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Workers gather for Mass

You could be forgiven for thinking you are in Manila when you pass by the Ching Kuang market and the Catholic St Christopher Church on Taipei's Chungshan North Road each Sunday, for almost all the people you come across are Filipinos, chatting with one another in English or Tagalog.

Do not be misled, however, because you are still in Taipei and the Filipinos thronging the streets and alleys are some of the many migrant laborers working in Taiwan.

The Taiwan government opened its doors to foreign workers in the early 1990s as living standards improved and local labor costs skyrocketed making it harder and harder to find local people willing to work as maids, family nurses or construction workers.

According to official statistics, there were 326,515 foreign workers in Taiwan, from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, as of the end of December last year. Of these foreign workers, more than 34,000 work in Taipei, accounting for over half the foreign residents of the city, the statistics show.

Filipinos in the majority

Filipino workers make up the biggest single group of migrant laborers and as citizens of a devoutly Catholic nation, many of them go to Mass each Sunday.

These Sunday church gatherings have become perhaps the most important part of the week for the Filipino workers. They usually take advantage of the opportunity to exchange gossip, information and meet newcomers from their home country after a week of household chores, nursing and construction work.

Spiritual center

The St Christopher Church has long been a spiritual center for the city's Filipino workers. Each Sunday morning sees hundreds of them entering the church in turn to celebrate one of the five Masses held each Sunday.

After worshipping, they spend the rest of the day shopping, eating, strolling along the streets or going on a picnic in the park nearby, which translates into a lot of business turnover for the stores in the area.

A grocery near the church that sells Filipino produce is always crowded with Filipino workers on Sundays. In addition to selling groceries, the shop assistants also help the workers deal with remitting money and the mailing of goods to their hometowns.

"In the early 1990s, these foreign workers used to cause us some trouble," said Roger Yang, an official of the Taipei City Government's Foreign Workers' Counseling Center. "Nearby residents often complained that the migrant laborers made too much noise and relieved themselves in improper places each Sunday due to the lack of public toilets in the neighborhood. After discussions, however, these issues were solved."

Rights protection

With official backing, foreign workers have recently begun to enjoy sound protection of their rights and they are now also aware of the channels to go through in order to file complaints, Yang said.

Today, Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and all provincial counties and cities have set up foreign workers' counseling centers to provide their charges with necessary assistance. In addition, the Taipei City Government published a "Cultural Map for Migrants" in December.

These measures provided by the government are helping foreign workers to make the most of their Taiwan sojourn and are also helping stave off the pangs of homesickness among these hardworking people so far away from their loved ones.
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