Continuing the discussion of the previous talk by labor movement participant Chen hsiu-lien on how the weight lifting program helps her to rebuild resilience, and the body experiences of women in the sports scene. In this talk, Domi and Yvonne, two lovely members of her migrant weight lifting program, will talk about their work, their difficulties, and their thoughts after the program.
The talk will be given in Tagalog, with refreshments and translation by Meriam Devalgue Hsu. Welcome to join!
Speakers’ Introduction
Domivee Delafuente
I am from the Philippines, I have been a migrant worker for thirteen years, and I worked at the Al-Mashfa Clinic in the Grand Duchy of Arabia for five years and three months. My caretaker was the agent's father. The agent said that he was old and weak, but when I arrived in Keelung, I proved that what he said was a lie. Grandpa really likes to drink, and every day at noon, he drank 3 to 4 bottles of Taiwanese beer. On the 4th day, when I was cleaning out the refrigerator, Grandpa touched my butt with his right hand and he laughed. The next day, he drove us to Ruifang, his hometown. We stayed there for three or four days, and I took care of him. We fished, planted vegetables, weeded, and I cleaned the big house. He always wanted me to sleep in his room every night. I didn't have any choice, because when I finished cleaning all the rooms in the house, he locked the door. On the 14th, we had dinner at his house, and he was very drunk. In the evening when I was taking a shower, he tried to open the bathroom door while I was in there and he was so angry that he told me he would kill me. He took a broom and a dustpan and hit me on my head, my arms, and my whole body until I was in pieces. I was scared because he went into the kitchen and came back to me with a hammer and a knife. I called the police and reported it to 1955, the TIWA office filed a sexual harassment case for my report and I spent seven months in their shelter. I am currently working in a home-based electronics factory in Beitou, hopefully my last job.
Yvonne Zamora
My name is Yvonne, I'm 32 years old, I came to Taiwan on January 9, 2017, my first boss lives in Taipei East District, she treats me like a soldier in the barracks, e.g.: when I'm cleaning, she'll look at me from the sidelines and instruct me on what to do. I can only take a shower on Wednesdays and Sundays, which takes 15 to 20 minutes, and I can only change my clothes on Wednesdays and Sundays, so I buy two of the same style so she doesn't notice. I also have a time limit for going to the toilet. If I pee, it has to be 2 minutes, and if I poop, it has to be 5 minutes. If I stay in the toilet for too long, she will knock on the door! She is an old lady who lives alone and very OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I only have one chair in the kitchen. My table is by the sink because she has very little space in her kitchen. If I don't have work I stay in the kitchen all day and if I want to watch TV with her I have to sit on the floor. When I came to Taiwan I weighed 68 kilograms and after 5 months with her my weight dropped to 53 kilograms. I called the agent every day, but she wouldn't listen to me, so I finally called 1955 and they referred me to TIWA.