A friend recently shared with me an experience with her maid (Anajere). In a spate of two months, the maid excused herself three times to attend to personal matters. On the first occasion, she claimed to have been involved in a motorcycle accident while on her Sunday off. She did not return to work until three days later. Upon return, she stayed for a few days and asked to be released again to buy medications with her uncle. She returned two days later.
On the second occasion in October, Anajere asked to go to her village in Thyolo to attend the funeral of her sister’s child. Barely a month later, Anajere was at it again, withdrawn and looking for sympathy on the eve of her Sunday off. Upon inquiry, she broke down claiming her child had fainted at home, courtesy of a phone call phone from the same sister who lost her child earlier. The following Monday, Anajere called, informing my friend her child was now on oxygen at a hospital. By evening, Anajere had lost the child, as her latest phone call attested.
My friend’s request for a funeral programme and map to the village fell on deaf ears. Anajere seemed ‘ignorant’ of her on child’s funeral programme, sending a voice note telling my friend that her phone was acting up and she may soon be incommunicado. And indeed, that was her last communication as her phone became unreachable. Attempts to speak to the sister revealed she was never Anajere’s relation, likely her partner in crime to stand in for her on a needs basis.
Many families, especially those with young children, are at the mercy of unscrupulous maids. When they want to abscond, they have a myriad excuses, sometimes to the inconvenience of their employers. They don’t care. They get their way and sometimes defrauding employers with demands for funeral expenses.
Anthuwa siamzathu. They disregard any good treatment to lie, cheat and steal. The rare breed of the faithful ones are mostly incompetent. Otherwise maids hold meetings during their off days where to discuss the dos and don’ts of their profession. Some agree to take over the household and marriage. They know what to answer the man of the house while treating the woman differently. They teach each other how to play dead when talked to and tricks to get away with work or punishments. They are master tricksters.
I know of a gardener who, upon getting sacked, went around the neighborhood justifying his absence to visit a sick child. His interpretation was that the woman’s barrenness made her cynical and heartless; hence, did not understand parenthood. But it turned out that he left without permission.
Listen all you employers, take everything these domestic workers say with a pinch of salt. Every job has rules and expectations. One cannot just diaper days on end and expect full pay. If they can’t do it, they shouldn’t.
