Sentidokomon

By Joy B. Miranda

Editor in Chief, Tinig Pinoy-Politis

Some text messages I received last month were from a Filipina named Maricel who claimed to have a cyst in her ovary which pain bothers her tremendously. The medical doctor suggested for an operation, but according to her, employers opposed to it because once operated, she can not work for a month and it is going to be difficult for them. Maricel further stated in her messages that she is due to fly back to the Philippines this March and the doctor insisted that she should be operated at least a month before her flight, and the cost should not be an issue as she can use her insurance. Adamant to have the operation here in Cyprus because she can not afford it in the Philippines, she asked for an advice on what to do with her employers and at the same time afraid if something wrong might happen during or after she goes under the knife. TP staff Beth Fernandez forwarded her messages to the office of the Labor Attache and as of this writing, we have not heard from her anymore. We hope wherever she, her problem with her cyst is solved.
I was horrified by the reason of why the employers of Maricel did not agree for her operation. They were worried more that nobody could be doing the house chores than seeing their worker safe and healthy. They care more of the house than of the person. Oh my, how can they be so heartless?
We can see countless different problems of domestic workers against their respective employers, but most of these issues were kept hidden from everybody. I reckoned that indeed domestic helpers are vulnerable to neglect, exploitation and abuse as many people regard this work as absolutely trash, and those who are in it are nothing by socio-economic sense. I am really bored scribbling about domestic helper job but I am writing a bit again because of a recent chat I had with a lady that I don’t know. I was doing my research one day when suddenly somebody popped up in my yahoo messenger. She said she is from Arizona, USA and she just happened to see my website. Then she started saying that she liked reading its content and that I am doing a great job. After a while she asked what I am really doing in Cyprus for a livelihood. I plainly said, “I earn my paycheck as a house keeper.� And she answered, “What? You as well is a maid? Hahaha! Such a waste of your time!�
Sensing the sarcastic tone of her words, my ears got burned! I told her in a marathon manner, “Excuse me but I don’t see anything wrong with being a maid and correction, I don’t waste my valuable time doing so. I am happy doing this job and I am proud of it. What is waste for me is talking to someone like you whose thinking is way too narrow to understand that in life, there is no big or small jobs, it is the contentment and happiness in what you do that make sense.� She might have noticed my returned sarcasm that she apologized and said goodbye.

 

I am practically annoyed each time I hear people say “So you are a writer, and what are you doing here?� It is like, they look up to me upon knowing that I am a writer then afterward would raise an eyebrow and decrease their respect just because I do house work. It is this downward mentality that prevents growth and progress and demoralizes one’s capability to enjoy the tasks of being a domestic worker.
Many of us I know have experienced working in different fields. Back in our country we are teachers, midwives, nurses, office and government workers, sales ladies, etcetera, but now we are here abroad as maids…tell me, are you ashamed of that? I hope not. If someone asks about what kind of job you have, will you deny it? I hope not too. I ended my glamorous job as a practicing journalist in the Philippines because contrary to what I call “the downward mentality� of the majority, and whether you agree or not, housekeeping is as glamorous as many other jobs and I am promoting it to the highest level. We should not be ashamed rather be proud about it because it is what we do best.  It is important that you are happy about it. There is always a breath of dissatisfaction money-wise due to its low pay, never the less continue to take pride in it because you are doing a great job. As I end this, here is another nugget of wisdom by Martin Luther King Jr. to contemplate: “If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep streets even as Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ah, here lived a great sweeper who did his job well.�