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Filipinos in HK feeling brunt of hostage crisis


Filipinos based in Hong Kong are beginning to feel the heat caused by Monday’s deadly hostage crisis in Manila that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, a human rights group based there said Tuesday. Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) voiced concern over the tendency of some people to blow the incident out of proportion in expressing their anger. “We have already been informed via an SMS (short messaging service) today of an incident in which a man in Kowloon Tong was heard to have shouted: ‘We employ them (Filipinos) in our homes and they murder us in their homes.’ This tragedy should not become a conflict of nationalities and it must not, at any point, be seen as such," it said in its website Tuesday night. Even among Filipinos in Hong Kong, the incident has caused “growing concern," the AHRC said. It cited one instance where a Filipina mother of two expressed concern and reluctance in allowing her two children to go to the playground. “After living and working in Hong Kong for years, she has never had concerns over the security and safety of her children until the hostage taking incident. Now she is concerned because one of her children is scheduled to go to school next week when the schools reopen after the summer holidays," it said. It added not only Hong Kong residents but also Filipinos are mourning the tragedy. Worse for the Filipinos, it said many of them have yet to come to terms with the state of policing in their own country. Filipinos also angered by incident “They are also angered and are asking many questions; they are grieved and shamed by the failure of their police force and their own government to protect people in their own country," AHRC said. “While the tragic circumstances cannot be denied the AHRC is deeply concerned by people who are trying to blow this incident out of proportion by manipulating the tragedy in expressing their anger," it added. AHRC urged the Hong Kong government and the Philippine Consulate to pay close attention to the reactions of the people in the territory. “The safety of Filipinos should not be compromised by hatred and anger," it stressed. On Monday, dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza took several Hong Kong tourists hostage in Manila. The 11-hour ordeal ended with at least nine people dead, including the hostage-taker. AHRC, which condoled with the victims’ families, said it is regrettable that the victims who were in need of security and protection were themselves victims of a person who was once a protector and the poor crisis management of the Philippine National Police in dealing with the situation. RP govt must explain It shared the demands of the victims’ kin for an explanation from the Philippine government as to what went wrong. “These are questions put forward not only by the people of Hong Kong, but also Filipinos who live and work in the territory. Hong Kong is presently a haven to over 140,000 Filipino migrant workers and thousands of professionals, residents and, historically, has been a place of refuge for Filipino political exiles," it said. “While the Filipinos in Hong Kong have been largely protected and secure in their day-to-day lives, it is unfortunate that the country where they came from failed to provide the same degree of protection for the visitors from Hong Kong" it added. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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