The Feelings of the Filipinos in Hong Kong About the Tai Po Fire

The Tai Po fire has claimed over a hundred lives of Hong Kong residents, including some diligent foreign domestic helpers. Up to now, the fire has claimed the lives of seven foreign domestic helpers. A Filipino woman who came to lay flowers and express her condolences at the fire site said that her friend, unfortunately, died in this disaster and left behind a 10-year-old son. The boy firmly told her that he would like to become a firefighter when he grows up.

Many people came to the fire site and expressed their condolences. Photo by Bastille Post

On the afternoon of November 30th, people continuously came to lay flowers at the open spaces near Wang Fuk Court. Edna Libo-on, a Filipino, and her friends were among the stream of people. She said that since she had to work on weekdays, she could only come to lay flowers on Sunday.

Edna Libo-on, Photo by Bastille Post

She mentioned that she knew one of her friends had unfortunately passed away in the fire, leaving behind a ten-year-old son. She once got in touch with the boy. When asked about his future aspirations, he firmly expressed his hope to become a firefighter.

When Edna, who is also the chairperson of One Visayas, talked about the support from the Hong Kong society, she was grateful for the government's support for the Filipinos in Hong Kong and was deeply moved by seeing many Hong Kong citizens voluntarily come to the fire site to lay flowers and express their condolences. She said, "At such a moment, the power of praying for blessings truly transcends material assistance. Of course, in this disaster, the homes and properties destroyed by the fire are irreplaceable, but staying alive would be the most important."

Many foreigners also came to the fire site to express their condolences. Photo by Bastille Post

She also emphasized, "When the disaster occurred, we felt the generosity of the Hong Kong people, especially in terms of economic assistance." She was grateful for the assistance from the Hong Kong government for the Filipinos in Hong Kong, which has let them feel the warmth of timely care and help at such a tough time. After expressing her condolences, she planned to stay at the site and sought some volunteer work. 

The stalls at the site, Photo by Bastille Post

Among the crowd of people who came to lay flowers, there were a number of foreigners. At the site of the fire, some stalls were set up for the registration of the foreign domestic helpers suspected of being missing.

The firefighter in the rescue, Photo by Bastille Post

The encouraging words for the firefighters, Photo by Bastille Post

The firefighters who spared no effort in the rescue not only have earned people's respect, but also received encouraging words from many people.

The tragic fire in Tai Po has been drawing worldwide attention recently. The victims have received different kinds of donations from kind-hearted people from all walks of life. The young violist George Ng from Hong Kong has reached out his helping hand from the aspect of music by recording an instrumental ensemble video with other 16 young musicians from all over the world to express their hope that "this short music video can help to soothe the hearts of the disaster-stricken people and pass on the warmth to them as well as all the corners in Hong Kong."

The screenshot of the IG video

George Ng, a young violist from Hong Kong who is currently a third-year student at the Juilliard School in the United States, invited 16 young musician friends from all over the world to perform a piece of music together and recorded it in a video upon learning about the fire at Wang Fuk Court. The name of the music video is "Music Blesses Hong Kong".

The screenshot of the IG video

The screenshot of the IG video

The screenshot of the IG video

The 17 musicians come from China, the United States, Italy, South Korea, the Philippines, Argentina, Turkey, Albania, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. Although they speak different languages, they all tried to express the sincere wish "Get well soon, Hong Kong" in Cantonese at the beginning of the video, and then played different instruments such as violins, violas, pianos, etc. to play a small section of the music and then link up to form a complete piece.

The screenshot of the IG video

The screenshot of the IG video

"I hope to do my best to convey the warmth of music to my hometown. May our music bless Hong Kong, and also may the viewers of this video feel the spiritual power of our music." said George Ng. Next week, he will finish his studies at the Juilliard School ahead of schedule and return to Hong Kong. He hoped to visit the shelters for residents from Wang Fuk Court in person and comfort them with music to fulfill the sincere wish of "Music Blesses Hong Kong". After watching the video, many netizens have left their comments and expressed their gratitude to these young musicians for their concern for Hong Kong.

As for the details of the IG video, the following link is for reference.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRtr625jT1H/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=a9a0ec4e-159c-4278-81f0-ea7df68edaf2