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Interfaith Dialogue on Well-being of Diaspora（Migrant Workers）in Hong Kong
Introduction:
Hong Kong is a place that practices religious tolerance among faith communities and is also the home for Diaspora (migrant workers) as well. Those who come to Hong Kong come as a result of abject poverty, unemployment and landlessness in their home country. There are presently more than 300,000 domestic workers mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Nepal. They may be a domestic worker of your family or your friends. Many of them live in a under strenuous and harsh situations working 16 hours a day and be 24 hours on call. Quite a number of migrant workers experience human rights violations, in terms of illegal salary deductions, sexual harassment and physical abuse, and other religious and cultural discrimination due to misunderstandings and prejudice. They are equally created in the image of God, but in our society being refused to receive due dignity and basic human rights.
Migrant workers as the Diaspora of postmodern society, they brave the exile with the hope and dreams that someday they will be re-united with their families, with a decent and humane life so that they will not have to leave their families behind. In a Jewish context the Diaspora usually refers to the exile of the Jewish people and Jews living outside ancient Israel.
“The Interfaith Dialogue on Well-being of the Diaspora in Hong Kong” co-organized by Hong Kong Christian Institute, Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong, Kowloon Union Church and Kowloon Mosque. Aims to create a linkages among faith communities through the interfaith dialogue, to understand how we as people of different faith and cultures can tap the wisdom of our cultures and respect each others faith to draw closer together and learn to share the riches of life that God has given us.
Interfaith Dialogue on Well-being of Diaspora (Migrant Workers) in Hong Kong
Audience: Students of theology, Ministers, Lay Christians and All interested in interfaith dialogue and migrant workers in HK.
Register and Enquiry:
HKCI 2398-1699 Ms Davy Wong or email: info@hkci.org.hk
APMM 2723-7534 Pastor Joram or email: pastorjoram@ymail.com
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Panel Discussion 1 : Food Culture in Diaspora Tradition
Do you ever wonder why most Indonesian domestic workers eat vegetables and meats, why is pork not a popular and favourite part of their menu? Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population. They are prohibited to eat any kind of menu that has pork in it. We would like to invite you in a discussion to learn about how food in Christian and Muslim tradition related to their religion, culture and belief. The proper and sufficient food for migrant workers living as a Diaspora in different cultures has become an issue of human rights.
Date: 18 Jan, 2011（Tue）
Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm
Venue: Kowloon Mosque（Near Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station）
Speakers: Imam Muhammad Arshada（Chief Imam of the Kowloon Mosque）
Dr. John LeMond（Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre）
Ms. Karsiwen（Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Hong Kong）
Content: Typical food of Indonesia & interfaith religious dialogue
Languages: Bilingual（English and Cantonese）
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Panel Discussion 2 : Love and Tolerance
The incident of September 11 created tremendous impacts to the lives of people around the world. It justified the anti-terror war led by then US President George W. Bush in some countries in the Middle East and in other Asian countries which branded Muslim as terrorists. Beside, the hostage crisis in Manila on 23 August 2010 that killed 8 tourists from Hong Kong created additional prejudice against Filipino domestic workers. Through this topic the organizer wants to challenge every participant to express their love and compassion as one of the resolutions against racial discrimination and fear of the other.
Date: 25 Feb, 2011（Fri）
Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Venue: Kowloon Union Church（4 Jordan Road）
Speakers: Rev. Phyllis Wong（Pastor of the Kowloon Union Church）
Principal Ysuf Yu（Principal of Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College）
Mr. Emmanuel Villanoeva（United Filipinos in Hong Kong）
Languages: Bilingual (English and Cantonese)
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Panel Discussion 3 :
Spiritual Meaning of Traditional Dress and Clothing
Traditional dress and clothing expresses an identity and religious culture of a person. The languages and attire of the women migrant workers from Sri Lanka, India and Nepal are as diverse as the landscapes of these countries. Dress and clothing are deeply connected with their well-being and status in life as women.
Date: 30 March 2011（Wed）
Time: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Venue: Kowloon Union Church
Speakers: Professor Nancy Tan（Divinity School of Chung Chi College of
Chinese University）
Sister Madina（Hong Kong Islamic Union）
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