I am hoping I have misread the situation. I know nothing about these people. I had less than thirty seconds to assess them, and really it is none of my business. But the situation looked a bit, shall we say, suspicious? They were waiting for the light to change in Yaletown. At first I saw them as a block: two Asian women and a baby buggy. One of them was tall and elegant and actually very beautiful in a beige designer dress and expensive jewelry. She looked like a goddess. Or maybe a film star or a retired fashion model. Perhaps a high class hooker? Her face had a slight smile and her eyes appeared hard and arrogant. I guessed her to be Chinese at first, but because of her height she might be Korean.
The woman next to her I guessed to be Filipina, but she could be Indonesian or Malay or perhaps from Hong Kong or southern China? She wore blue jeans and what appeared to be a red work smock over a not very new looking shirt. She looked very unhappy, exhausted, almost at the point of weeping. She was pushing the baby buggy, occupied by a small toddler with a face much like the tall elegant woman. The women did not talk to each other and did not appear to interact. Only the child in the stroller seemed to hold them together.
Full disclosure: I do not approve of employing nannies and I certainly do not approve of our Temporary Foreign Workers program. We either raise our own children or we farm them out to government subsidized daycare. I know, I need a med change because this is not the current reality. When I was in Mexico some people would ask me about our foreign workers program. I always advised them to stay in Mexico. There have been too many horror stories about exploitation, underpayment and worker abuse. It also takes jobs from Canadians. I am and always have been by the way in favour of immigration and especially resettling refugees in our country, a program that unfortunately is being slashed by a thousand cuts.
Assuming that she spoke English I wanted to turn to Miss Asian Goddess and say something like, "Er, excused me, Anna Mae Wong, but why aren't you capable of pushing your own kid in his goddamn stroller? Bursitis? Arthritis in your arm? Or are your nails still drying? (the most likely case) Who is this woman pushing your kid? What are you paying her: you are paying her, aren't you? Why is she expected to do your work for you even when you are there, present, resplendent in your jewels and designer couturier. Why aren't you talking to each other? Are you aware of what an ugly picture this is? Are you announcing to everyone out in public, "Look at me! I have a servant? I will never have to change a shitty diaper or wipe a dirty little bum. This pathetic hired woman here who owes me her life and her sorry patootie will do all the work for me and I'm not even giving her a day off. Look at me! Aren't I beaooooo-tee-foooolllll!"
I hope that I am not seeing this accurately. But I know that Filipina nannies are among our most vulnerable and easily exploited foreign workers, assuming that this older woman is a Filipina foreign worker and not simply her mother-in-law and they happen to hate each other's guts. I am proud of myself for keeping my mouth shut, because it is very highly possible that I am misreading the situation. What I do want to see is for our government to amp up the vigilance on the temporary foreign workers program and supervise and scrutinize every situation with weekly reports and accountability to be sure that not one single worker is being underpaid, overworked, abused, or deprived of her passport or freedom of movement. The rules also need to be changed making it possible for any foreign worker to change employers and employment at any time of their choosing without threat of deportation or other repurcussion. In the meantime we need to seriously clamp down on human trafficking because really, who knows just how this unfortunate woman has ended up paying slave duty to this arrogant tarted-up bitch and her spoilt little emperor?
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