I have blogged about a Chinese national working in our office canteen before (here). This article is about another very large group of foreign workers in Singapore - domestic workers.
The some 140,000 foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Singapore are mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Others are from Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In August 2003, Indonesia's Tempo Weekly Magazine interviewed Dr Ng Eng Hen, then Acting Minister for Manpower (currently Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence). The subject of the interview was mainly about FDWs in Singapore, steps taken to protect their rights and the prevention of maid abuse. However, the interview did not mention anything about how to protect employers from their errant maids. (New measures were introduced in October 2006 to assist FDWs and their employers.)
We can all sympathize with the plight of FDWs in Singapore. Most of them come from really poor families in not-so-rich countries. Some of them are quite highly educated. Don't be surprised if you find that some of them are even university graduates. One thing in common about them is that they are all here to work and earn a better salary than they could ever have achieved back home. In doing so, they leave behind their loved ones in their home countries for a long time. They come to a faraway and unfamiliar land called Singapore. We can understand why some of them can't really help feeling homesick, depressed and even suicidal sometimes. More so if they are not treated humanely by their employers. Even worse when they are physically or emotionally abused.
Yes, we are familiar with horror stories on how some maids were beaten, scalded with boiling water, burnt with hot irons, made to eat dog shit and even kicked to death. Yet equally often, we also hear frightening stories on how some maids stole, prostituted themselves and not only robbed and killed their employers but also their own kind time and again.
The some 140,000 foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in Singapore are mainly from Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Others are from Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In August 2003, Indonesia's Tempo Weekly Magazine interviewed Dr Ng Eng Hen, then Acting Minister for Manpower (currently Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence). The subject of the interview was mainly about FDWs in Singapore, steps taken to protect their rights and the prevention of maid abuse. However, the interview did not mention anything about how to protect employers from their errant maids. (New measures were introduced in October 2006 to assist FDWs and their employers.)
We can all sympathize with the plight of FDWs in Singapore. Most of them come from really poor families in not-so-rich countries. Some of them are quite highly educated. Don't be surprised if you find that some of them are even university graduates. One thing in common about them is that they are all here to work and earn a better salary than they could ever have achieved back home. In doing so, they leave behind their loved ones in their home countries for a long time. They come to a faraway and unfamiliar land called Singapore. We can understand why some of them can't really help feeling homesick, depressed and even suicidal sometimes. More so if they are not treated humanely by their employers. Even worse when they are physically or emotionally abused.
Yes, we are familiar with horror stories on how some maids were beaten, scalded with boiling water, burnt with hot irons, made to eat dog shit and even kicked to death. Yet equally often, we also hear frightening stories on how some maids stole, prostituted themselves and not only robbed and killed their employers but also their own kind time and again.
I don't have to tell you why I don't have a maid at home. Besides wanting to avoid all the possible problems that I mentioned above, I treasure my privacy.
One Sunday afternoon several weeks ago, I was waiting at the ground floor lift lobby to return to my 9th-storey humble HDB abode. When the lift arrived, an Indonesian-looking girl in her early 20s went into the lift with me. I noticed that the girl had no shoes on. Half curious and half friendly, I started the following conversation with her:
Me: Are you used to walking around like that?
Girl (blushing): No, my shoes spoilt.
Me: Oh, then why didn't you buy a pair at the market. You can get a pair of slippers for about $2 only.
Girl (blushing even more): No bring money.
Me: Oh I see. Are you from Indonesia?
Girl: Yes.
Me: Which part?
Girl: Semarang.
Me: Is that in Sumatra?
Girl: No, Java Tengah (= Central Java).
Me (blushing at my ignorance of Indonesia's geography): Oh I see. So you work for a family here?
Girl: Ya, a Malay family on the 11th floor.
Me: Ah, that's good. They can understand what you say.
At that point, we both reached the 10th floor where the lift stopped.
Me: See you again.
Girl: Bye.
For a moment there, I thought I discovered yet another case of maid abuse.
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