20 August 2008

They're People Too, People!

I've read, and I'm sure you have too, about Indonesian maids who do things behind their employer's back. Things ranging from the minor, like falling in love with fellow Indonesian men and having clandestine meetings (shaggings?), to major things, like poisoning food and stealing money. The question is no longer, "Do we need a Nanny Cam?" but "Where should we place the three Nanny Cams?"

NEWSFLASH people: They are humans too.

Let's see how your mental health holds up if you are shipped to a foreign country and asked to work in isolation, doing the same menial housework every day. If your employers work on weekdays, you're left to your own devices 5 days a week. What are you going to do after sweeping the floor and wiping the window grilles (probably done by 11am)? Clean the TV cabinet for the 50th time?

Humans crave connections.
Humans need love.
Humans are social creatures.
Humans have a hierarchy of needs.
Maids are humans.

Do the math! You can't keep maids in isolation and expect her to do the same thing everyday, and not make her go mad. Spying on them with a Nanny Cam as if they were naughty pets further erodes their sense of humanity. Even prisoners sent to isolated confinement are not spied on.

If I was the maid, I won't be surprised if I go a little cuckoo or venture out to have some afternoon delights with the local construction men.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

1 comment:

Mark said...

Yeah well said...spying on someone will only make them go cuckoo faster.