Take Care, Woman!

Translated…

The Indonesian woman my friend hired was extradited, I hope, that with this article, she can feel my well-wishes for her.

This young woman in her twenties, five months ago, arrived in Taiwan, and, perhaps maybe she was born in a small distant village in Indonesia, she’d not known how to use a lot of the household appliances, and didn’t know how to do some of the basic household chores, my friend took a lot of time to teach her.

The woman is very quiet, and you can’t tell her emotions from looking at her face at all.

A few days ago, my friend found a stain on the shirt she was wearing, and because she was wearing a dark color, the color of the stain wasn’t clear, it felt half dry, like soy sauce, or blood.  When she’d asked the woman what’s the matter?  She’d told her, that she’d accidentally, spilled water on herself.

The very next day, she’d changed her clothes, and yet, on that exact same spot, there was, a wet stain again.  My friend was shocked, and felt that something must be happening, but, because it wouldn’t be right, of her, to just go, and lift up her shirt to look, she’d kept an observing eye on her.

The woman continued working as if nothing was happening, never let out a painful sound.  Until two days ago, my friend finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, wanted to see what the woman was covering up.  Lifting up her shirt, my friend nearly passed out, there was a pussing hole in front of her chest, the bloody water and the rotten flesh, mixed together, it was, not easy to look at!

This sort of wound, you can imagine the pain, and yet, the woman never said a word, just kept everything hovered up, didn’t tell her boss, didn’t ask to see the doctor.  The reason was clear, as the Indonesian hired helpers came, they’d usually owed on both sides, they’d taken a loan from their country, then, taken another loan from the broker, and working in Taiwan for a long time, the wages from their first year here may not be enough, to pay off the loans that they’d taken out.

She’d only started working a few short months, even IF she’s covered by the national insurance plans here, she’d not dared allowing anybody to know she was ill; falling ill is one of the primary reasons for being sent back, and, once she’s sent back, how should she pay up the money owed to both sides?  She could only, put up with the pains from her illness.

And still, she’d gotten a medical check up right before she arrived to Taiwan, and, a few days before my friend noticed that something wasn’t quite right, she’d gone through a check up at the hospital again, and still, nothing abnormal showed up; and, on the second health check, her wound was already pussing up, it’s too outrageous.

In a few short months, what sort of an illness can cause this shocking open wound?  My friend’s family felt that it was bad, but, there was nothing they could do, all they can do for her, was to give her an extra year’s worth of salaries, hoping, that it would, lighten the debts she’d owed.

We don’t know if after returning to her home she’ll get the right kind of medical treatments, we don’t even know if she will have the opportunity to be treated.  The flight to Jakarta is about to take off, and, all we can give her, are our blessings.

And, this, would be the TRIALS of life for a woman who’d come here, to work as a family helper, because these foreign hired persons had taken out loans to get here, and, once here, they’d still owed the money to the brokerage here, and so, they’re not making everything as they should, and, in this case, this helper didn’t DARE tell anybody about her condition, fearing that it’d cost her more, she’d already owed so much, and that, is just awful!

and no, NOT my photographs…