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Miss, share a smile please.
I’d sweep your floor clean without delay.
Miss, spare kind words please.
I’d be thrilled to work every day.
Miss, skip the sulk please.
I wouldn't want to sweat the deed much
for it’s already cheap. Miss please,
whatever pleases you, please tell me.
" There are some 20-million domestic workers in China, "
" the largest such population in the world, "
" the majority of them women. "
We dare not look up, so in walls and floors we bury our faces.
In and out, top to bottom,
our mops shed skins in harsh places.
Of course domestic work is hard work!
You get few hours in each house. You need to work intensely.
Say, wiping windows, during the harsh winter,
you’ll need to wipe from outside... It's freezing.
Some people do look down on you.
But my labor earns my living - they got nothing on me.
" Few domestic workers have insurance. "
" They lack legal means facing contractual disputes. "
Our bicycles hurry through the streets:
this home, that home, in between,
back and forth different mansions,
and the toilets we also clean.
Some employers are kind.
They'd pour you a glass of water after work.
Some employers are headaches. Filthy!
People say this work is for the underclass. Not true...
Being discriminated is a miserable feeling.
But to make ends meet we don’t have a choice.
I strive for a job well done. I want my employers happy.
I want more work, to earn more,
so I could send my kids to a good kindergarten.
( Life is hard indeed. )
( I mop floors and wipe toilets. )
( Then I go home to cook and clean and care for my kids, )
( making sure they won't turn out like me )
( doing the work near one’s feet. )
( I'm very content though. )
( Sometimes someone would thank me )
( for the hard work; my labor is valued )
( and for that I’m grateful. )
" We call for a more versatile insurance policy, "
" one that protects both domestic workers and their employers. "
I’d be thrilled to work every day.
Miss, skip the sulk please.
I wouldn't want to sweat the deed much
for it’s already cheap. Miss please,
whatever pleases you just tell me.
whatever pleases you just tell me.
The work has become this game I play.
It’s quite fun!
HOURLY HELPER song YU DUAN lyrics YANHONG ZHAO vocals YU DUAN, XUEQIN FAN, YUN LI, JIANING LI, JINFENG *** monologue FANG XU thanks JUE SUN
video THOMAS LEE + producer HANYAN YUEN
HALF THE SKY PUBLIC EDUCATION x MIGRANT WORKERS' HOME