Singapore Ma’ams and Filipino Maids

The blurb intrigued me, being the story of 3 Filipino domestic workers in Singapore, part of the almost 40% strong migrant workforce in Singapore.

Angel, Cora, and Donita become friends, and we are give their very different backgrounds and stories, and also a good look at their working conditions. Cora is the eldest of the 3, a veteran domestic worker who had worked in Singapore more than 20 years ago, returned to the Philippines, and now has come back to Singapore. She has a secret, and her own tragedy, which she is trying to conceal. Through her network, she is introduced to her new ma’am’, Elizabeth ma’am. Elizabeth is the inheritor of her husband’s very successful kopitiams, and lives a very genteel, pampered lifestyle. For all that, Elizabeth is extremely kind to Cora, and it is Cora who has to tell her ma’am that there is a line to be drawn between employer and maid, and that it is not appropriate for them to go around as friends.

Donita’s employer is the notoriously difficult Fann Poh Choo. Fann ma’am is physically and verbally abusive, controlling and overbearing, rude and mistrustful of Donita. Donita, the youngest of our protagonist, dresses provocatively, wants to have a boyfriend and a good time, and is unafraid of challenging the rules, even if she does get into a lot of trouble for it. She is also deeply worried when another Filipino helper and a friend of hers, gets accused of murdering her employer.

Angel works for the Vijays, and ends up being a caretaker after Mr Vijay has a stroke. She loves the caretaking role and wants to train for it more professionally. She is reasonably well treated in the Vijay household, except for the son, Raja, who harasses her continually. Angel’s private life is very much discussed in this novel, particularly her heartbreak.

Despite the employers being more caricatures than believable characters, the representation of the situation in general rings quite true, especially with Jaswal’s inclusion of social media postings from both domestic workers and ma’ams. We see all factions – those who champion the rights of domestic workers and those who feel they are taking advantage of the employers; those who regard them as poorly treated and those who insist on seeing them as almost subhuman and definitely inferior; those who give advice as to how to anticipate wrongful accusations from employers and those who give advice as to what deceits the domestic helper will try.

However, the novel never quite achieves a full authentic feeling of the Filipinos despite clearly being well informed of their habits, practises, and needs; the novel always reads as if slightly removed from the scene. It is probably because the dialogue is not colloquial, does not have a Filipino flavour, despite the inclusion of Tagalog words and terms. For example, “

This is a premium balikbayan service,” Angel assures her. The post office upstairs still does a good job, but Balik Express takes less time. They have all these fancy add-ons, like they’ll send you a professional video of your family receiving their gifts (p46).

These words could be spoken by almost anyone, it doesn’t come across as particularly Filipino in cadence or texture. (As Susan said in her review, the 3 Filipinos also sound interchangeably the same.)

There is a whodunnit thread running through, and Donita in particular wants to investigate, but the whodunnit detracts from the representation of the domestic helper scene/conditions, rather than adds to it. It is a useful device in moving the story on and being a frame on which to hang the 3 sets of helper-employer conditions, but it never seems very well integrated. The novel does try to represent the multi-racial composition of Singapore, but again, it seems at one-removed always, rather than embedding the reader in the local colour and settings. However, it does bring up some of the issues domestic helpers struggle with, some of the commonplace injustices and abuses they face, and the daily little slights and humiliations in a society that regards them as lesser. There is also some interesting comparison of the different challenges Filipino domestic helpers face, depending on where they go. Angel’s sister, Joy, is preparing to go to Riyadh as a domestic worker: we get glimpses into her preparation – how to clean and mop while wearing an abaya, how a rosary and bible are not permitted to be brought with the maid to Saudi Arabia, etc.

Jaswal’s writing voice comes across as sympathetic to the plight of the migrant workers in Singapore, but views them from the outsider’s point of view. It never feels as if the domestic helpers are speaking for themselves; they are always being represented. But for those who know Singapore, it is always charming to be reminded of the places and sites and insularity of this island-state.