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| Emelda is a 32 year old housemaid from Tarlac in the Philippines. |
When I interviewed Datiba I wasn't able to sit down with her daughter Emelda, who works at Saja's house as a housemaid. Thankfully I was able to return and interview Emelda.
ENGLISH
What are your favourite pair of shoes?They're up in my room.
What kind of shoes are they?
Same as my mother.
Ballet flats?
Yes, but in a different style.
Why?
Because my shoes came from the Philippines. My husband gave them to me.
How do they make you feel?
Happy because before I came to Saudi, my husband told me that whenever I wear or look at these shoes I can think of him.
When was the last time you saw your husband?
Last New Year's.
Oh that's good it wasn't that long ago. Do you have any children?
Yes, two.
How old are they?
The same age as me when my mother left to work.
Do you wear your favourite shoes outside of the house?
Yeah.
Do you think about your abaya at all when you wear your shoes?
No.
What do you do with the different pairs of shoes that you have?
Yeah but I don't have wear other shoes.
Like your mom!
Yes, like mother like daughter!
How do you judge or see others by the shoes they wear?
No.
Do you feel like because you're surrounded by this culture where everyone cares what others wear, that it has affected you?
I don't know what other people say... Pretty or ugly. What's most important is who gave me these shoes.
TAGALOG
What are your favourite pair of shoes?They're up in my room.
What kind of shoes are they?
Same as my mother.
Ballet flats?
Yes, but in a different style.
Why?
Kasi yung sapatos ko galing sa Pinas. Bigay sa akin ang asawa ko.
How do they make you feel?
Masaya ko kasi before I came to Saudi, sinabi ng aking asawa sa akin kapag magsuot mo ang mga sapatos at makita ang mga ito ay ang iyong palagay sa akin.
When was the last time you saw your husband?
Last New Year's.
Oh that's good it wasn't that long ago. How many children do you have?
Dalawa.
How old are they?
The same age as me when my mother left.
Do you wear your favourite shoes outside of the house?
Yeah.
Do you think about your abaya at all when you wear your shoes?
No.
What do you do with the different pairs of shoes that you have?
Yeah but I don't have wear other shoes.
Like your mom!
Yes, like mother like daughter!
How do you judge or see others by the shoes they wear?
No.
Do you feel like because you're surrounded by this culture where everyone cares what others wear, that it has affected you?
Hindi ko alam kung ano ang kanilang sasabihan... Maganda o pangit. Ano ang pinakaimportante ay na nagbigay sa akin ang mga sapatos.
After reviewing our interview, I thought about the commonalities between all the housemaids that I had sat down and talked with. They were all given their shoes by someone else and they all treasured them because of that. They also didn't seem to care what others thought about them. And that's what happens when you have little leisure time, when you have to work around the clock, taking care of your employer's children, cleaning the house, and doing the laundry. The women that employ workers such as Emelda, Datiba, and "Jane," have the leisure time to care about what others think of them because they're not as busy with household duties. Of course the hyper visually aware culture that exists in Saudi adds to that, but when having a housemaid is part of that culture too, how do you get away from not caring what people think? And how do women in the Philippines make a better life for their daughters so that they're children are not, in this way, like mother like daughter? These two different places in the world are inextricably linked in more ways than people imagine.
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