Several months ago, my next door neighbour maid came crying to my part time maid, complaining that she wasn’t given any salary for several months and complained that she worked long hours with little food (she’s that skinny) to eat.
Last month, I noticed that my next door neighbour had a new and younger maid working for the family. Three days ago my other half told me that the maid came over to borrow the phone to call the agent.
Tonight she came again (I was shocked to see her but what can I do, imagine yourself being in such situation, are you going to tell her no and close the door on her?), crying on the phone, telling the agent that she wasn’t given much food to eat (told not to cook while the owners are not at home, and hence why she dared to came over to my house) and work very long hours. This I can vouch. She seemed to be working day in and day out without stopping but never know, inside, misery was filling up the heart of this young maid who just want to come to this country to find a decent work so as to support her family back home.
Several days ago, I also met some construction workers who were working in building houses (officers’ houses) in one of the largest resettlement project in the country and they complained that they were not paid for the last three months. Today if you read the newspaper, the Vietnamese ambassador said that there will be 400 Vietnamese workers who will be coming to Brunei to work.
The thought that comes to my mind…. Who eventually will take care of these workers both physically and mentally when they are ill treated and not given salary? Where can they go? Their agents? I don’t think agents are very responsible lot since they impose a very high fee for the maids/workers to work in this country and tend to ignore their problems. Which agency can claim to be good to their ill treated members?...
Sometimes what irritates me is the fact that most of those who can afford maids are those who are highly educated (graduate) people and yet they treat other human beings like animals. Why? Where’s that religious sense of loving and care for other human being? The fact that the neighbour is a uniform personnel, who have expensive taste, really makes me puke and angry when looking at these type of people. Hypocrites! …. Eh emosi pulang me…
Last month, I noticed that my next door neighbour had a new and younger maid working for the family. Three days ago my other half told me that the maid came over to borrow the phone to call the agent.
Tonight she came again (I was shocked to see her but what can I do, imagine yourself being in such situation, are you going to tell her no and close the door on her?), crying on the phone, telling the agent that she wasn’t given much food to eat (told not to cook while the owners are not at home, and hence why she dared to came over to my house) and work very long hours. This I can vouch. She seemed to be working day in and day out without stopping but never know, inside, misery was filling up the heart of this young maid who just want to come to this country to find a decent work so as to support her family back home.
Several days ago, I also met some construction workers who were working in building houses (officers’ houses) in one of the largest resettlement project in the country and they complained that they were not paid for the last three months. Today if you read the newspaper, the Vietnamese ambassador said that there will be 400 Vietnamese workers who will be coming to Brunei to work.
The thought that comes to my mind…. Who eventually will take care of these workers both physically and mentally when they are ill treated and not given salary? Where can they go? Their agents? I don’t think agents are very responsible lot since they impose a very high fee for the maids/workers to work in this country and tend to ignore their problems. Which agency can claim to be good to their ill treated members?...
Sometimes what irritates me is the fact that most of those who can afford maids are those who are highly educated (graduate) people and yet they treat other human beings like animals. Why? Where’s that religious sense of loving and care for other human being? The fact that the neighbour is a uniform personnel, who have expensive taste, really makes me puke and angry when looking at these type of people. Hypocrites! …. Eh emosi pulang me…
No comments:
Post a Comment