We only learn about the value of water until the well dries up, goes an old saying. In the same way, we only learn about the value of the contributions made by our domestic helpers until they are gone for the holidays.
Many housewives view the coming of the Idul Fitri holiday season as a threat to their very comfort. Who will take care of the kids? What if the maids or chauffeurs don't come back?
These days, they are learning over again where their maids put their household items. Where did the maid put the mop and the cream cleanser? on which shelf are the cooking pots and spices? Where's the "on" switch on the microwave? What's left in the fridge? These are the kind of questions now reverberating is many Jakarta households.
On normal days, domestic helpers take care of all of this. In an added irony, they are often the de facto dwellers of many houses, since their employers frequently spend most of their time outside.
Jakarta residents have responded in different ways to this weeklong challenge. Some have relied on temporary maids offered by agencies. Many simply leave for vacation or stay in hotels as if the house is a scary place to live. Without domestic helpers, the house seems to have lost its charm and comfort, while the real foe is the household chores.
There is no one to cook or clean. No set tables or cooked food at lunchtime or dinnertime. No one to do the washing and ironing. No chauffeur to putting the golf bag and suitcases into the trunk of the car.
Unlike in most families in developed countries, doing household chores here is still an alien thing for many. One reason is the availability of cheap labor.
About a third of Indonesia's 100-million-strong workforce is either unemployed or partially employed, and about half of the country's population of 240 million earn less than US$2 dollar a day. Well-to-do families benefit from this endless supply of cheap labor.
This brief respite is a good time to reflect on the value of work our domestic helpers have given us, and also how well we have treated them.
They are an integral part of our lives, and yet every so often we overlook their vital contributions to our family. Seldom do we hear that they are given the minimum salary as stipulated by the government. There are no days off during the week. Chances are, they work 12 hours or more a day, since fixed working hours do not apply to them.
This is not to discount those enlightened souls who do treat their domestic workers well. There are those who regard them as part of their family, paying for their education and planning for a better future for them. But his tends to be the exception rather than the rule.
This explains why millions of young women brave alien languages and customs to work overseas. They go to foreign countries because they cannot find work at home.
When we read news about Indonesian maids being abused overseas, ask ourselves whether we treat our own maids well. Treating our own workers well starts at home.
Comfortable living is something we take for granted in the presence of our domestic helpers. Now that they are gone for the Idul Fitri holidays, we are helpless. Will we treat them much better afterward?
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