Helpers Day Off

Sunday really is an event to witness in Hong Kong.  It is the usual day that helpers get off and given that they live with their employers and have no where else to go on their day off, they take it to the streets, building sometimes elaborate cardboard structures to claim their corner with their friends.  They sit around chatting, eating, drinking, doing each other's make and hair, napping and taking photos of each other.  They usually seem to be having a great time.  The helper culture still bothers me- I feel like these women are taken advantage of and treated poorly.  I read in the newspaper this morning that some employment agencies require the women to pay them 7 months of their meager salary in exchange for finding them a job.  This phenomenon seems to be very "Hong Kong" based on British influence (you rarely see Chinese with helpers).