Re: I swear to God, if I see this maid I will break her neck with my both hand! I swe
Tony, while I agree with you that many people possess that "sinkie" arrogance you describe, r u condoning the maid's behaviour becos her employees may be "sinkies"?
What has the kid done to deserve that torture? And pls, don't tell me the kid is a sinkie too.. she's only a toddler.
I don't believe any decent human being will condone the beating or torture of a child let alone torturing another human being. Tony is certainly not saying that the child deserves it.
What I don't see being discussed at all is the root cause of what is happening.
A maid's salary per month is about $300 or $10/day on average. For that pittance of a salary she has to work about 15 to 16 hours doing various household chores including washing the master's car, looking after the master's children. She has one off day in a month and even that was met with resistance when the govt announced it. She has no life outside the master's home, a boyfriend is not allowed, given the master's fear of an unwanted pregnancy and the costs that goes with it. A weird phenomenon given SG's baby shortage.
Note: It is essentially a life of slavery. Allan Ooi felt the same way and committed suicide as he saw no way out of his plight and he is an educated Singaporean. Imagine what must be going through the minds of domestic maids?
Many a times I have noticed Singaporeans giving their maids the pecking order in public and on several times shouting or scolding their maids for mistakes made. Its downright humiliating. I've seen this happen in supermarkets, with the neighbor's maids or even about town.
Most of these maids are young women and scant regard is giving to their emotional wellbeing. Working in a foreign country in difficult conditions, long working hours, lack of sufficient time off, being homesick, insufficient rest, etc all take a physical and emotional toil on these young women. Would any Singaporean work under such circumstances?
On the other hand we have parents both of whom have no choice but to work to pay for the lifestyle they desire or having to make ends meet. They may not be happy with the situation they are in and are financially and mentally stressed. They have little thought to spare their maids whom usually bear the brunt of their frustrations.
Most parents know that they are potentially putting their child in harm's way as a result. Hence you see the spy cameras and video cameras and the constant need to monitor their maids from the workplace. Several people I know of are even using mobile technology to monitor their maids from cellphones.
Different people behave differently when put under constant physical and/or mental stress. If you have a domestic maid that fits the above typical situation, the likelihood that it might be your child that is abused by your maid as shown in the video clip is significant.
Something has to be done about it. Installing spy cams or web cams are not the long term solution either. Pointing the finger squarely at the maids is not the solution and is a convenient way of sweeping the problem under the carpet. A better solution is needed and it involves grownup Singaporeans.
