It is Sunday
here in Singapore and it is the maids day off. There are tens of thousands of
domestic Helpers living here on the Island. Most are from the Philippines. Some
are from Indonesia. These terribly hard working young and old women come to
Singapore under agency agreements to live and work as live-in cleaners, cooks and
general dogs bodies. At most they are paid S$500 a month and they work 6 days a
week.
Sundays are
their one day off a week.
The domestic
helpers of Singapore live in. That is they are provided with a small room. These
rooms are often windowless and one could easily mistake them as being closets. Many
barely have enough room for a roll-out mattress. Housing in Singapore is
marketed by the number of bedrooms 'plus one'.
The ‘plus one’
is the maids room.
There are
strict rules in engaging a maid. There are strict rules for everything here in
Singapore. Everything is done by the book and the book is large. It is
encyclopedic in fact.
As a single
man I am not allowed to have live-in Domestic Help. Nor indeed do I need or
want one. I can clean and cook for myself. My mother taught me well. Most
families I know - both local and expatriates treat their maids with kindness.
They are not exactly one of the family however there is no abuse of their human
rights.
There are
occasional horror stories one hears though. There have been cases of sexual
abuse. The newspaper once published a picture of a tiny little helper hauling
the bag of a big fit soldier as he tweeted on his mobile phone. There was one
case too of a maid stooping down to tie the shoelaces of their employer in a
crowded shopping centre. It was very degrading. These cases are not the norm
though and there was general public outrage at such conduct.
What I find
endearing, indeed humbling - is the frugality and generosity of these Filipino
women. Despite their monthly wage being not a great deal more than some of we
ugly expats spend on a boozy night out, I see long lines of these happy and
smiling women at the Western Union offices queuing up to send every spare cent
they have back home. They are supporting parents, brothers and sisters back in
a country where poverty is the norm and mere survival is a daily hardship that
has to be endured.
I have talked
to a number of these bi and often tri-lingual women who gather in the open
spaces near where live. They congregate to have picnics after attending morning
mass at one of the larger Catholic churches in Singapore. Whilst many of the
maids come from remote villages far from Manila and a surprisingly large number
of them are qualified teachers and nurses. I have met some who even have
degrees in law. They are unable to work in their professions at home by simple
virtue of a lack of opportunity and the fact that their qualifications are not
recognized in Singapore.
The Philippines is
still suffering from the economic rape and pillaging undertaken by the corrupt
Marcos regime.
Singaporeans
greatly benefit from the services that these delightful people bring.
We
should not take them for granted.
No comments :
Post a Comment