My mom called me early this morning, crying, because her boss is making her pay for a limited-edition Hermes scarf that she accidentally damaged. The cost? 70,000 PHP.
She explained that she was overwhelmed with all the work she had to do and didn’t realize how delicate the fabric was. She put it in the washing machine, and it got ruined. The scarf, which the boss had only worn twice, was apparently “special.” The boss even remarked that it wouldn’t have been a big deal if it were Dior, but because it’s Hermes, it’s unforgivable.
What breaks my heart is that the cost of the scarf exceeds my mom’s monthly salary. She’ll need to shell out an additional 4,200 PHP on top of her salary to cover the cost. The boss refused to let her pay in installments, saying she didn’t trust my mom not to run away—despite the fact that my mom has worked for her for two years without ever causing problems.
Now my mom has to face Christmas broke and utterly devastated—all over a scarf. To her boss, 70,000 PHP might not even be a fraction of their earnings, but for my mom, it’s more than her livelihood. And it wasn’t even intentional! Couldn’t they show a little compassion?
To make things worse, my mom started crying while babysitting her boss’s kids, and they made her stay away from the children because they didn’t want the kids asking questions or “getting upset.” Seriously??
For context, my mom works abroad as a domestic helper, and her boss is half-Pinay and half-white. Sadly, it’s often your fellow Filipinos who treat you the worst in situations like this.
To the rich: screw you and your goddamn Hermes scarf. Shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
