Firi

I am 27 and I’m from Indonesia. When I was little, my mother worked in the Gulf region for 5 years, so I naturally wanted to work overseas. I studied the conditions and regulations for migrant workers of many countries and decided to work in either Hong Kong or Taiwan, because the salary is higher. The agency helped me with the paperwork. I don’t have to send money back home. I would send money back when it’s the holidays or when my family needs financial help. The agency deducted various amounts from my salary for 9 months. The first month I only received NT$ 2,000, and NT$ 6,000 or 7,000 for the second month. During the third month, I noticed that my employer was going to send me back to Indonesia, so I left and became a so-called "undocumented migrant worker." At that time, the salary for undocumented migrant workers was more than NT$ 20,000 a month. Several of my employers in Taiwan have prepared separate rooms for me to stay in. Only one of the employers used a screen in the living room to separate a space for me because there was no vacant room at home. I was very happy in Taiwan. After I went back, I felt that I didn’t like Indonesia very much. I would compare it with Taiwan. The prices of products are the same as those in Taiwan, but the salary gap was huge.