Making the Invisible, Visible: The first step towards understanding domestic workers

Making the Invisible, Visible: The first step...

My issue is about treatment of foreign domestic workers by employers in Malaysia.A domestic worker is a person who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping. Responsibilities may also include cooking, doing laundry and ironing, food shopping and other household errands. Some domestic workers live within the household where they work. Most domestic workers are females. Some of them are abused and forced or tricked into doing immoral activities such as becoming sex slaves. Some foreign domestic workers misbehave and abuse very young people under their care.  

 This research aims to understand and examine profoundly on the issue of foreign domestic workers abuse in Malaysia. This research also focuses on foreign domestic workers from countries such as Indonesia,Cambodia, Philippines, etc who come and work in this country.

 I have been receiving child care from foreign domestic worker since small. Many parents have full time jobs and need domestic help to take care of their children. It is relatively easy to get domestic help in big cities like Kuala Lumpur. Having a domestic worker impacts everybody in the house. Parents have to pay a high agency fee and also take the risk when they leave their children with a domestic worker. The domestic worker may feel good or bad working in that household depending on how she/he is treated. She/He may be treated with respect or physically or sexually abused. Some domestic workers may have contacts with others in the neighborhood and cause harm to the employer and the family by stealing valuables, having affairs and mistreating or even killing small children.

In gathering information from internet resources I have found that Malaysia has earned a bad reputation from Indonesia and Cambodia because of many cases of Indonesian and Cambodian maid abuse by Malaysian employers. Some even get killed while trying to escape. Both countries have imposed a temporary ban on maids coming in to Malaysia.

Malaysia is a rapidly developing country and there are many job opportunities. As more parents start to work they rely on domestic help. Many get domestic help without issue but there are always cases of domestic worker abuse. The government should find ways to reduce this problem. The human resource ministry should conduct discussions with all parties including embassies, human resource agencies, employers and the domestic workers.  

When Might Is Not Right

 By: Deeban Fernandez                                                                                                  Dec/12/12
                                      Essay:  What Is Worth Fighting For? Stop Bullying

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. " Harvey Fierstein

According to the National Education Association, it is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. These children are victims of bullying. Bullying can take many forms. A main characteristic of bullying is the need to gain control over their victims. Bullies can gain control over others through physical force or threats, verbal teasing, and exclusion from peers. The school community and the society can stop bullying through education initiatives about the negative effects of bullying as bullying is detrimental to a one’s well-being and development.

In schools, children must be taught to identify bullying, and express their feelings to trusted adults including parents,teachers and counselors at an early age. Starting from pre-school, children should be taught how to identify bullying and how it affects them, their friends and the school. In many schools, bullying and effects of bullying are not taught as a subject but are incorporated in the lessons. Because of age, very young children are shown pictures about appropriate behavior. They discuss these pictures with the teachers. In the library, the librarian reads books about bullying because adults know that bullying can cause a lot of emotional and physical pain. Older children however, read books and discuss the negative effects of bullying in the classroom and with their counselors. Sometimes, teachers choose books about bullying for class reading. An example of a book is ‘Shadow of the Minotaur’. The purpose is to expose and educate children about teenage life and negative impact of bullying and how to overcome bullying. At the playground and in the canteen, students should know that bullying is unacceptable behavior. The Canadian Bullying Statistics reports that bullying occurs once every 7 minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom. ‘I had a hard time with bullying. I ate lunch in the bathroom’. Julianne Hough. Some school children are probably in these or similar situations. Bullied children can suffer from low self-esteem and grow up into insecure adults or become bullies themselves. School children who are victims of bullying can be found all over the world. Some of them do not do anything about bullying because they have probably accepted bullying as part of life, not been taught how to handle bullying or cannot approach adults for help. From small, adults should teach children about good social values so that they can take care of themselves, take care of others and take care of the environment.



The media is always publishing news about cases of student bullying ranging from verbal abuse to gruesome physical attacks that can sometimes cause death or force the victims to commit suicide. Students in higher learning centers, such as colleges and university face bullying due to peer pressure. We read some disturbing news headlines about bullying such as ‘Bullied Teen Shoots Himself In Front of Peers’, ‘Teen Attacked by Bullies” and ‘ Bullycide: A Father’s Heart-Wrenching Letter to His Son’s Tormentors’ almost on a daily basis. In the first instance, the teenager could have handled the situation better by knowing what to do when bullied instead of becoming a victim and committing suicide. Another scenario can take place at the field. A new student can be peer pressured to join or support a group of students who are misbehaving. If the student walks away the student may be in danger of being bullied. In the process of socialization, students form many types of relationships. One relationship is a romantic relationship which can attract unwanted attention from bullies who may hurt the boy or girl because of jealousy. Many Western movies and books about teenagers center around relationships and bullying. Class of 1984 and School Ties are some examples of such movies. Books such as Diary of the Wimpy Kid and Destroying Avalon describe peer relationships and bullying. Besides watching non fiction movies and playing on the internet, teenagers could watch educational movies and read books about life issues and how to handle them. Some the information about bullying can be an eye-opener for some students who are being bullied. Adults such as counselors and lectures are not usually around when incidences of bullying occur. All students must be aware of the support systems that are offered at the school. Students must be taught to follow rules and respect the rights and feelings of others. They should also spend their time wisely and avoid dangerous situations.
We often hear incidences of bullying in the society due to gender bias. Women are more vulnerable to bullying than men at the workplace. At the workplace, workers sometimes complain about being treated unfairly or differently because of gender bias. Gender bias is a preference or prejudice toward one gender over the other. Bias can manifest in many ways, both subtle and obvious. Women who are bullied usually experience the more subtle type of bullying. These women often feel helpless or frustrated. Usually female workers or staff experience sexual harassment from their male superiors. The males are usually powerful people who are in-charge of paying the employees or promoting them. Although they have sound education and qualifications, women continue to face discrimination at the workplace. They often have to prove their worth or are not taken seriously by their male bosses. Women often have to fight for equal rights and equal pay. In the corporate world, some people get special or immediate attention while others are ignored due to gender bias. According to http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ women are often relegated to low-paying, clerical and administrative jobs, while men are often placed on career tracks that promise upward mobility and career advancement. From this information, it can be argued hat bullying happens to women at the workplace because of gender difference. Women are seen as weak and incapable beings by some male employers. Sometimes, women are paid less than men for the same work that they do. Bullying in the form of sexual harassment and gender inequality is serious. In the adult world creating awareness and education about these is probably not enough to stop bullying from happening. Victims must feel comfortable to report sexual harassment and be protected under law. Stern action must be taken against bullies who deny job opportunities to women purely because of gender difference.




Bullying is a complex human issue. As civilized humans, we can put a stop to bullying by making the public become more knowledgeable about the debilitating effects of bullying on one’s mental well-being. Bullying is killing our kids. Being different is killing our kids and the kids who are bullying are dying inside. We have to save our kids whether they are bullied or they are bullying. They are all in pain’- Cat Cora

Voices of Hope

A recent article by ‘Do Something.Org’ states that there are around 10.6 million refugees in the world. About half of the world’s refugees are children.  Of all these children, an estimated 300,000 are child soldiers and currently serving in armies and militias around the world. Some of them are plucked straight from refugee camps. Untold numbers of older, but still vulnerable youths, have also been recruited. Africa has the most number of child refugees in the world. They are not only in need of food and shelter but also emotional support. They need  their voices to be heard and be reunited with their families. Luckily, there is a young leader who has come to their aid. Barauni, a refugee boy from Africa, is working towards helping children who live in refugee camps to expressed their pent-up feelings (KidsRights). Having spent most of  his early years  growing up in a refugee camp, Baruani uses his  life experience to actively help fellow refugee children by providing the means to express their feelings on his radio show.

A refugee camp is a place for displaced people who live in deplorable living conditions. By encouraging fellow refugees to discuss their problems openly, Baruani makes a difference  to their emotional health. From his experiences as a refugee, Baruani has sound  knowledge of the despairing conditions of children who live in refugee camps.  Instead of complaining and losing hope,  he  turns  the experience into a positive one for him 1. Growing up in a refugee camp under impoverished conditions  turns him into  an emotionally strong person with a desire to help fellow child refugees. Consequently, he tries to help these children using radio shows that enable people within the community and around the world  to hear the refugees’ difficulties and challenges and offer help, “His radio show is one of the key ways in which he tries to help his peers.”  For instance, the radio show, called ‘Sisi kwa Sisi’ (Children for Children), airs on Radio Kwizera in Tanzania, Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. With this radio show, other refugee children can express their concerns, and more people will be aware of their needs in the camp.  In fact, this radio show is so successful as it captures the attention of the public who respond to their needs and give moral support by lending a listening ear.  “For many children it is already a big help to talk to someone and to be able to share the problems they experience. ” By providing a platform to express children’s needs, Barauni gives the refugees a kind of therapy, so they are able to resolve their emotional problems.  Although life in a refugee camp can be challenging,  perceiving it positively can reduce  the emotional pain. 
Baruani (ENG)

Living  in the refugee camp for nine years has made Baruani resilient and empathetic towards others who have a similar life.  Not only has Baruani made a radio show, but he has also created a  children’s parliament. In the adult world, parliament is a place for discussing human issues. For this reason, Baruani uses this parliamentary style to create a “voicing tool” for children, and gain publicity which enables more refugees to voice out their problems, and more people can hear about their problems. ( Children Peace Prize)“Baruani also leads a children’s parliament in the camp which is an alternative child voicing out tool.” Furthermore, to give children another voice, Baruani started an alternative to the radio program called ‘ a refugee camp parliament’ where the kids have a voice to speak out in social groups. Additionally, through his radio show, Baruani also aims to help child refugees reunite with their parents. “Through his radio show Baruani contributes to reuniting children with their parents.” Having lost his own parents at a young age, Baruani realizes the importance of family and how important parents are in the lives of children. Adversity in childhood can teach a person to persevere through challenges.

Hardship at an early age can make someone become emotionally strong and sensitive to the pain and suffering of others.  Learning how to survive under dire conditions and overcoming difficulties in life during childhood can motivate a person to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.  Using his own experience growing up in a refugee camp, Baruani is determined to help other refugee children with a similar fate to face their emotional challenges. Through his radio show, Baruani creates an outlet for these children to express their feelings with the hope  that listeners will hear their pleas for help. His tireless efforts are not only well received by the public but also recognized by world leaders. He has dedicated his life to helping refugee children in Africa and is truly a remarkable human being.

I Am Who I Am To Be

I am from spices that chill lips but warm souls.         

Where Indian curry soothes tongues,

a must in every meal                                 

From home-cooked meat,

always fresh,

delicious and tender.

I am from a loving family,                    

a mother who cares for me alone.      

Clean clothes, detergent, neat and tidy,                                          

a home of structure,

clean as crystal.

I am from Grandparents who experienced much,                

never show it.                                       

Respected grandfather, busy, working,                                    

still gives of his time.

I am from anime action figures and badminton rackets.                 

Playing make believe,

serving hard birds to opponents –

winning matters.                                   

I am from when the rooster crows till the moon rises in the sky badminton is life -                        

A professional one day.

I am from Asia.  

Malaysia!                     

A country of joy,                  

Where you can hear, see people of many kinds,            

love, care and support each other.

One Malaysia!                   

A delightful place.