And As The Drama Unfolds
Something happened today that was a big shocker. A big, big shocker, that left all of us - Marc, me and his parents - perplexed and without a clear answer. It concerns his maid, and her attitude toward me. Basically, she doesn't like me, and today she took a drastic measure to show it.
So now there is the question of why she doesn't like me. We've bandied around many theories, and honestly the one niggling theory is the one that cannot be confirmed. But my instinct and re-evaluations tell me it is true. So whatever it is. I still feel unsafe in this house now.
Because we've all seen what maids can do, especially, it seems, in Singapore. Lots of maids-gone-bonkers-slash-crime-of-passion stories.
Look, I empathise with the plights of maids. They are young and naive, and brought here to slog their guts out for a pittance. On top of that, their work benefits suck ass, and they are far away from kith and kin. I know I am way privileged when compared to them. But Marc's maid is far from being ill-treated. The family doesn't just regard her as "The Help", but they do see that she makes a significant and competent contribution to the well-being and running of this family. They never speak to her with condescension, or scold her, or beat her. They treat her humanely. And I do as well.
This is perplexing, and while my friends are deeply entertained when I fill them in on the juicy details of this story in all my jaw-dropping shock, I can only feel more scared. Because in some ways I am so vulnerable here, in a house where she cooks and handles my food when I am around, and where she is in such close proximity, and not to mention I am humiliated and angry with her for behaving like that toward me. At the same time, I don't want to cause her to be deported, especially since the firing decision would be made contingent on the future -- that is, if she behaves in any way more maliciously to me. But by then, and I don't mean to dramatize this, it could be too late because damage would already have been done.
Whatever it is, she has breached an important line today. And I can never look at her the same way again.
The only expression to convey how I feel now is : Brrrr. Shiver.
So now there is the question of why she doesn't like me. We've bandied around many theories, and honestly the one niggling theory is the one that cannot be confirmed. But my instinct and re-evaluations tell me it is true. So whatever it is. I still feel unsafe in this house now.
Because we've all seen what maids can do, especially, it seems, in Singapore. Lots of maids-gone-bonkers-slash-crime-of-passion stories.
Look, I empathise with the plights of maids. They are young and naive, and brought here to slog their guts out for a pittance. On top of that, their work benefits suck ass, and they are far away from kith and kin. I know I am way privileged when compared to them. But Marc's maid is far from being ill-treated. The family doesn't just regard her as "The Help", but they do see that she makes a significant and competent contribution to the well-being and running of this family. They never speak to her with condescension, or scold her, or beat her. They treat her humanely. And I do as well.
This is perplexing, and while my friends are deeply entertained when I fill them in on the juicy details of this story in all my jaw-dropping shock, I can only feel more scared. Because in some ways I am so vulnerable here, in a house where she cooks and handles my food when I am around, and where she is in such close proximity, and not to mention I am humiliated and angry with her for behaving like that toward me. At the same time, I don't want to cause her to be deported, especially since the firing decision would be made contingent on the future -- that is, if she behaves in any way more maliciously to me. But by then, and I don't mean to dramatize this, it could be too late because damage would already have been done.
Whatever it is, she has breached an important line today. And I can never look at her the same way again.
The only expression to convey how I feel now is : Brrrr. Shiver.
posted by the zee at 10:57 PM
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