Video Of Hong Kong Domestic Workers Living In Cardboard Boxes On Day Off Goes Viral, Internet Reacts

In Hong Kong, a global financial hub with one of the highest concentrations of millionaires on earth, a different reality plays out when it comes to domestic workers. A recent video on "invisible labour crisis" went viral on social media after it showed domestic workers gathering on bridges and underpasses and living in cardboard boxes on their weekly day off because they have nowhere else to go. 

"The city's nannies are taking their well-earned rest," text on the video read. "Exiled from the homes they serve for just 24 hours. Cardboard walls on a concrete bridge are the 'reward.'"

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The video was shared on Instagram by an account named the.tale.of.travel. Explaining the so-called reality, the user in the caption wrote that thousands of women from the Philippines and Indonesia are "forced out" of the houses they work in every Sunday.

These worker don't have a place of their own because of the mandatory "live-in" rule. Hence, spending the day off in cardboard boxes seems to be the only option left for them.

Watch the video here:

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A post shared by Rapha | Travel Tips & Itineraries 🌏 (@the.tale.of.travel)

"They congregate on bridges and in underpasses, building makeshift 'rooms' out of cardboard boxes just to find a shred of privacy from the eyes of a city that depends on them, yet treats them as temporary fixtures," the caption of the video read.

"They are the backbone of the economy, yet their 'rest' is spent on the concrete floor of a noisy overpass. This isn't a 'tradition' by choice; it's a survival tactic in a city with a brutal wealth gap."

"Which begs the question... how can we call this a modern superpower when this is how the women who raise the children are treated?" the caption concluded.

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Social Media Reaction

The video gained huge traction with over 2.8 million views and 16,900 likes. The narrative of the video left social media divided, with some highlighting the condition of poor people, while others stated that there's no harm as they meet each other and spend quality time together.

"As Voltaire said, for the comfort of the rich, you must have an abundance of the poor," one user wrote in the comment section.

"I know it's bad, but where do you want they go for 24 hrs? They meet each other, where can they do that?" another user weighed in.

"If you think this happens only in Hong Kong, you don't know anything about the world. During my studies in the US, many domestic employees were doing the same. Only difference that America had malls for this," a third user shared their perspective.