KFC coffee better than expected; no worse than Starbucks the day before. On the other side of the main crossing at Bugis Junction—one of the largest retail centers here—Maccas awaited. Not that one could get a seat there at the best of times. Foreign tourists, both Asian and Western, make that impossible. Would not surprise if there was a reservation system as at Toast Box a stone's throw away on North Bridge corner. Warm barley and Thick Floss Peanut Butter Toast (heavily sugared) $AUS3; Subway very popular. Moss burger, Wendy's, Honeymoon Desert. J. Coo Cafe, The Coffee Bean, The Coffee Connoisseur, all follow the pattern in decoration, junior staff in corporate gear and high prices for pre-packed fast food. (At Subway the first baseball-capped girl retrieved the selected bread roll and inserted the veggie pattie; next in the chain added pre-sliced veggies; third at the till and drinks a metre and half away wasn't needed at that late lunch hour, especially without the upgrade to a Meal. Latex-gloved number Two managed.)
This morning at the KFC table Amy was more interesting than
the newspaper. Indonesian by birth and five years in Singapore, Amy started
here as a maid. Now she works for one of the many agencies. A difficult job,
even confining herself to the Batam side of the business. Batam is Indonesian, much larger than Singapore, forty minutes away on the ferry. Amy
travels there weekly. The recruitment side of the business on Java she shields
herself from. Too hectic; too much to bear.
Amy confirmed what Deny over the weekend tried to explain without being believed: the maids here pay the first six or seven months’ salary to the agencies. Deny's English was limited. A year in, Deny has received five months wages.
The rest of Deny's report was not difficult to believe. Being inexperienced three hundred a month is her wage. They feed her well enough, though there was not always as much as she would like. Sleeping quarters in Deny's case was a Utility Room, a space added to some of the HDB towers some years after construction. Other maids bed-down in the laundry with washing overhead.
Batam has been a planned destination for a while now. The Indonesians have arrangement with the Singapore for a SEZ—Special Economic Zone. Back a couple of weeks a friend revealed that many of the dark, broad ladies who hung at the Haigh Road stalls were from Batam. On the weekend police were checking papers of women around Tanjong Katong Complex opposite City Plaza. China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia neighboring not too far off, immigration and cheap labour is business as elsewhere.
Amy confirmed what Deny over the weekend tried to explain without being believed: the maids here pay the first six or seven months’ salary to the agencies. Deny's English was limited. A year in, Deny has received five months wages.
The rest of Deny's report was not difficult to believe. Being inexperienced three hundred a month is her wage. They feed her well enough, though there was not always as much as she would like. Sleeping quarters in Deny's case was a Utility Room, a space added to some of the HDB towers some years after construction. Other maids bed-down in the laundry with washing overhead.
Batam has been a planned destination for a while now. The Indonesians have arrangement with the Singapore for a SEZ—Special Economic Zone. Back a couple of weeks a friend revealed that many of the dark, broad ladies who hung at the Haigh Road stalls were from Batam. On the weekend police were checking papers of women around Tanjong Katong Complex opposite City Plaza. China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia neighboring not too far off, immigration and cheap labour is business as elsewhere.
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