THE temperature stood at 11 degrees Celsius in Hong Kong one weekend last January. I was walking down Victoria Park in the Causeway Bay against the freezing cold. The park was crowded with Indonesian housemaids in small groups, each engrossed in its own activity.

Piye kabare, Mbak, aku kangen nih, (How you doing? I miss you,) one girl greeted Etik Juwita who was accompanying me on a visit to the park that Sunday morning. Etik returned the greeting