A maid's tales

WE SEE THEM everywhere. We occasionally hear of their plight, struggle and survival. Yet the stories of hundreds of thousands of foreign women - domestic workers in Hong Kong - are usually told by others: journalists, filmmakers and activists.

Penari Naga Kecil (The Small Dragon Dancer), a compilation of short stories by Indonesian domestic helper Tarini Sorrita, is a first step to changing all that. The book, published in Indonesia, chronicles a maid's bittersweet life in Hong Kong, based on the writer's experience: long working hours, little sleep, unsympathetic employers, blooming romance, friendships with other maids, disco dancing and the culture shock of living in a new city.

Much of her inspiration came when she was working for her first employer, a local Chinese family. The stories might be typical of the 100,000 Indonesian maids employed in Hong Kong. Sorrita says she worked from 5am to 2am or 3am, used her own money to cover extra costs of grocery shopping for two years (she wasn't reimbursed) and was ignored when she fell sick. But she chooses not to dwell on the hardships and instead gives an ironic, comic twist to her tales. 'I write for fun. It's a great medicine to ease stress.'

Writing isn't a new vocation for 35-year-old Sorrita. Born in the Javanese coastal city of Cirebon, she won a regional writing competition when she was still in high school in 1988. She attributes her artistic leaning to her family. 'My grandfather liked to compose pantun sesindiran [traditional poems that emphasise ironies],' she says. 'My father was a member of a theatre troupe.'

Yet Sorrita never had a chance to pursue her literary interest. No sooner had she finished high school than, like many children of lower-class families, she went straight to work. She opened a noodle stall, and worked in marketing, as a golf caddy, a construction worker and an administration clerk. 'My highest education is life experience,' she says.

In 1992, Sorrita married a man from Semarang, another Javanese coastal town, and had a daughter. It was a rocky marriage, with episodes of domestic abuse. The couple lived together for 18 months. Then, like many men from the countryside, her husband left to find work. He never returned and they were finally divorced just two years ago.