Mariaam Bhatti: Tales of a Domestic Worker
Being part of the Domestic Workers Action Group and this struggle, as I like to call it, brings so many benefits to my life. The commitment I see in the people I work with is just beyond words. Sometimes we have taken to the streets to send our message on rainy and cold days or evenings where we would not feel our hands or our runny noses, but our smiles – and our determination – never faded.
I think what is most important is that we are doing it for other domestic workers who can’t do what we are doing because they work round the clock and can’t leave the homes of their employers.
The last event I attended with the group in Galway was different. I remember us running in and out of the MRCI building entrance like ants stripping a tree, making so many fast-paced to and fro to pack overnight bags and snacks and bottles of water and soft drinks and everything else we needed for our trip into the minivan waiting at the front. We were all chatty, smiley and excited and looking forward to our little work-related weekend getaway.
Some of us sang and joked that we were becoming little stars touring the country. Others, myself included, slept for much of the way there. But before we knew it we were walking around the City of the Tribes, admiring its beauty and the river flowing through it.
The sight of so many parked boats is not common in Dublin, so we spent a few more minutes observing and taking pictures. We also walked about a food market where I even saw boerwors, a sausage from my homeland (the name means ‘farmer sausage’ in Afrikaans). “Oh my God!” I exclaimed as if possessed. “Vors in Galway!” I was a bit embarrassed afterwards for saying it so loudly, however the stall owner smiled in agreement: “Wors!”
Some Filipino girls in our group went to a nearby church, which looked really old judging by the dates on the headstones in the churchyard. It meant a lot to them to be in such a place, as most of them are Catholics.
Then it was time for us to head to Gort, and as soon as we arrived we were run off our feet getting things ready to do our play Acting Out For Hope and Change, which reflected our experiences, the inequalities we lived in and the ones that many other women still live in today.
The atmosphere and setting in the hall made us aware we were expected and the rehearsals began. At this stage we were used to all the scenes and the layout but it helped a lot that the two ladies who facilitated our drama were there on that day, and they reminded us we were in a big space so we needed to be loud so people at the back would be able to hear us.
The most important thing that made us feel safe and more confident was that our co-ordinator was always behind us, supporting us every step of the way. From that I know anybody can do anything as long as they are told they can and have a supporting hand, and that is one of the things that reminds me of the power of encouragement and support.
To be continued...
Mariaam Bhatti is a member of the Domestic Workers Action Group and Forced Labour Action Group of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland.
