Lim Hui Yi Candy S10037061J T01

Hi, this is Candy and our topic today is about foreign domestic workers. Are they given the kind of respect they should receive?



Foreign domestic workers are often taken for granted. We make them complete our household chores and seldom express our gratitude towards them. In fact, there are employers who never thank them for helping out with household chores. What’s the reason behind such behaviours? The employers hire foreign domestic workers and expect them to complete the tasks given to them. Apparently, employers feel that there is absolutely no necessity for any sort of recognition or credit.

You can simply grab a person from the streets and ask him to give a simpler term for ‘foreign domestic workers’. I can bet that he will use the word ‘maid’. To most employers, maids are considered as servants to them. But not all of them actually treat servants as human beings. Most employers treat them as human ‘robots’ and they are expected to always be at someone’s beck and call. But isn’t it logical for a human to gain the appropriate respect? How would you feel if someone keeps ordering you to do work and refuses to allow you to take a rest?

Let’s take a look at the media’s perspective. Maids are portrayed as humble servants who obey their employers. They are shabbily dressed and are often mistreated. The only replies that they give are “Yes madam” and “Okay madam”. Besides giving such short replies, they bow slightly whenever their employers call them. The media portrays them as humans with lower status.

The sad thing is, the media is not weaving a lie. I went to my friend’s house and witnessed for myself that the maid was not allowed to sit with the whole family during dinnertime. There is absolutely nothing in the contract that states that she is not supposed to eat dinner with them. Then why is it that maids are often seen eating at one corner after her employer’s family is done with eating theirs?

If you notice, the employer’s kids are always having a whale of a time at swimming pools while the maids would be standing at one corner and are usually deprived of all the fun. Is there a rule that says “NO MAIDS ALLOWED IN THE POOL?” I see “NO PETS ALLOWED IN THE POOL” but definitely not the former. After illustrating two scenarios, I guess you should know by now that maids are indeed treated as low status servants that take up menial tasks. There is an unspoken and unwritten rule that maids are forbidden from entering the swimming pool and also to eat with the family during dinnertime.

Therefore, we can see that maids are indeed treated as outsiders. But there are employers who claim that their maids are considered as part of the family. But consider this, will you ever allow your maid to sleep in your bed like how you will allow your sister to do so? If your maid is not allowed to do that, then how is she considered as part of the family?

The contract offers three options on where a maid will sleep. They are namely in the children's room, in a separate room and 'others'. But guess what? Employers are apt to exploit the loophole and make their maids sleep at the living room or even the storeroom and not breach their contract.

I conducted an interview with a friend of mine and she expressed her thoughts of her maid. I will be reading her answers.

INTERVIEW 1

Q1. Have you ever scolded your maid for meddling your stuff?

Clarissa: Yes, of course. She really likes to meddle with my stuff and there are times when I got so mad at her that I screamed right at her face. There was once I gave her a lecture that lasted for an hour.

Q2. Did your maid do it deliberately or accidentally?

Clarissa: I’m not sure if she did it deliberately, but I just get so pissed off with her touching my stuff to even clarify matters beforehand. It’s just very rude of her to meddle with my stuff. I mean, even my mother won’t touch my belongings. What kind of rights does she have to meddle with my stuff then?

Q3. Do you take your maid for granted?

Clarissa: I have never thought of that aspect before. All I know is my mother hired her and it’s only right that she does her part. I mean… My mother pays her. Right?

Q4. Do you treat your maid as part of your family?

Clarissa: Not really. I have this mentality that she came from Indonesia…and she’s just different. She’s just a maid

INTERVIEW 2

I conducted another interview with a maid but she doesn’t want her voice recorded. So I will be reading her answers instead.

Q1. Does your employer scold you on a daily basis?

Coco: Not really. Not all the time. But she does scold me.

Q2. Do you have difficulties understanding your employer?

Coco: Ya. My “mam” speaks a lot of English. Sometimes I cannot understand.

Q3. Are you treated as part of the family?

Coco: I think so.

Q4. Do you eat with your employer’s family?

Coco: No. I eat after that.

Q5. Has anyone appreciated your effort? By thanking you perhaps?

Coco: No. But when there are visitors, they thank me for giving them water.


Let’s look at Clarissa’s interview answers. It is obvious that she takes her maid for granted and she thinks that it is only right for her maid to do household chores. She scolds her maid when she commits mistakes and in fact, does not clarify matters before reprimanding her.

Who knows? Her maid might be trying to clean her room but her intention was misunderstood after touching Clarissa’s personal belongings. Even though Clarissa’s maid serves her, she does not treat her as family. She gave a totally absurd reason that her maid came from Indonesia and that she’s just different. Maids are human beings. They have limitations. The maid might have done something wrong, but giving them lectures that last for an hour? That is a bit too overboard.

But I’m not trying to take any sides. But I just want to point out that there are definitely two sides to a story. If the relationship between the employer and the employee doesn’t work out, it means that a communication problem exists. None of them should harbour any hatred towards one another and only through this way, would they obtain trust within each other.

It takes two hands to clap, and I believe that it takes two different people to start a conflict.

Hopefully, all employers will give the respect that their employees deserve. But of course, it’s impossible for all employers to be kind souls. A perfect world does not exist. But if everyone does his part, the world will become a better place.
This is candy, signing off.