Try a little kindness

My wife and I raised our two children over the last 26 years without any help from our in-laws and least of all any domestic help. I can't say that they are the best behaved children but by any standards they are good examples of children who have grown into their adulthood quite nicely. In fact, my wife should take the credit for raising them up, when they were still young, single-handedly. She quit here job at a multi national firm and looked after her two charges for 7 years. and when they went into primary education she took up a job at a Kindie still having half the day free to cook for the family. Today she still works for a private school teaching pre-school children.

What's my point? Maids, that's what. And how some are treated in this country. I have always made it a point to observe how these migrant workers are treated by their employers. Sad to say the majority of them are treated worse than refugees. A good indication of how a maid is treated is to see how they are made use off when they are at restaurants with their employers. Most of the time they have to look after the toddlers, ensuring that they are fed while their parents go on an eating frenzy. Nobody even bats an eyelid to see if the maid's plate is full leave alone put some food on her plate. They fear to reach out and take food from the ordered dishes because of the looks they might receive from around the table. So most the time, eating out means not eating at all. I wonder how they keep on going without proper nourishment. You can only guess what they get at home. Besides that, to keep a long story short, most of the kids are raised by the maids who transfer their own values to the young ones.

But the other day, I had a plesant surprise when my wife and I were having dinner at the Esquire Kitchen in Subang Parade. A large family, grandparents, their children their spouses and of course, toddlers. Lo and behold, while the maid tended to the small kids, the young gentleman ( and I say gentleman) made sure that her plate was always full. More than that the grandpa urged her to eat and not to be shy. What a happy maid she looked, nicely clothed, neat hair and so well groomed. And when the children mother's had finished their meal they digilently took took over the kids and allowed the maid to finish her meal in comfort.

It really coddled my heart to see that scene that day and made me feel somewhat that there was still some good people around