Producing "super maids"

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor ERIC T. LORETIZO Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

One of the first reactions of the President to the reports on the plight of Filipino domestic helpers who have returned from Lebanon, was to announce plans for the training of what she called "super maids" in this country before sending them to work abroad.

As described in media reports, those applying for work in other countries, particularly for domestic duties, will be required to undergo briefings and coachings on how to perform their tasks so that they will go into the households of their foreign master equipped with the know-how that will make them, not only appreciated, but also respected and well paid.

Although it is saddening to realize that the majority of our people, especially our women, who seek the proverbial greener pastures have to agree to do menial work in order to get hired, we also have to accept the reality that, in their need and desperation to earn, they have to make do with what is available.

Anybody who has been watching television coverage of the arriving Filipinas from Lebanon cannot help noting that many of them are quite intelligent as well as articulate in narrating their experiences. This is because most of them are educated, at least high school graduates, with many even holders of college degrees. Some, it was also apparent, had managed to go a little farther than being mere housemaids. But these are often exploited, because their employers, discovering their capabilities, make them undertake more duties, like tutoring their children, or doing other functions that call for brain work.

What else should be taught to our "super maids" before they aer farmed out to foreign lands? We suggest they also be taught some form of martial arts to be able to defend themselves from aggression. Another is for them to know how to avail of all forms of communication to keep in touch with assisting agencies.

Then, too, they should be made to undergo psychiatric tests to determine their capacity to deal with extreme conditions and challenges. Reports yesterday said six of the women in the evacuation centers had nervous breakdowns. For all we know, those who allegedly fell or jumped from windows of high-rise buildings were no longer in full control of themselves. If we are to produce "Super" maids, let them be superior in every way.*