Modern housemaid

In a country where mass media pinpoints the wide gap between rich and poor, or the haves and have nots, I would like to cite the true story of a modern maid.

Yeyen (not her real name) commutes by bus from Tangerang to Jakarta, where she works as a maid. But, sitting in the air- conditioned bus, she looks more like a lady of the nouveau riche. They say she has taste, just because she is well-dressed. How well-dressed? Her shoes and handbags might not be originals, but a Ricci or Satchi copy. Her cosmetics are more or less the same as her mistress's.

She gets Sundays' off. When her house, situated behind a five- star hotel, was bull-dozed due to the hotel's expansion, she received Rp 12 million. They say that money begets friends and relatives. She was left with not too much money, but with the advice and help of her employer, she opened a bank account.

She was wise enough to buy a house at Tangerang, in a respectable neighborhood, complete with television and telephone line. When she can not come to work, because she has to accompany her ailing mother to the public hospital, or due to some other unavoidable circumstances, she does not fail to notify her employer by phone.

When her employer goes grocery shopping, she even buys her maid life's necessities. She is just a maid, but is treated almost like royalty.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta