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Runaway Maid

Runaway Maid

My Mum's maid, R, left home last Saturday, and has not returned since. The scene - a half-made bed, telephone left disconnected, my nephew's piggy bank raided. Mum made a police report on Sunday. R made no attempts to make contact ,and is out there, somewhere. She left without her passport, employment pass and Indonesian identity card,so it would be reasonable to presume R is still in Singapore. 

R had been working in Singapore for about a year. When she first arrived, she was too shy to make eye contact, her speech hesitant, her posture stooped. She was a picture of innocence, with a sweet smile and always deferential, to the point of being ingratiating. She did everything at Mum's beck and call, but never once complained or sulked. I couldn't help comparing her with my domestic help, L, who runs my household and can shrink my kids with a withering look or a bark, whenever they are up to any shenenigans. L will speak her mind and voice her views. After 4 years with us, L works out her own schedule and plans her work-days - she is the COO of my domestic affairs, leaving me free to potter around with other more interesting matters. The only rule is a no-visitor rule - if L wants to meet friends or relatives, she does so on her off days or when she runs errands, outside the house. I saw no necessity to treat an adult like a child or worse - I've two of my own to deal with already, and that's why I sought help.I also hated to do house-work of any kind and wanted to totally wash my hands off it.

Mum was puzzled about R's disappearance. " I treated her well; she ate whatever she wanted.." Apart from that, there were some restrictions - no hand-phones, minimal chatting , no day-off. But underneath the facade of "acceptable" norms, ( by whose standards, one questions? ) the seams were beginning to fall apart.

In spite of her tender age, R was already married, divorced, and a young mother of 2 children. Does she miss them? What drives a person to do such a seemingly foolish thing? ( then again, worse things could happen! ). R would have taken a sizable loan from the agency to come to  Singapore, and repaying it costs several months of her salary. Running away would spell certain deportation,and with it, a one-way ticket back to her home country, for good. R fled without her passport, so it would appear she was not planning ( or planned pretty poorly ) to leave the country. Was it a case of a con job, in the form of a marriage proposal? Or did she simply snap? Did R have problems in communicating, or felt that it was no point even trying?

So many questions, but no answers in sight. Is R just one of many statistics? How do troubled maids get SOS services anyway, when they have a language handicap and  communicating with the outside world is controlled? Is running away the only recourse? It remains for employers and those of R's ilk to address them. There are no right or wrong answers. Everything is relative, and money can buy many things, even human dignity and freedom of speech.

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