Now I have a few points for everyone to consider:
-Who needs a maid?
something to think about:some women won't have chidren till they have a maid:who's going to take care of the baby while I'm having my nails done?
-What are acceptable living conditions for maids in Jordan?
something to think about:A typical new 200m2 apartment in amman has a 1.5m*1.5m laundry room that may or may not have a window that opens to the piping duct.I have seen a house where the maid sleeps on a mattress spread on top of the washer and dryer.I have heard from someone that people sometimes ask for a maid to be short to fit in ther laundry room.
-What are maids rights in Jordan?
something to think about:A russian lady sent her daughter to the far end of the playground to see if the maid is chatting with other filipino girls and to command her to leave them and stay in another part of the playground if she was.(So it's not only us,Jordanians,obviously)Not only is she forbidding her from socializing,but she is also giving her 5 year old daughter command of the woman's life.
-How much money are you getting from your job after you deduct a maid's expenses?
something to think about:Having a career is not about the money.Going to work is not about the money.I agree.TOTALLY.But if the maid is costing you something around 200 dollars a month,counting her salary,residency and other expenses,and you are making 200 dinars a month(as is the case with some women I know),thus ending up with 30 Jds to spare ,isn't it worth considering to give up your work for a couple of years and enjoy your time with kids?
-Is having a maid making everyone lazier?
something to think about:when I asked my daughter who's responsibility is it to put her toys away,her response was :if we had a maid that would be hers!
-Is it essential to make the maid go everywhere with us to show her off?
something to consider:some mothers take the maid along when they walk their kids to the classroom.Do you need a chaperone to be with your kid?
-If you don't treat a maid in a civilized manner, do you trust her with your kids?
something to think about:She will never like your kids if she doesn't like you!
And a few facts from Amman:
-Hiring agencies hit maids,with slippers and belts,to set a precedent that shows a maid:if you don't comply to your (owner's)standards,you will be physically disciplined.
-Some families are falling into the habit of having two maids for a family of four.
-It has happened before that a maid has been murdered,or committed suicide to escape her living conditions.
And finally a problem I read in a gulf magazine:
-The lady writes to the magazine's editor asking for a solution to her problem:
I need your help.My son's in love with our 16 year old maid.I sent her home to Indonesia(she did not mention how much she must have beaten her first).And sent him to America to forget about her.i have just learnt that he has gone to see her twice in her country in the last six months.Help!
-Editor's reply:May God grant you the patience to overcome your great disaster.Try and find your son as uitable bride,and make him amrry her.He will forget about the maid!I feel for you.Your pain is obvious,and you have the right to be angry.I will pray for God to end your misery!
Life is not fair!At all!
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(12) comments
Me: To the left ,please. Him: well anyways this doesn't mean that arab girls are better,either,excuse my saying so.. Me: How come?(I sensed a juicy story coming up now) Him: The other day this girl stopped me in Sahab.(Labseh cubboy,w natharat kbar)wearing Jeans and big glasses.I was enjoying listening to Mhammad Abdo's el Amaken,and she asked me if I have a Quran tape..(winnha waghwashetny bihal 6alab),she messed my mind with her request.I did have a Quran tape,and I put it on but still something was telling me that her looks did not go along with her request.(golt el shakel ma ho mashi ma3 e66alab,golt khallini akhtibirha.)So I decided to quiz her.She sounded like she was north African ,and I asked her to recite a verse of the Quran.I told her:"us people of the Sham area,we recite Quran in the same way,what about you Berbers?"see what I told her berber..I wanted her to to know that I know she's either Tunisian or Morroccan.And she didn't know any verses.I decided not to be mean and give her another chance so I asked her how we pray salat el fajr,(dawn prayer),and she did not know either.When we arrived to the Jordan University she insisted not to pay me more than 3 jds although the bill was more than than 4.50.We fought in the street and I wanted to take her to the police station when all of a sudden I lost her and couldn't find her among all those people.You know if I see her again,I would set up an awful accusation against her and throw her in jail.(wallahi lagool 3anha ajat w ma3aha ethnain klashinkofat widha tbee3ni iyahom..)I would claim she was trying to sell me 2 klashinkoffs . Me: Ah!why would you do such a thing over one and a half dinars? Him: (wallahi ma ho 3al masari,ana el taxi molik bidakhilli 900 dinar fil shaher,w 3indi arathi w bioot ,bass 3ashan amarmegh khshoomha bil arth)Honestly this is not about money,I own the taxi myself,my income is 900 dinars and I own lands and houses,but I wanted to show her that she can't fool me. Me: 7aram 3alaik,that's such a big accusation.(you see he's an oldish harmless man,and I felt it's ok to be conducting long conversations with him.) Him: No ,some people need to be treated like that.Let me tell you a story(like he hasn't already told me a bunch)I used to work in a governmental establishment, and there was this girl (khshoomha bissama)full of herself.A colleague asked for her hand in marriage,and she refused,(fa dafa3 la zabbal az3ar 3ashan yo6lob eedha)he paid a garbage collector to ask for her hand in marriage in front of all the colleagues.(sorry but I don't know how to translate az3ar)w nazzal khshoomha bil arth.This way he deflated her ego! At that point we'd already arrived where I was heading.My husband was waiting for me in the street.He saw me laughing and wondered: you seem to have enjoyed the ride? Me: I did,indeed I did!
Him: NO NO NO no no no there I can't go,too much traffic!
Me: (being really desperate on a hot thursday afternoon):I am going somewhere close to wadi saqra ,that won't get you anywhere near the traffic.
Him: Are you sure?
Me: Yes,I will show you which roads to go.
30 seconds of silence:
Him:(seeing two philipino girls walking in the street):(yegta3ken w yegta3 sharken,kharabten bait el balad)May you all be gone with your evil,you have destroyed the country.
In spite of the numerous reservations I have against Al Jazeera channel,on top of which lies my absolute hatred to their (Al Itijah Al Mo3akes) program,I have to admit how impressed I am with their children channel.
Funded by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development,,and headed by Shaikha Mozah Bint Nasser al-Missned, wife of the amir of Qatar,the channel has managed to grab my attention and keep me hooked for almost a year now.I have to warn parents though,if the choice is left to kids,I have noticed that this might not be their first choice.While other children channels like Disney ,Boomerang and Space Toon might offer better animation and catchier tunes,Jazeera Children can be an excellent competitor,if an adult is watching along and discussing the programs with the kids.
The programs are quite varied and cover a wide range of interests for all ages.They focus on world cultures and traditions,animals and pets,food and produce in different parts of the world,industries and traditional crafts,children with special needs and how they lead their lives,sports and activities,even street games that kids invent themselves.Most of the programs are presented by the kids themselves,in a way that a child takes us around his daily life and telling us how and why he does things in a certain manner.In one episode of a program called My Pet,you could watch a 10 year old shepard in the mounatins of Ukraine spending the day with his dog taking the sheep to graze, and in another you could see a japanese kid who raises a mouse in his small room in Tokyo ,this way children have a peek insider other's lives and know that not everyone has the same kind of lifestyle they are leading.Most of the programs are great eye openers and I truly enjoy watching them.Another program is called (NO Food Like Mine),they take you around the globe from the deepest jungle in Africa or Asia where they serve their rice on tree leaves,to the tiniest little village in Europe where little old ladies are kneading their pastas and drying their meats.I still haven't managed to learn who produced these programs,I am under the impression they are either french or canadian productions but they cut the program off at the end without showing us any information.Al Jazeera productions do produce 40%of their own programs,and they are pretty good and informative,but they lack the artsy feel in the foreign translated ones.
Another favorite of mine is their program:Draw me a tale,it is very artistic and an interesting twist on telling tales,where a narrator reads the story,usually a little bit modified to make older fairy tales a little more modern,and a very skillful artist animates the story as its being read.In very simple and basic lines,cinderella comes to life,her ragged shabby clothes are illustrated by slipping a newspaper under the cut out lines and the fact that she sleeps next to the fireplace and is covered with cinder,hence her name,is shown by a few black fingerprints that he touches over the newspaper.When she finally goes to the party the newspaper is replaced with a piece of shiny gift wrapping paper and a sprinkle of glitter around the drawing.Absolutely amazing.In another episode they showed the artist(or artist's hand to be more specific,since we see only that)drinking coffee from a cup,the story starts by him using a piece of wood and a brush to draw lines that stem from the circle that the coffee cup has left on the paper.That fascinated me,a lot,I wish I could see it again and tape it.
The programs are all translated in perfect arabic,the presenters are youngish girls and boys who do their job excellently,and who look very normal,not too made up,to like they're going to a wedding party, like some other arabic channels,and they use the formal arabic language,in different dialects since they come from different countries,almost perfectly,grammatically and phonetically ,which is very important to me.The channel could use a few english programs to make sure children learn a foreign language along arabic,I know a lot of kids who won't watch an english program,which is such a shame,given the long hours they spend in front of their TVS.Such a powerful tool that needs to be well exploited.
The channel is very impressive,everyone should try and watch it,even if you don't have kids of your own,you should try and introduce it to cousins,nieces and nephews,if they're not already following it,but as I said earlier,it takes a bit of patience to get them to sit there and get interact with the shows.
More on children's TV to come soon.
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