In Chile, Columban Lay Missionary, Michael Javier regularly assists as an interpreter in processing legal papers for migrants of many different religions.
Before going to Chile, Jamby, a 45 year old single mother and a Muslim, had worked in several different countries to provide for the needs of her child. Originally from the Philippines her experience in those countries was not met with any difficulties but upon her arrival in Chile she began to struggle because of the language barrier. She did not speak Spanish.
Jamby’s first job was as a housekeeper and it was her first time to work in a household. Her employer didn’t give her time to practice her religion. After two weeks she asked if she could have at least 20 minutes each day to pray. Because of this, her employer terminated her contract and she had to find another job. Her next employers were very strict and didn’t give her enough food to eat so she decided to leave.
Eventually, she was able to find a job with a family of five, a couple with three children. They were also foreigners who had migrated to Chile. At first, they were very good to her and took her to hospital after she had an accident in the kitchen. She became close to them as she took care of them and the children.
Although she began work in January 2016, the contract they gave her stated her employment began in August. Jamby did not question her employers because of the kindness they had shown her but she became concerned when the parents regularly went out and returned late in the early morning of the next day. She was responsible for taking care of the children but she never received any overtime pay for the extra hours.
There were also times when money was deducted from her salary for a stain not removed from their clothes or whenever there was an increase in their electric or water bill. She noticed her salary decreasing and recorded the amounts but still didn’t say anything to her employer.
Then three months before her visa expired, she informed her employer that she needed to renew it for permanent status. But her employer refused to co-operate with the paper work.
On the day before her visa expired Jamby was allowed to go to the Immigration Office to process her application. She was told that her visa could not be processed because her employer had not paid fees for her health insurance and security system. These were part of the requirements for her application.
When she told her employer about the requirements they tried to force her to voluntarily resign by signing a paper, saying that she had terminated her employment. She refused and was asked to leave immediately.
The next day Jamby met a friend who accompanied her to the Department of Labor to file a formal complaint against her employer. It is fortunate that the labor law in Chile protects migrant workers.
A meeting was set up between Jamby and her former employer and I was asked to be the interpreter.
I accompanied her on the day of the meeting but her former employer didn’t show up. The Department of Labor then decided to bring her case to the court. Jamby was provided a lawyer to represent her pro bono and I was asked to be the interpreter for the duration of the trial.
The court proceedings took several months and during the trial her former employer gave her own version of what happened. The evidence against her was strong and the judge ruled in favour of Jamby. The judge ordered that all outstanding money be paid to Jamby and the penalty fee be paid to the government.
Indeed, justice was served. Jamby found a new part-time job with a good employer who assisted her in getting a permanent visa and a contract covering her health and security insurance.
This was not the first time that I had been asked to be an interpreter or assist in processing papers for migrants of many different backgrounds. As a Columban Lay Missionary I do it gladly and see it as a way of crossing boundaries in reaching out to others.
Columban Lay Missionary, Michael Javier from the Philippines, works in Chile.
Related links
- Read more from The Far East, July 2018
