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Reinventing Intimacy and Identity: Filipina Domestic Workers’ Strategies for Coping with Family Separation in Dubai

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Migrant Domestic Workers and Family Life

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship Series ((MDC))

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Abstract

It was Friday, on a hot summer’s afternoon in Dubai, and most workers were enjoying their day off on the Islamic holy day. In an old run-down villa in Satwa, an area of Dubai referred to as “Little Manila”, I was conducting a focus group with three Filipina live-in domestic workers, Zara, Anna, and Nora. Zara had just completed her work contract, and after exiting the country and returning on a visit visa, was now just arriving at the villa to rent a “bed space”. Filipino workers in Dubai in the service sector or as live-out domestic workers often live in shared housing units. This means that one room in an old villa may be filled with four to five bunk beds, sleeping eight to ten people; sheets are hung in front of each bed in order to provide privacy.

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Authors
  1. Julia Lausch
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Sozialforschung, J.W. Goethe Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Maria Kontos

  2. University of Lethbridge, Canada

    Glenda Tibe Bonifacio

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© 2015 Julia Lausch

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Lausch, J. (2015). Reinventing Intimacy and Identity: Filipina Domestic Workers’ Strategies for Coping with Family Separation in Dubai. In: Kontos, M., Bonifacio, G.T. (eds) Migrant Domestic Workers and Family Life. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137323552_9

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