Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Joyce choked with tears. “I wipe their babies' bottoms, but I don't belong to the fam-
ily I work with. I also don't feel I belong to my own family, who I maybe see once a
year. What am I working so hard for?”
Joyce, 33 years old, is married with two children. She came to Hong Kong four years ago
as a domestic helper. She has just returned from two weeks home in the Philippines. Since
returning she has been feeling depressed and unmotivated.
According to Joyce, being home was like living in a bad dream. She had given up her
profession as a teacher and come to Hong Kong for the sake of family finances. With her
husband's initial support she fully accepted the long-distance separation from those she
loves. After sacrificing so much for her family, she had hoped for some love and support in
return.
However, once home she realized that her husband was unappreciative. Right away he
showed his disappointment at not receiving all the items he had requested her to bring for
him. Her children have grown and get along without her. Her parents, siblings and relatives
didn't hesitate to tell her all their problems, and hold their hands out to the “rich” returnee.
Overwhelmed with others' needs and troubles, Joyce found it difficult to open herself to
them, since no one thought she had any complaints. After all, she dressed well and ap-
peared to be financially comfortable. “No one ever stopped to ask how I feel,” Joyce said.
Back in Hong Kong she finds herself living and working intimately with the host family,
yet she cannot be part of it. Even though she feels that her employers are kind and sympath-
etic, she cannot burden them with her problems. Required to perform and remain cheerful
on the job, Joyce is busy meeting the needs of the employer's household. Once again her
own needs have to be pushed aside, if not swallowed.
Domestic servants, like other expatriates who leave their families behind and come to a
foreign land for financial advantage, are bound to sacrifice some of their personal interests
or needs. The separation from her family can be devastating. Normally, the trauma can be
lessened through phone calls, visits, and local support and activities.
However, Filipina domestic helpers are without the financial privileges that other expat-
riates have, and their communication with family mostly depends on brief calls and text
messages. Frequent travel home is out of the question. Usually they return for only two to
three weeks every two years.
One way for expatriates to deal with homesickness and loneliness is to make outside
contacts. Yet most expatriate domestic helpers start working in the morning and don't finish
until whatever hour their employers require. By then it may be bedtime. They are practic-
ally on-call 24 hours a day. It is easy to feel confined and trapped in such a situation. The
lack of personal space and the feeling of being at the mercy of her employers, as well as a
maid's low status in society, can cause a person to completely lose her identity.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search