The Peruvian Help
Posted on | February 1, 2012 | 13 Comments
My mom was here visiting a few weeks ago, and while she was here, we watched the movie “The Help”. I thought it was a really good movie, if you can overlook the idea that “the help” were portrayed as not having the courage to help themselves without the help of the lovely white heroine.
But that’s not what struck me most.
What really occurred to me as I watched the movie was the similarities between America circa 1960 and today’s Lima, Peru. (and I’m limiting this to Lima, because I don’t know what the situation is like in other cities, but I imagine anywhere people have money, it’s similar)
I’ll say it – I’ve got a maid. In fact, I’ve got two – Eliza and her mom, Maruja. Eliza used to work full time for us, but now she’s in classes full time so had to cut back to one day a week. One day wasn’t enough to keep up with what I can’t get to, so now Maruja comes on Wednesdays.
When they’re here, yes, they use our bathrooms; yes, they eat lunch with us. In fact, when they finish work they take a shower before heading home. In my bathroom.
I don’t say this to make myself sound like some sort of saint, only to point out the difference between what is “typical” in Peru.
I had an English student a few years ago who chastised me for letting our first maid Ana eat at the table with my kids. His opinion was that by letting her be ”familiar” with my family, she would get “uppity”. These weren’t his exact words, of course, because he was speaking Spanish – but it was very much the intended meaning.
Like in “The Help”, it’s not always usual for the maid to use the home-owner’s bathroom. Many larger houses in Lima have a “cuarto de servicio” – the servant’s room, which includes a small bathroom. If you ask why the maid needs her own bathroom, you’ll be told that it’s more comfortable for the maid, that she wouldn’t like using the family’s bathroom.
But if you keep digging, you’ll hear other things. A lot of maids come to Lima from the provincias, and as I’ve been told “they’re dirty, they don’t know a lot about hygiene.”
Gee, sounds more and more like “The Help” all the time.
When wealthy families head to the beaches, they often take “the help” with them to help watch the children. It used to be that maids and nannies would be required to stay in uniform while on the beach, but a recent law passed making that unlawful. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t still happen. They also aren’t allowed to swim in the water until the families get out for the day. It would be “unseemly” for the help to be swimming and playing alongside the family – can’t have them sullying up our pristine waters.
These kinds of attitudes astound me.
It’s almost incredible to think that these attitudes were prevalent in the US in my lifetime. When you remember things like separate water fountains, and “negro entrances” at the movie house, you think of it as something from the past. Then you move to Peru and you read about a man not being allowed entrance into the the cinema because of his “provincial” appearance. (Never mind that he had already been inside with his “whiter” friends and had just stepped out to use the restroom…)
Things are improving, though. LIke I mentioned above, there’s a law now saying that people can’t force their maids and nannies to wear uniforms outside; of course, it’s still done, but at least the law is written. With time and with more people becoming sensitive to the issue, there will hopefully be more enforcement. Hopefully, younger generations that are more exposed to the world through social media can have more enlightened attitudes than their parents.
And the movie theater incident? They were reviled in the media and closed down for a week by the government, plus fined about $560. It might not seem like much, but it is a start.
Related posts:
Comments
13 Responses to “The Peruvian Help”
Leave a Reply
-
Enjoy Your Time in Peru More by Taking
Need Secure Transportation in Lima?
About
I got tired of life happening while I made other plans, so I quit my job and came to Peru. I live here with my Peruvian husband, two sons, three dogs and various other family members, depending on the weather.
Watch LIVE TV from the US for Free!
Thinking of Moving Overseas?
Expat Women Blog Directory
February 1st, 2012 @ 20:19
Good article Kelly
February 2nd, 2012 @ 00:26
It is heart breaking for me to think that the mind set of some people still exists in such a statutory way. I know it is prevolant, I just have never been one to think that I am above or benieth anyone. Great post Kelly
February 2nd, 2012 @ 01:15
Thanks Abe. That’s kind of the point I was trying to make about my own maid – yes, we have work relationship, but I would never treat her 2nd class. I don’t see it as being any different from any other work relationship – my ex-boss treated me (and all of his employees) extremely well, and I hope that I learned something from him.
February 2nd, 2012 @ 01:15
Thanks, Mom.
February 2nd, 2012 @ 19:09
Buen post Kelly. Recién te das cuenta de una realidad que todos los peruanos conocemos desde hace mucho. El poder económico en el Perú lo tienen los “blancos”. En realidad es un tema complejo.
February 3rd, 2012 @ 07:52
Hi, Kelly: I just watched “The Help” the other night, too. It’s one of those rare occasions where I’m temped to say the movie was even better than the book. Excellent. I went to college in Mississippi – in the early 70′s. I remember being shocked then that conditions were still what they were, having naively thought that the civil rights movement had changed everything. And now, in Lima, I am amazed at the attitudes of the “privileged” toward their “help.” The similarities between Lima today and Mississippi back then are shocking.
February 4th, 2012 @ 05:28
I hope to see things change here – it’s really frustrating when you talk to people about it, and they are no used to it that they can’t even see it as a type of discrimination.
February 7th, 2012 @ 01:18
Parece este ehcho esta bien intrincado entre los peruanos, pero hay signos lentos de mejoria hay un interesante articulo aqui http://www.iep.org.pe/noticia/0600/antonio-zapata-racismo-a-la-peruana/
sobre el mismo punto
February 7th, 2012 @ 02:15
Gracias por tu comentario – el otro articulo es muy interesante.
February 10th, 2012 @ 17:30
I once saw a maid packed like a piece of luggage in the trunk of an SUV in Lima. It was the worst thing I ever saw. She was literally crammed in between the luggage.
February 10th, 2012 @ 22:47
Holy cow. That’s awful.
April 14th, 2012 @ 12:24
This is a great site, Kelly! Thanks for keeping it real about life here in Peru. I had the same reaction to “The Help” that you did.
April 27th, 2012 @ 17:25
That’s an excellent observation, Kelly. It’s one of the things about Peru that embarrass me to no end.
My family had maids while I was growing up in Peru (in a northern provincial city). Maybe it’s because we were not wealthy, or maybe it’s because my family is left-leaning, but I don’t recall our maids being treated that way at all. Thankfully.
From what I have read, that type of treatment is more common in Lima, among wealthy families. (How common that is, I really can’t say; but I keep reading horror stories about poorly treated maids in Lima, that it’s hard not to generalize).