The Care by Domestic Labourers and the Care to Domestic Labourers in Taiwan

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THE CARE BY DOMESTIC LABORERS AND THE CARE TO DOMESTIC LABORERS IN TAIWAN

RUN LIN

Reporter: Run Lin, aged 20 Nationality: Taiwanese Experience: lived in Taiwan until the age of 16th, currently living in the U.S Interviewee: Dwi Vergiyanti Lestari (they go by Tari), from Indonesia, has been working as a domestic worker in Taiwan for about 5 years, and working for the Lin’s family about 2 years. Relationship with the interviewee: My father, Mr. Lin, is Tari’s employer.

The Care BY Domestic Labors / Helper & The Care TO Domestic Labors / Helper in Taiwan

In 1992, Taiwan officially opened up its domestic labor market to immigrants. Domestic labors help with house chores, care taking of the disables and elders. By 2010, the number of foreign domestic labors in Taiwan had risen to around 350,000. The major reasons of the risen number of domestic labors were the economic transition in Taiwan and the aging population due to healthcare advancement. From the 1970s, Taiwan has gradually transformed from an agricultural to industrial society. That leads to a big problem of elderly care. A lot of the elders were left home alone while the young ones went to work. Therefore, they started hiring domestic workers to help taking care of the elders. - In terms of nationality, these immigrants mostly arrived from Indonesia (41.2%), the Philippines (19.5%), Thailand (16.9%), and Vietnam

(22.5%).

- Tari is an Indonesian domestic labor who works in Taiwan. They are helping a family with 3-5 members (the two brothers spent most of the time in different countries). Mainly, they are helping the 75-year-old grandma to most of the cleaning such as keeping the floor, windows, bathroom clean, doing laundry, etc. She does housework while her son and daughter-in-law are at work. Prior to the interview, it was hard for me to ask Mr. Lin for the opportunity to talk to Tari. However, after explaining to Mr. Lin the purpose of this interview, he understood it and allowed me to interview Tari. - I did the interview with Tari. Tari does not speak any local languages in Taiwan (Mandarin, Taiwanese, English). Since my family invited Tari in our house, it

has been a constant challenge for both Tari and the employers. My parents, my brother and I are always nice and patient during the communication with Tari, however, my grandma yells at Tari often when my grandma loses her patience. Therefore, with the help of Google Translate, I tried my best to communicate with her through video chatting and text messaging at the same time. - Mr. Lin wanted to be in the same space with Tari during the interview. However, I suggested Mr. Lin to have Tari being in a private space alone during the interview, it would make Tari feel more comfortable during the process. Due to the language barrier, it went much longer than anticipated. The duration of the conversation was 1 hour and 42 minutes. As you can see, communication is extremely hard without knowing our languages. Lastly, I would like to inform my readers that Tari might not be honest with some of the questions. It is not likely for Tari to open up to the son of Tari’s employer. Also, due to the challenge of translation between our languages, this interview cannot be seen as an accurate depiction of her voice, and the given questions were simplified. - The content of the interview was documented into two versions. The first version is the Indonesian version which is original. The second version is translated into English.

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Work by Run Lin

84 - Run Lin: Halo. Ini adalah proyek sekola. Saya ingin mewawancarai pekerja rumah tangga dari Indonesia. Anda dapat menjawab saya dalam Bahasa Indonesia dengan mengetik di telepon. Ini adalah percakapan biasa, silakan santai! Berada di negara asing bisa sulit. Tolong beritahu saya pengalaman Anda di Taiwan. Pengalaman baik dan buruk. Dwi Vergiyanti Lestari (Tari): baik! Run: Kapan kamu meninggalkan indonesia untuk bekerja di luar negeri? Tari: Bulan Mei 2018, saya meninggalkan Indonesia. Run: Bagaimana kehidupan di Indonesia? Apa yang Anda suka dan tidak suka? Tari: Kehidupan di Indonesia sangat baik. Yang saya sukai adalah saya bisa mendapatkan banyak teman, dan yang saya tidak suka mencari pekerjaan adalah sangat sulit. Jadi, ada banyak orang Indonesia yang tidak bekerja. Run: Mencari pekerjaan di Indonesia itu sulit kan? me? Apakah kamu punya teman di taiwan atau kamu punya teman baru di sini? Tari: Iya sangat sulit,banyak warga Indonesia yang mencari pekerjaan ke luar negeri. Iya saya punya teman di Taiwan yang bareng sama saya.sya tidak punya teman baru disini. Run: Seberapa sering Anda menjalani sehari tanpa bekerja di Taiwan? Tari: Tidak sebulan sekali,tidak juga 2 bulan sekali,tidak juga 3 bulan sekali. jadi selama saya ditaiwan saya belum pernah berlibur. Run: Berapa lama kamu bekerja sehari? dari kapan ke kapan? Tari: Dari pagi hingga malam, dari 6 hingga 9 jam. me: Apakah Anda ingin memiliki lebih banyak liburan setiap bulan? Tari: Tidak, saya tidak ingin mengambil cuti hanya sebulan sekali. Tari: Karena jika saya mengambil cuti, saya tidak bisa mendapatkan uang. lebih baik uang yang saya dapat bisa diselamatkan. Saya akan kembali ke Indonesia nanti. Run: Bagaimana perasaan Anda tentang bekerja untuk keluarga ini? Tari: Perasaan saya sangat senang. Run: Jujur? Tari: Iya saya jujur me: Adakah yang tidak Anda sukai dari bekerja di sini? yang kamu harap bisa diubah? Tari: Tidak ada yang diubah Run: Anda berharap kerja dari 6-9 bisa lebih pendek? Tari: Tidak, saya lebih suka bekerja lebih lama untuk menghasilkan lebih banyak uang. Run: Kapan kamu berencana untuk kembali ke indonesia? Berapa tahun lagi? Tari: Saya berencana kembali ke Indonesia 2 tahun lagi. Run: Apakah Anda memiliki anggota keluarga di indonesia? Tari: Iya saya memiliki anggota keluarga di Indonesia Run: ibu? Tari: Bukan ibu, kakak saya dan tante saya. Run: Kakak perempuan? Berapa umur. Tari: Kakak perempuan saya berumur 36 tahun. Ibu dan ayah saya sudah meninggal.

Run: Berapakah umur Anda? Maaf jika ini tidak sopan. Tari: Saya berumur 30 tahun. Run: Bagaimana cara mengeja nama lengkap Anda? Tari: Dwi Vergiyanti lestari Run: Tari? Tari: Iya boleh panggil dwi tidak apa-apa,panggil tari juga tidak masalah. Run: Bagaimana perasaan Anda bekerja di suatu negara tetapi tidak mengetahui bahasa yang kita gunakan? Tari: Perasaan saya bekerja di suatu negara sangat senang,komunikasi saja yang sangat sulit. Run: Apakah kamu merasa bahagia. Tari: Perasaan saya bahagia. Run: Tari, terima kasih atas bantuan untuk keluarga saya. Kami semua sangat menyukaimu! Terima kasih untuk percakapannya! :) Tari: Oke sama -sama. -

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Work by Run Lin

86 - Run: Hello! me: This is a school project. me: I want to interview about domestic workers from Indonesia. You can answer me in Indonesian by typing on the phone. This is a casual conversation, please relax! Being in a foreign country can be difficult. Please tell me your experience in Taiwan. Both good and bad experiences. Tari: No problem! Run: When did you leave Indonesia to work abroad? Tari: In May 2018, I left Indonesia. Run: How is life in Indonesia? What do you like and do not like? Tari: Life in Indonesia is very good. What I like is that I can be with all my friends, and what I don’t like is to look for a job. It is very difficult. There are many Indonesians who cannot find a job. Run: Looking for jobs in Indonesia is difficult right? Do you have friends in Taiwan or do you have new friends here? Tari: Yes, it is very difficult, many Indonesians are looking for work abroad. Yes, I have a friend from Indonesia who is with me. I don’t have any new friends here. Run: How often do you have a day-off working in Taiwan? Tari: Not once a month, not once every two months, not even once every three months. Run: How long do you work a day? From when to when? Tari: I work from morning to night, from 6am to 9pm. Run: Do you want to have more time off every month? Tari: No, I don’t want to take time off every a month. Because if I take time off, I cannot earn money. It’s better for me to save as much money now so I am able to return to Indonesia sooner. Run: How do you feel about working for this family? Tari: I feel very happy. Run: Are you honest? Tari: Yes, I’m honest Run: Is there anything you don’t like working here? Or is there anything you hope to be changed? Tari: Nothing has to be changed. Run: Do you expect work from 6am-9pm to be shorter? Tari: No, I prefer to work longer hours to make more money. Run: When do you plan to return to Indonesia? How many years left? Tari: I plan to return to Indonesia in 2 years. Run: Do you have family members in Indonesia? Tari: Yes, I have family members in Indonesia. Run: parents? Tari: Not my parents, my sister and my aunt. Run: Older sister? How old are they? Tari: My sister is 36 years old. My mother and father are dead. Run: How old are you? Sorry if this is not polite. Tari: I am 30 years old.

Run: How do you spell your full name? Tari: Dwi Vergiyanti Lestari Run: Tari? Tari: Yes, you can call me Lestari. But Tari is better. Run: How do you feel working in a country but don’t know the language people speak? Tari: I feel very lucky to be able to work here, however, communication is very difficult. Run: Do you feel happy. Tari: I feel happy. Run: Tari, thank you for the help for my family. We all like you very much! Thank you for the conversation! :) Tari: Okay, you’re welcome. -

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Work by Run Lin