Senado Square Is My Home?
Ami, Fan Weng Chi
Many Filipino domestic helpers can be spotted at Statue Square in Hong Kong while Macao also has such a space - Senado Square (Largo do Senado). On Sunday, it is not difficult to find crowds of the Filipinos chatting and singing at Senado Square, as if they were at home.
Brad, 26, has come to Macao from the Philippines for 5 years. Graduated from secondary school, she works as a domestic helper in taking care of a family with a monthly salary of MOP3500.
Senado Square is the place in Macao she feels most impressed as it was the first place she joined the gathering with her peers. She thought that Senado Square is prosperous and full of characteristics.
“In the villages of the Philippines, we like to stay in the park and chat with our friends,” said Brad. “We are poor and we cannot get many Hi-tech products so we can only bring a radio and dance together. This is our greatest entertainment.”
In Brad’s view, Senado Square can help them to remind their youth so they can stay there for a day just chatting with each other.
Brad’s happiest time is on Sundays and holidays because it is comfortable to stay with her friends from the same country and she can find a sense of belonging in this small space which they share their happiness and sadness.
Joeli, a Filipino domestic helper in Macao for 15 year, plays guitar in Senado Square every Sunday afternoon. She treats this little space as her studio where she can find a lot of people who love her music and exchange ideas with her.
For some Filipinos, it is a place where their love story begins. Manuel, a security guard in Macao for 6 years, met his girlfriend during one gathering in Senado Square. He thinks that it is a place gathering many Filipinos together and giving him a chance to make more friends.
The Filipinos know some Macao people think that they are noisy when they gather. Brad recalled that they held a gathering in Senado Square in one Christmas, and two teenagers insulted them with rude words and poured the coke on them. They almost got a fight, but luckily the police intervened.
Yet, not many Macao citizens are like those two teenagers. Eurine, an assisant manager in a hotel, understands that the Filipinos gather in Senado Square because they do not have many leisure activities as the locals. She does not dislike their gatherings as they are not there every day.
“The locals think that we are illegally staying in the public area and creating noise,” said Brad, adding that she hopes the locals can change the opinion towards them one day.