'Maids are not robots, pay respect'

As most couples in Jakarta work outside the home, housemaids play a crucial role in their lives. Without specific regulations concerning domestic workers -- regularizing such matters as their basic salary, facilities and rights -- they are prone to abuse. In commemoration of Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, The Jakarta Post talked to several residents about the issue.

Mieke Walujo, 22, is a University of Indonesia student in Depok. She lives in Menteng, Central Jakarta, with her parents and sister:

It is saddening when employers continue to treat their maids like robots. Maids are human beings, just like us, with hearts. They have feelings too, you know. So we must treat them with all the respect we have.

My family never discriminates against my maids. The maids have worked for us for more than 20 years. We provide them with proper housing, rooms and food. They eat what we eat. We treat them as if they're our relatives. And they have never done anything bad to us.

I think it's time for people to realize that maids are human beings, and if we treat them with respect, they'll respect us in return.

Dhea Djafar, 45, is a housewife. She lives in Permata Hijau, South Jakarta, with her husband and two sons:

Ever since I was a teenager I has never discriminated against my maids. I treat them like my friends. Growing up as an only child was not easy. It was a good thing I had my maids because I spent most of my time with them.

Now, I continue to treat my maids well. I never yell at them. Yes, I do get angry sometimes when they make mistakes with their chores, but I never yell at them. I always talk to them in a very humane way because I know they don't do it deliberately.

I realize how tough it is to clean up the whole house and do household errands. That's why whenever I go out, I always buy some food for them just to let them know how much I appreciate their work.

-- The Jakarta Post