The smiling faces of Bethune

Xyza sits down for an interview

“I like the ones showing their smiling faces.”

After studying in the United States and documenting migrants in the Middle East, noted street photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani returned to Hong Kong last month to share her photos of domestic workers who sought sanctuary at Bethune House.

Launching a photo exhibit dubbed “Behind Concrete Walls,” Bacani, herself a former domestic worker, said she wanted to show how migrant women abused in Hong Kong become survivors in inspiring stories to tell.

“I don’t want to call them victims anymore because they were victims but they managed to survive. They’re survivors and that is for me very inspiring,” Bacani said during the launch on November 22.

Bethune House was established in 1986 under the Mission for Migrant Workers to provide charitable assistance and social counseling to distressed migrant workers and their families.

The exhibit, which was supported by the group Her Fund, featured Bacani’s photographs of domestic helpers who sought sanctuary at Bethune House.

“These images I took them for more than a year. These are my babies,” Bacani said of the black and white photos.

“I want you to be inspired by these photographs. I want to share with you how amazing these women are,” she added.

Bacani said her personal favorites were those showing the migrant women smiling or laughing.

“The ones where they are laughing…yung mga happy images…I like these. Somehow it’s more inspiring. It shows that they are survivors and not just victims. They can laugh,” she said.

Edwina Antonio, executive director of Bethune House, said she had seen abused domestic workers who sought their help transform into leaders of migrant organizations and become the voice of the voiceless.

“Bethune House is not just a roof over the heads of the residents. It is a place where they rest their minds, body, and soul, where they find comfort and hope among fellow residents, where they are empowered to cope with being a migrant worker,” Antonio said.

She said they intend to hold an exhibit tour in the different schools, churches, and consulates in Hong Kong next year.

“Our aim is to breach the gap between foreign domestic workers and the local community and thereby establishing a caring and multicultural and inclusive society,” Antonio said.

“We’re grateful for Ms. Xyza Cruz Bacani for using her talents to advocate for change,” she added.

For her part, Bacani said she would like to focus on human trafficking and the global refugee problem next year.

“I need to find more work. I’m interested in documenting human trafficking. I want to show a global perspective. That’s why I’m going to different places and I’m accepting speaking engagements because it’s a chance for me to find people to photograph,” she said.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) last month also named Bacani as among the “BBC 100 Women of 2015,” or the list of the 100 most inspiring women in the world.

Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank and Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek were both included on the list together with Bacani.

It also featured 30 entrepreneurs under the age of 30, inspiring women over the age of 80, nurses on the front line, young female film-makers documenting the pressures and expectations in their community and leaders in science, politics, education and the arts.

“Having worked as a domestic worker in Hong Kong for almost a decade, Xyza tells the stories of the victims of human rights violations through photography,” the BBC said of Bacani.

Bacani said she was honored to be chosen by the BBC, saying that the British media outlet also contacted her.

“Nakakatuwa na kahit papaano may Pinay, di ba? It was really nice. Tinanong nila ako and said, `We’ve heard about your story and your journey,” she said.

Before coming back to Hong Kong, Bacani was in Dubai to document the plight of migrant workers there. She was here in April and spoke at the popular TEDx Hong Kong talks in Cyberport.

Xyza said that being discovered and featured in the New York Times Lens Blog and CNN, and being awarded as a Magnum Fellow for the 2015 Magnum Foundation Fellowship for Human Rights
in New York, did not stop her from honing her craft.