Liwliwa

[burntcircles]

I think a stranger just paid me a compliment. So why do I feel so conflicted?

Comments

[georgiaclaire]

Oh, christ. That's... made incredibly real all the stories I've heard for years about immigrant workers. There's actually studies, you know, on the experience of non native maids in Singapore and other countries, and how they're perceived. About how their employers often become like moral police for them, interfere far beyond their purview.

And yes. I can understand how grateful and how horribly guilty that made you feel, all at the same time. I'm sorry that she won't come back to you. I'm sorry that she can't get to see that not everyone is so awful.

[burntcircles]

I've found a new helper, and she's been a lifesaver. But I still find myself thinking of Liwliwa and how she's doing back home.

She was not that different from me, and yet her experience here was so different.

I hate being called "Ma'am" like the helper is my servant or something, which would make one think I'm oh so honorable, and yet...It's like the decision to hire a helper her and subscribing to the system (they do not have 8-hour working days for example like what they have in Canada, you can basically call on them at night and they would come running) makes me no different than anyone else. And to make this about MYSELF makes me feel like shit.

[scribblecat]

Wow. People don't even treat their dogs like that. That poor woman. And leaving her family behind to make money for them this way, I can't imagine having to do that. What an eye opener to how well we have it. Definitely something to remember and thanks for sharing it.

I hope her and her family can get through. Hugs for you, and I hope you find the right person for the job. I'd offer my services (I used to be a nanny but not a mild mannered one) but I don't cook. Your baby would be fed toast with Vegemite.

[burntcircles]

Vegemite might not be that bad. :)

I've found a helper. She's great.

I think I've grown very sensitive to poverty now, especially as I had a very recent harrowing encounter with it during the job market season (shivers). I honestly don't understand why people treat other people this way. Are they bonkers? Does anybody really think, at this day and age, than some people are beneath you? Are some people really so rich that their sheltered existence gives them this unbelievable callousness? Oh, the questions.

That some Filipinas would choose to work under the possibility of these conditions says volumes about how hard life is for many people in the Philippines. And that really makes me boiling mad sometimes, because we are certainly not dumb and we have mad skills. I rage at the government and the system and then there goes my blood pressure.

Sorry to have thrown a damper on your day. But this has been eating my brain all through the holidays and I just wanted to purge it out.

[sierra_foxx]

OMG. Talk about putting things in perspective. It never ceases to amaze me how badly some people treat others, as if they are far superior beings, or have more right to breathe in the air than anyone else does. Makes me want to slap them, hard.

I hope life is kinder to Liwliwa from now on but I can't say that I'm sure that will be the case. I find that very sad.

However I'm glad you have found someone anyway. I'm sure you are helping them just as much as they are helping you, and that is something to be feel good about.

Thanks for sharing the story, hon. *hugs*

[burntcircles]

Thanks for reading, lovely. You know, Liwliwa's family might not have the easiest life, and this recent loss of income does not help, but I admire her husband for making this decision. So what if they have to make do with less? He was unwilling to put up with the indignity of having his wife being treated so atrociously, and he has my respect.

[stephanie57557]

I think a stranger just paid me a compliment So why do I feel so conflicted? Last month I decided to