Migrant caravan moves on to central Mexico city of Irapuato
12 November, 2018
Every Sunday in Hong Kong the city's army of domestic helpers packs into parks or onto pavements, bridges and walkways on their one mandatory day off.
With a marginalised position in society and low income, the force of more than 300,000 maids, mainly women from Indonesia and the Philippines, can find it hard to access public facilities like libraries and leisure centres.
Some NGOs say as well as difficulties meeting the cost, helpers also face discrimination - especially if they are in groups - and can have difficulties providing information for membership such as proof of address if their employers do not supply it.
But Marilyn Maliglig has found an alternative way to spend her day off - confronting her water phobia at a free swimming class for domestic helpers in Hong Kong.
"I cannot float, that's the problem," the 41-year-old told AFP before her first class.
"I really can't swim in the water at all."
Although the city depends on domestic helpers to keep it running, some maids are barred from using swimming pools for their own leisure at the residential complexes where they work.
They are only entitled to one day off a week which they spend setting up temporary camps around the city with music, food, prayers and dancing.
British swimming enthusiast Simon Holliday said he was inspired to set up swimming classes for domestic helpers after he spotted a group one Sunday, looking bored and sitting on cardboard boxes on the pavement.
"Many people feel strongly about helpers and their contributions to Hong Kong society. They want to give them an opportunity to do something for themselves," Holliday told AFP.
His charity Splash offers free swimming lessons for marginalised communities in Hong Kong, including refugees.
Helpers say they cannot afford paid-for lessons and the class gives them a chance to learn a new skill and to relax after a trying six-day week.
"We want other things to do. Because we always do the same things at home," said Jasmine Arcana, from the Philippines, who has been working in Hong Kong as a helper for eight years.
Nearly 1,200 domestic helpers have taken part in the programme since it began three years ago.
Some have gone on to be open-water swimmers, taking advantage of Hong Kong's many beaches.
Russelle Vertudazo was afraid of the water until she started at Splash two years ago - now she dons a wetsuit and goggles every Sunday morning to swim with a dozen other helpers along the southern bays of Hong Kong Island.
Vertudazo, 31, said the main reason she started to swim was to make new friends - like many helpers.
"Most of us in Hong Kong don't have many places to go," she told AFP.
"I like how I can swim as far as I can. I feel free."
Local Mexican officials again helped thousands of Central American migrants find rides Sunday on the latest leg of their journey toward the U.S. border.
At a toll plaza to the west of the central Mexico city of Queretaro, where the group spent Saturday night, police prevented migrants from waylaying trucks on their own, but officers did help them find vehicles for rides.
The government of Queretaro said via Twitter that 6,531 migrants had moved through the state between Friday and Saturday. It said that 5,771 of those departed Sunday morning after staying in three shelters it had prepared, the largest of which was a soccer stadium in the state capital.
Those numbers appeared even higher than counts made by officials when the group was in Mexico City for several days, raising the possibility that other migrants had caught up to the main caravan.
Starting out before dawn, the migrants went on to Irapuato, an agricultural city about 62 miles (100 kilometers) to the west in neighboring Guanajuato state, and set up camp around a local family center and small sports complex.
As on other days, the migrants jumped at any opportunity to catch rides. They piled onto flatbed trucks, hung from car carrier trailers and even stacked themselves four levels high on a truck that usually carries pigs.
Miguel Ortiz of Honduras reclined in the pig trailer with his wife and son. He said they were headed to U.S. for a better life where they could work for more than just putting food on the table.
Maria Isabel Reyes, 39, of Honduras travelled with her three daughters and a granddaughter.
"I feel happy by the grace of God," she said. "Because we're advancing little by little, but all of us here are moving forward."
The migrants appear to be on a path toward Tijuana across the border from San Diego, which is still some 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) away.
The caravan became a campaign issue in U.S. midterm elections and U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of over 5,000 military troops to the border to fend off the migrants. Trump has insinuated without proof that there are criminals or even terrorists in the group.
Many migrants say they are fleeing rampant poverty, gang violence and political instability primarily in the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, and they have now been on the road for weeks.
Mexico has offered refuge, asylum or work visas to the migrants, and its government said 2,697 temporary visas had been issued to individuals and families to cover them while they wait for the 45-day application process for a more permanent status.
But most vowed to continue to the United States.
"We can earn more (in the U.S.) and give something to our family. But there (in Honduras) even when we want to give something to our children, we can't because the little we earn it's just for food, to pay the house and the light, nothing else," said Nubia Morazan, 28, of Honduras as she prepared to set out Sunday with her husband and two children.
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