- She lived with us for 56 years. She raised me and my siblings without pay. I was 11, a typical American kid, before I realized who she was.
I have way too many thoughts on this. This article shook me to the core. The biggest realization I currently have is that this is the first time I remember in my life where I was actually interested in my family history, as a second generation Filipino in the US I've always been ambivalent about my culture (I also publicly hated participating in the Filipino dance group my mom taught), and something about my parents making sure that I didn't learn their native language (they thought it stunt my English) just closed my curiosity about being Filipino. Also, I dreaded my family trips to the Philippines because it always terrified me on an existential level. I have a hard time thinking about my extended family there without thinking that I am the worst person ever.
I was similarly impacted by this article. I lived in Manila for four years, and I saw remnants of this in my household and others. The Philippines is still feudal in many aspects, including how poor people have no choice but to hitch their welfare to the rich landholders by becoming domestic workers like yayas, drivers, etc. The head of household, usually the matriarch in the Philippines, demands utter loyalty and commitment from them, with long hours and demanding conditions. In turn, the become a second-class member of the family who receives some support in times of need. I've seen whole extended families put through school by one yaya's long term employer. A good friend of mine hired a nurse to care for his childhood nanny, who lives with them along with several other domestic workers. While I lived in the Philippines, I employed yayas to help care for my children. One in particular we employed for several years and she became like family. It isn't slavery -- she had a contract, regular schedules, wages, etc. -- but it is still an incredibly demanding job. I cannot stress how difficult it must have been for her at time to be away from her own family. On the other hand, we provided her with wealth and stability she just couldn't find anywhere in Manila. It was an imperfect situation that is very hard to understand unless you've lived it or close to it.
This is probably still more common in the developed world than you would like to think, especially in some immigrant communities which originate from cultures where this is still the norm. India and Pakistan in particularly has a huge problem with slavery, and it is likely that it is imported to at least some degree to the US, UK, Europe, by first generation immigrants. Wikipedia article on contemporary slavery with a map which shows hot spots, there are estimated to be between 21 million and 46 million Lola's in the world today... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_slavery