Operation Santa Claus: group helping Hong Kong’s migrant workers speak up about injustice looks beyond borders
- Justice Without Borders provides logistics and legal aid to those who have returned to their home countries but still have legal cases being processed in Hong Kong
- The NGO is one of 15 charitable projects that will be the beneficiaries of this year’s Operation Santa Claus
Jec Sernande and Armafe Gipulan Cajiben use their weekly day off to impart knowledge about labour rights to migrant workers in Hong Kong and attend countless union meetings rather than taking a rest on Sundays.
The pair have spent almost a decade in the city as domestic workers. Aside from their regular employment, they give their time to the Progressive Labour Union of Domestic Workers-Hong Kong (PLU).
PLU chairperson Sernande and assistant secretary Cajiben have also taken part in training programmes held by regional NGO Justice Without Borders (JWB) for about a year.
A significant part of their work involves receiving training from JWB’s capacity-building programme and applying the knowledge to their outreach work.
JWB aims to provide transnational access to justice for migrant workers who have been victims of labour exploitation and abuse while working in the city, according to Jaime Wong Ho-long, programme officer, Hong Kong.
