It was interesting. Several kids had been left there with their Indonesian maids/nannies while parents presumably shopped. I mention the fact that they're Indonesian because there is a whole connotation that goes along with that that I'm not even sure how to articulate. Whatever it is though, it makes me somewhat uneasy, yet fascinated. This whole maid-having culture is not one I thought I'd ever be a part of. And there is a certain stigma with the Indonesian maids, and it's definitely different than having an Indian maid, like I have. It's not better or worse on the employer's end, but I believe it's worse on the Indonesian's end.
Having the access that I do, it's hard not to stare when I see them. I try to imagine the life of these maids, what they're day-to-day is like, what goes through their minds. Do they hate these brats they follow silently all day long? Do they find the work demeaning? I'm telling you, it's different than, say, an au pair or a western nanny. There is a smidge of prestige in that, or at least some dignity. But here, they seem like the silent, sub-human characters that I recognize from films that have traditionally marginalized the blacks or latins in our culture. Do they get that? Do they feel marginalized? Do they feel they are seen as lesser? Do they think that's OK?
And I have heard the locals talk about the stigma against Indonesian maids. In fact, several of the local babywearers have talked about how uncomfortable it makes them when people assume they are the family's Indonesian maid because they are carrying their babies in a sling (something that's mostly associated with the more ethnic/native/old-fashioned Indonesians.) We had a demo of the traditional Indonesian baby-carrying technique when one of the babywearers brought her maid with her to babywearing group one day.
I'm telling you. I'm not sure how to process it, or what I think of it, but the nuances of it all are fascinating to me.
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