Breathe
By Ana Sofia Pablo López
The short film ¿Puedo hablar con mi mamá? by director Flavio Florencio premiered on March 27. In it, three children narrate a day in the absence of their mother, who is a domestic worker who takes care of other families while leaving hers across town. I don't want to tell you my impressions of the short film - I want you to see it - but I do want to share what its title meant to me the first time I heard it. Maybe it will help you look at it from another perspective.
I am Sofia Pablo, a former domestic worker and a qualified sociologist. I have been the protagonist of a commercial on social security for domestic workers and I have ten years of experience in civil society fighting on this issue. But how did I get here?
Childhood in absence
Since I was a little girl I knew what absence was. My father, although I knew his name, was never present in my life. My mother, María Luisa, was, but her work as a domestic worker kept her away from us, my siblings and me. When I was one year old we moved to Ixtapaluca, State of Mexico. With a lot of effort, my mother bought a piece of land, thinking about the future, even if it meant living far away from everything. There were no public services or schools nearby, so every morning she had to find a way to get to her job in Cuajimalpa, Mexico City, and other alcaldías. Back then, traffic was not as chaotic as it is today, but she still spent many hours commuting.
She told me that she left the house with tears in her eyes, praying to God that her daughters and son would be well until she returned. We were only two girls and one boy, and since there was no one else to take care of us, my brother, who was a little older than us, took on that responsibility.
Over the years, while I attended school, my mom rarely attended school meetings or Mother's Day festivals. We couldn't get sick, go on field trips or expect her to have vacations like we did. Eventually I understood that it wasn't because she didn't love us, but because day she didn't work, day she didn't get paid. Besides, who said that "girls", as they still call them, have rights?
Invisibilization and risk
I grew up seeing how my mother's work was invisible, even to those who employed her. I remember two moments that marked this reality:
- My sister's call: One day, my sister decided to call my mom's work. "Well! This is Mrs. Maria Luisa's daughter speaking, can you put my mom on?" she asked. On the other end of the line she was answered, "We don't know that person here." She was only named and known by a nickname. Not even her name was recognized in the house where she worked.
- The 2017 earthquake: When the earthquake of September 19, 2017 occurred, many domestic workers lost their lives. There was no registry of the people who worked in the buildings, their employers did not know their full names, nor did they have contact information for their families. These were women who spent years in the service of a household, but whose lives were rendered invisible in an emergency.
The outstanding debt
When the time came to choose a career, I hesitated between Veterinary Medicine and Sociology. I decided on Sociology, influenced by a teacher whose way of teaching inspired me deeply. As I progressed in my studies, I had to choose a topic for my seminar and thesis projects. I did not hesitate: I would investigate housework, because it was the activity that my mother performed and that I had performed myself.
It was then that I met my mother's employer, a woman unlike many others. She knew my mother's name, my name, my sister's name, and my brother's name. She remembered important dates and maintained open communication with my mom to get to know her and respect her work. She would say to my mother: "if the laws that exist today had existed in her time, many domestic workers would not have suffered labor abuses and would be retired today".
That employer, unlike many, liquidated my mother in accordance with the law and they are still in contact. Such a case should not be exceptional, it should be the norm.
Since I started in activism and have talked to my mother, I have come to understand her story and how difficult it was for her. However, this can change if employers and domestic workers strengthen their communication, not only in terms of work, but also in terms of mutual recognition. Then no child will have to wonder if he or she can talk to his or her mother, because a decent job also means time for the family.
I dedicate every achievement in my life to my mother, Maria Luisa, an indigenous and migrant woman who fought to give us opportunities that she did not have as a child: education, food, a home, economic independence.
Although March 30, International Domestic Workers' Day, has passed, the reflection is still valid. Their work sustains our lives, but recognition is not enough. Rights, decent conditions and social security are needed. If you have a domestic worker in your home, ask yourself: am I guaranteeing her rights? Who is the person who works and takes care of my home?
#DignifiedWork #HouseholdWorkersDay #LaborRights
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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