LM grew up in a small village on the Indonesian island of Java where food was central to daily life.
“My mother, my grandparents, my aunts always cooked – food brought us together,” says LM (a pseudonym), who arrived in Hong Kong 23 years ago to work as a domestic helper and later joined her African husband in seeking asylum.
“When I fell pregnant, I could not get a new contract – 20 years ago, it wasn’t easy to find work when you’re pregnant. I didn’t want to go home and leave my husband here with a child and another on the way.”
She also feared being stigmatised at home in conservative Indonesian culture. “You cannot go home pregnant without your husband.”
Many obstacles exist for the 15,000-plus asylum seekers who live in Hong Kong, a city that does not grant asylum but offers “non-refoulement” protection – a pledge not to send people back to countries where their life is in danger.
