Hardships of rural Indonesian women shown in domestic helper film focusing on Taiwan
- Help is on the Way follows the lives of four Indonesian women workers either already working in Taiwan or training to go there
- The director says he had not been aware of the difficulties these women dealt with, including bad husbands, greedy parents and manipulative male migrants
“Smile”, an instructor tells the women in identical aprons as they take turns to stand in front of a blue background for an employment photo. Carefully crossing their hands in front of themselves, the women obey.
They must look presentable, strong and capable, but malleable – hence the uniforms. This scene from Help is on the Way reminds viewers that these women are basically labourers who will be hired and paid to follow orders.
Winner of best feature documentary at Festival Film Indonesia 2019, Help is on the Way is a story of the hardships that force rural Indonesian women to look for jobs abroad, how they fare working in a foreign society – in this case Taiwan – and the added stress placed on some by family members back home.
In Indonesian and Mandarin, with English subtitles, the film follows the lives of four Indonesian workers named simply Meri, Sukma, Muji and Tari.
The audience sees Meri and Sukma for the first time in front of that blue backdrop. They are questioned about their body weight and whether they have tattoos or scars. Do they have plans to gain weight? Yes. Do they have husbands? Meri smiles and shakes her head. Sukma says her boyfriend lives far away.
The documentary, which screened in Indonesia and Taiwan in recent weeks, tracks their recruitment and training for work in the self-ruled Chinese island. Both women look very young.