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| Erwiana now works on behalf of migrant workers |
She was once the face of abused maids in Hong Kong -- imprisoned, starved and beaten so badly she lost control of her bodily functions.
But four
years after her horrific ordeal made global headlines, Indonesian Erwiana
Sulistyaningsih is a university graduate and fighting for the rights of
domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city and beyond.
Erwiana
completed a degree in economics this month -- the culmination of a dream that
brought her to Hong Kong in 2013 before her life was turned upside down.
"Before
I went to Hong Kong, I had been dreaming I could make enough money to
study," the 27-year-old told AFP from her home in Indonesia's cultural
capital Yogyakarta.
"After
the incident, I thought I might have to give up on that dream."
Erwiana's
employer Law Wan-tung was jailed after pictures of her extensive injuries went
viral in 2014.
Widespread
media coverage of Erwiana's torture had one unexpected benefit -- she was
offered scholarships to study.
"I'm
happy but it's bittersweet because even though I graduated university there are
still many migrant workers who are persecuted and treated badly," she
said.
She chose
economics partly to understand "why so many people in this world have to
migrate" for work.
"People
should be able to live peacefully in their own country without having to work
abroad unprotected," she said.
Erwiana
plans to take that message to demonstrations outside the annual meetings of the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Bali next month.
She now works on behalf of migrant workers, including pushing for the release of former Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso who is on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling.
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| Erwiana's horrific ordeal made global headlines |
She now works on behalf of migrant workers, including pushing for the release of former Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso who is on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling.
Most
domestic workers in Hong Kong are from poor communities in Indonesia and the
Philippines and are vulnerable to abuse by employers and employment agencies.
Migrants
from both countries have also suffered injury -- or worse -- in the Middle East
and other parts of the world.
In
February, the death of a Filipina maid in Kuwait, whose body was found this
year stuffed in a freezer, sparked outrage in the Philippines.
Also this
year, Indonesian domestic helper Adelina Sau died in hospital after being
rescued from her employer's house in Malaysia's Penang state, with wounds
covering her body. Her boss was charged with murder.
It is these
stories that prompted Erwiana to fight for workers' rights, and never give up
on herself even when she doubted her chances.
"I
never imagined I'd be here -- I almost gave up," she said.
"I was
so sick, I was a failed migrant worker and my injuries were all over the media.
"But
because my family and fellow migrant worker friends gave me strength, I finally
had the spirit to rise again."
Related Article:
VIDEO: A former Indonesian domestic helper Erwiana Sulistyaningsih was imprisoned, starved and beaten so badly she lost control of her bodily functions. But four years later, she now fights for the rights of domestic helpers around the world https://t.co/RYY89JL6rA pic.twitter.com/kn1yXP9R6y— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 28, 2018
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Erwiana
Sulistyaningsih arrives at the Wanchai Law Courts to begin giving
evidence against her former employer who is
accused of abuse and torture, in
Hong Kong
on Monday. (AFP Photo/Isaac Lawrence)
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