"My Filipino domestic helper is so stupid!": Study tells you why Macau employers are always dissatisfied with foreign domestic helpers

Author: Liao Zhihui (Founder of Macau Learning No. 16)

One day, I walked into a tea restaurant and saw a Filipino domestic helper feeding her employer's child lunch, but the child who was staring at the phone refused to eat. I heard the store owner and the waiter say in Cantonese: "It's a mobile phone child again, they (Filipino maids) take care of them like this."

Not long after, a middle-aged lady came in. She sat down and said straight away, "I'm in a hurry, what's the fastest thing you can eat?" Then she picked up her phone and started speaking Cantonese English: "Why don't you explain every time? I'll answer I wanted to have lunch at home but you were not there... Even if you wanted to go out with your father-in-law, you still had to tell me!... that is your obligation!" From the corner of my eye, I happened to see the Filipino maid squinting and peeking, the spoon stopped in front of the child's mouth.

The scene freezes instantly, but this kind of plot probably happens every day in Macau.

According to figures from the Labor Bureau , the number of foreign domestic helpers (hereinafter referred to as "foreign domestic helpers") in Macao has increased fivefold from 4,800 in 2002 when gambling rights were opened to 25,000 in 2016. In 2020, more than 29,000 families have hired at least A foreign domestic helper is not a small number in Macau, a city with only over 100,000 residents. The top three nationalities of foreign domestic helpers are the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The liberalization of gambling rights has led to rapid growth in the income of local families, but shift work in casinos has also made double-income parents miserable. Cheap foreign domestic helpers from Southeast Asia are like saviors. From an academic point of view, the arrival of foreign domestic helpers has at least liberated local women’s career development.

But why are the stereotypes about foreign domestic helpers and the conflict between female employers and foreign domestic helpers still so entrenched and continuing to play out? In Macau, a place where 40% of the labor force relies on migrant workers, the rights of foreign employees are a hot potato that even the democrats dare not touch. This is the best time for scholars to enter the market.

Shi Wei, a professor at the Department of Communication at the University of Macau, published a study on foreign domestic helpers in Macau in 2017. Through a large number of in-depth interviews with foreign domestic helpers and local employers, he revealed why foreign domestic helpers in Macau have become what the study calls "frightening" "feared and inferior "other"" (feared and inferior "other"), and the various love-hate entanglements therein.

Invaded safe haven

Many times, stereotypes are not without reason.

One of the interviewees, Ms. Cui, who hired a foreign domestic helper, had to change the storage location of her valuables at home every once in a while. Her fear came from an experience of a friend: It was said that a friend who also hired a foreign domestic helper had to send her valuables home during a certain trip. When the domestic helper arrived at the airport to return home, the foreign domestic helper suddenly asked to go home to pick up a forgotten cake, but she gave up because there was not enough time to take off. However, when her friend returned home, she discovered that the foreign helper’s cake contained her long-lost watch and jewelry.

From then on, Ms. Cui also became suspicious of her foreign domestic helper.

Researchers believe that for local families, hiring a foreign domestic helper is more than just hiring, but rather inviting a stranger from a foreign country into their "most intimate haven (family)." Because apart from the name of the foreign worker, it is difficult for the employer to obtain more information about the foreign domestic helper’s financial status, relationship status, and family composition.

For employers, although the arrival of foreign workers does reduce the burden of housework, it also means that the family is no longer complete and secure.

This need and fear of being hurt often drive local employers (especially hostesses) to want to re-establish family status and boundaries. For example, installing cameras to monitor the activities of foreign domestic helpers, or stipulating various physical spaces that foreign domestic helpers cannot enter (such as the master room).

Not only that, the fear of outsiders is amplified by the intersection with the larger society's collective fear of foreign workers.

Anti-foreign workers sentiment has always existed in Macau society. From the recent suspected discrimination against foreign workers in anti-epidemic policies to the long-term anti-foreign worker protests , in the eyes of locals, foreign workers/migrant workers, including foreign domestic helpers, are not only taking jobs from locals, but also causing problems in medical and transportation services. The culprit that burdens social resources and affects the quality of life.

When this larger social sentiment penetrates into the family, the battlefield extends from the outside into the inside. In the author's words, this is a Macau people's identity created through fear: because "they = foreign domestic helpers/foreign employees" are here to rob the resources of "we = Macau people". The above paragraph mentioned that employers redraw the movable boundaries of foreign domestic helpers at home, which is also a manifestation of distinguishing between domestic workers and outsiders.

But in addition to this physical restriction, what is more serious is the use of language to belittle the "other" of foreign domestic helpers. Many employers interviewed mentioned how they think foreign domestic helpers are "uncivilized" and "disgust".

An interviewee, Ms. Chen, bluntly stated that the reason why she fired her previous Filipino domestic helper was that the foreign domestic helper did not know how to cook Chinese food and the food for postpartum period. She described, "The food cooked by the foreign domestic helper is quite disgusting, either too cold or too cold." Too watery".

Another interviewee, Ms. Zhao, criticized her foreign helper, who even though she has a university degree, does not even have the simplest hygiene knowledge, and did not wash the foreign helper's own cups and tableware separately from those of Ms. Zhao's family. Such behavior It made her very angry and disgusted.

Among the interviewees' criticisms of foreign domestic helpers, adjectives such as "simple" and "disgusting" often appear, as if domestic helpers from other places are born to understand all local Chinese habits, and the cooking culture of other countries is belittled as disgusting. The requirement that the cups of foreign domestic helpers be cleaned separately from those of local people certainly implies a certain degree of discrimination.

However, are foreign domestic helpers who have been discriminated against unable to fight back? In movies, an absolutely weak person is needed to exaggerate the plot, but this is not how the real world works. Local employers can use actions and words to discipline and belittle outsiders, but clever foreign domestic helpers can also use the same tactics to fight back.

"Disgusting" from the weak

Sitizulaikah, an Indonesian domestic helper, has long been unable to stand the difficulties faced by her employer's mother-in-law. She believes that her mother-in-law is always finding fault with her and is dissatisfied with almost everything she does. Slowly, Sitizulaikah felt sick whenever she heard her mother-in-law's voice. However, she never spoke back. Instead, she chose to become "numbness" and let her mother-in-law's words "go in one ear and out the other." She found that this made her Make yourself comfortable.

Filipino domestic helper Judy's "disgust" comes more directly. She couldn't bear to wash her employer's underwear. In her words, it was hard to imagine that Sir and Mom, who were usually glamorous, could allow their private clothes to be exposed to outsiders. Every time she thought about the stains on her underwear, her appetite. Then disappear completely.

Although Sitizulaikah and Judy did not express their dissatisfaction to their employers, researchers believe that their "disgusting" and "numb-stricken" feelings towards their employers during the interview were actually some kind of self-defense mechanism to preserve what they had left in a foreign land. self-esteem. Although this kind of emotional expression does not change the reality much, it at least allows them to continue to live.

As Foucault, a scholar who specializes in power relations, said, "Wherever there is power, there is resistance." However , the resistance of the weak in a disadvantaged position is often not blatant, but more to make the difficult situation "tolerable." We don't want to destroy each other, we just want things not to get worse.

Of course, there are also experienced domestic helpers who seize an opportunity to get out of their own predicament.

Echa, an Indonesian foreign domestic helper, only gets 4 to 5 hours of sleep a day because she has to take care of her employer's newborn. Such fatigue requires her to take vitamins for a long time, but her employer often scolds her for being "stupid" when she is low in energy. One time, she couldn't bear the scolding and asked her employer to resign. The employer who was scolding her immediately shut up.

At this moment, she felt her employer's fear and realized that her employer was actually afraid of her leaving her job. From then on, whenever her employer made any personal insult, Echa dared to express her dissatisfaction, and the word "stupid" never appeared again.

Has the balance of power been tipped? No, but the smart underdog pulled the severely tilted scales back a bit.

Echa confessed to the researcher: "I actually don't really want to leave. Just think about working 16 hours a day, so how can I find time to find other jobs?"

Real power relations are often interactive processes, involving continuous negotiation and confrontation. The weak are not completely at a disadvantage, but can fight for space through more tactful methods. In these stories, such space is where dignity is preserved and in which In other stories, it can be actual benefits and raises.

Conclusion: "A foreign worker again! A foreign worker again?!"

There is a concept in psychology called "confirmation bias" , which means that people will actively search for relevant evidence to strengthen their established positions. To put it simply, you have an innate belief that the foreign domestic helper is here to steal your job, and all her/his behavior will naturally be “eye-catching” (particularly annoying) in your eyes.

The research introduced in this article explains how some Macau people’s discriminatory mentality against foreign domestic workers is formed. It is both understandable (the psychology of family being invaded) and is also affected by larger social sentiments (anti-foreign workers). But what is even more rare is that the research also shows how these foreign strangers who live together every day exert various kinds of silent resistance.

There is often no absolute right or wrong in social conflicts, and if you want to change these issues in a good direction, the key step may be to first understand the rationale behind the actions of both parties.

#Article number: 6️⃣4️⃣

#Cover Photo: All media

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