations among Hong Kong’s diverse ethnicities. And thankfully, as Madrid observes, “Everyone wants to be here and so far seems to be getting along.”