Domestic Worker Forced to Eat Dog Food to Survive; NEEDS HELP TO SAVE HER EYE-SIGHT
Have you ever eaten dog food? We know a woman that had to; to
save her life; for nine and a half months. Exploited Cambodian domestic worker,
Seang, will lose her eyesight and use of her limbs if she is unable to travel to
Vietnam for treatment and surgery after her abusive Malaysian employer forced
her into starvation and disease.
Please help Seang to save her eyes, her limbs and her livelihood.
The interview provided was recently conducted by the Community Legal Education Center (www.clec.org.kh). Her face has been blurred at her request. She feels shame and embarrassment for the things that have happened to her and will not permit us to show her face. Her testimony is as follows:
"On May 25th, 2010 my mother accompanied me to register to work as a maid in Malaysia with the recruitment company, AP TSE&C Cambodia Resources Co. Ltd. I lived and studied in their training center for four months then departed to Malaysia.
On September 27th, 2010 I arrived in Malaysia in Malaysia to work as maid for 2 years.
On October 03rd, 2010 my new boss came to pick me up at the agency office. I worked for a family that has 4 members. In my work at their home I must get up early in the morning and wash their two cars every day. I must carry a 20 liter barrel of water from behind the house to wash the car. Then I have to clean the place where he feeds the fish. I must water the crops, 0.5 hectares, two times per day even if it is raining hard. After I finish work outside the home the boss allows me come to work inside at 8:30am. Tasks I must do include feeding four dogs, washing the dishes and cleaning the house that has three floors. I must work every day from 5am to 11pm and I can sleep only five or six hours per night because I have to get up early at 5am and can only go to bed after I finish my work at 11pm every day. One time when I washed the car I had to carry the barrel of water 30 meters from behind the house then the boss saw me spilling water on the ground. He blamed me and did not allow me to drink water for three days. The boss gives me only 0.3kg of pork and little bits of vegetable for one week but the vegetables are not good, very old. Sometimes the boss gives me 10 packages of Chinese noodles to eat in one week. In one day I eat 1 package 2 times and sometimes must I eat the rice from the dog. In the morning I eat two pieces of bread and have nothing to eat for lunch so I have to eat dog food. In the evening I try to eat the leftover food from boss' family. Sometimes I pick up bread that the boss throws into the garbage can to eat. One time when the boss saw he threatened me if I pick up the bread from the garbage can to eat again he will take all of my food and throw it into the garbage can and let me eat from there. I once broke a knife so the boss reduced my salary to 300 Ringget. There are a lot of mosquitoes in my room at night time because it is in the laundry with the washing machine. I didn't have a mosquito net and have only a fan but the boss did not allow me to use it. If I use it I will have problem with him. When I felt sick nobody cared for me. Both of my hands are wounded because of the water. When it is unbearable for me I can only cry because I am powerless.
On June 20th, 2011 I met an Indian who cuts the grass along the road and I asked him to borrow a phone call to my parents at home in Cambodia. On June 21st, 2011 my mother went to AP TSE Company to ask them to send me back to Cambodia but the representative of the company doesn't care and lied to my mother saying just wait one more day, one more day. When my mother arrived home she called to follow up the company but nobody picked up her calls. On July 15th, 2011 the wife of the boss sent me back to the agency office the agency asked me, what do you want? I told her that I want to back home to Cambodia. The agency asked me to give her back the money I owe but I don't know what money she is asking from me. Then the wife asked me to write on a contract that I will not file a complaint against her and agency and I can go home. "
CLEC is a not-for-profit Human Rights NGO (www.clec.org.kh) and after facilitating her return to Cambodia, we have been assisting with Seang\'s reintegration. However, the doctors inform us she will lose her sight and the function of her limbs if she does not receive treatment in Vietnam. Cambodian hospitals do not have the capacity for this kind of treatment. Transport, treatment, translator and expenses are estimated to be at least $5,000.
Please help Seang to save her eyes, her limbs and her
livelihood. If we don\'t no-one will.
