A foreign domestic worker, the eldest of eight children, came to Singapore because even though she worked as a radio DJ back home, it was not enough to support her family.
Featured on Humans Of HOME, an organisation dedicated to improving the welfare and upholding the rights of migrant workers, Janet Remia Aclon Peremne shared her story, and how after working for decades in Singapore, she is now ready to retire.
She wrote that back home, her dream was “… to become a broadcast journalist. I left college and took a job to support my parents. Between work and studies, I was still able to become a DJ and started apprenticing at a local radio station where I was eventually hired”.
She added that her salary as a DJ was not enough to support both herself and her parents, so when the opportunity arose for her to come to Singapore, she took it even though she had reservations.
Ms Peremne added that during her 33 years working in Singapore, she tried to move to Canada but was unable to because she did not have enough college credits to apply to schools there.
“Working as a domestic worker is never easy. But I am tough and fearless, despite being alone in a strange country. In my 33 years working here, I have worked with 10 families. Some are good, but some are the worst. I stood up for myself, faced all the challenges and did not give up“, Ms Peremne wrote.
She added that she has been with her current employer for 14 years, the longest she had ever worked with a single-family. “Few things have changed since I started working as a domestic worker in the 1990s, but there is still so much to change when it comes to migrant domestic workers (MDWs) and a fair work environment”, she wrote.
“From my experience with 10 different families, I believe employers should treat MDWs with respect, understanding, and consider them as fellow human beings. As they say, ‘do unto others as you would want them to do unto you’,” she added.
In March 2008, she ran away and stayed at HOME’s shelter. It was during her stay there that she managed to find her current employers. “I went to the HOME help desk at Lucky Plaza just to say thank them for all their help. It was time to give back. So I volunteered at HOME’s help desk. I have been volunteering since 2008 until 2021”, she wrote.
Ms Peremne urged employers to talk to their migrant domestic workers and to keep communication open.
She wrote: “We do not know what the future will bring, but I am set to retire with flying colours now. If I had to redo my life, I would still choose this path because it brought me to where I am now”. /TISG