by Alice
Content warning: this article contains mention of abuse
I came from a big and happy family in the Philippines with three brothers and three sisters. My father worked in a sugar cane company, which meant we had a monthly income and benefits coming from the company. It was enough to provide our daily basic needs. We were happy because we were together and eating three times a day, and we were content with the life that we had.
Our lives suddenly changed when our father was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. Just months later, he died. I was just in the first grade. Even though my father left some money from his savings, and my mother received some benefits from his company, it was still not enough. My mother had seven children to feed, and we were all between the ages of 4 and 16.
Every day, we had to solve the problem of how we were going to eat. To lessen the mouths to feed, my older siblings went to live with our other relatives, where they worked in exchange for food. Myself and my two youngest siblings stayed with our mother. It was very hard and painful for my mother to let go of her other children, but if we all stayed together, we would have slowly died of hunger.
Because my mother had little education, it was very hard for her to find a job that could support us. She worked long hours as a laundry woman for our village, but the money she earned was not enough to buy our daily food. My mother did this job for 15 years. I saw that every day was very painful, and at an early age, I also started washing my neighbour’s clothes so I could help my family.
Our mother was a superhero. She never showed us that she was hungry or tired, and her mind never stopped thinking of our older siblings — how they were, if our relatives treated them well, if they were okay.
I wanted to do everything I could to find a job to help my family, especially my mother. I wanted to give her a comfortable life, where she would not have to think of what we were going to eat today, tomorrow or the next day, where she could just relax and enjoy a good life.
In 2010, I was given a chance to work in Dubai as a domestic worker. It wasn’t easy to work there. There was not enough food, a very low salary, no rest and no days off. I had to carry the baby monitor with me at all times, and if in the middle of the night the baby woke up, I needed to run upstairs to cuddle her until she went back to sleep again.
There were times when my employer left for a holiday without taking me. They had a very big house, with four storeys and a huge garden. My employer’s mother told me to clean their house and garden, even in the middle of the day when temperatures were as high as 40 degrees. She often threw dinner parties that ended at 2am or later. Even then, we had to wake up early in the morning to clean and prepare the breakfast. I had to be patient and put up with the abuse so my family wouldn’t suffer hunger anymore.
In 2016, my employer brought me here to the UK, and still the abuse continued. There was no proper food, just a cup of coffee for breakfast, and instant noodles for lunch and dinner. There were no days off, and I was not allowed to talk with other people here, especially my fellow domestic workers. My employer withheld my salary, which meant it was so hard for me and family as they were depending on my wages to help them with daily food costs and monthly bills. I was also forbidden from using my mobile phone. This was the saddest and hardest part for me because that was the only form of communication I had with my family. I felt hopeless, and consoled myself by telling myself that it was only for a short period of time
In the mornings, the children, my employer and I spent time in the park. That was how I met one of the members of the Voice of Domestic Workers. She noticed that I was helpless and vulnerable, and approached me while my boss wasn’t looking and asked me if I needed help. The Voice of Domestic Workers is a charity group that helps and rescues the abused workers of their employer. That's what they did to support me: they rescued me, they gave me comfort while I was feeling settled and worried. They gave me shelter, food, and clothing, and helped me with my personal needs until I could find temporary work and was able to support my family. Because of The Voice of Domestic Workers, I was saved and freed from my abusive employer. I am thankful and grateful for the help.
I could not have overcome all of this without my family, especially my mother who worked with all her might to help us survive. Seeing her resilience, hard work and unconditional love for her children helped me to be tough and never give up during the hardest times of my journey as a domestic worker. She deserves to experience the good and comfortable life that the world can offer. My mother is my hero.
About the author
Alice is 44 years old and is the fifth child of seven children from the Philippines. In 2010, she left home to work in Dubai. Her abusive employer brought her to the UK in August 2016, and she has been a member of the Voice of Domestic Workers since then.
Alice is part of the Future Voices programme, a unique leadership and training programme run in partnership between the Voice of Domestic Workers and Sounddelivery Media equipping a new network of migrant domestic workers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to share their stories, influence public opinion and advocate for change.
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