菲律宾阿姨女儿的生日：看不见的牺牲 A Filipino Domestic Worker’s Daughter’s Birthday: An Invisible Sacrifice

这个故事是唐南发在一次由劳工权益组织所举办的研讨会上听到的，有一位菲律宾家庭佣工分享了她在马来西亚工作了近九年的经验。她的故事让在场的所有人陷入了沉默与心酸。

那天，她平静地分享道，当天正是她女儿九岁的生日。

“我已经三年没有见到我女儿。我生下我女儿没有多久，我的女儿才几个月大，我就来马来西亚工作。今年是她的九岁生日。这些年来，我都在照顾我雇主的孩子，我帮我雇主的孩子过生日，帮他们准备蛋糕，买礼物……但是，我这些年来，从来没有帮我女儿庆祝过一次生日。”

这番话语如同一记重锤，敲在每个人的心上。它提醒着我们，每一个我们称之为“kakak”或“外劳”的人，背后都有自己的家庭和孩子。他们为了生计，牺牲了与子女共度的宝贵时光，将母爱倾注在我们孩子的身上，却只能通过手机屏幕，对自己的孩子说一句“生日快乐”。

这些个人故事的背后，反映的是更广泛的社会偏见。正是这种集体性的漠视，让无数的牺牲与辛酸变得理所当然。

This story was shared by Josh Hong at a seminar organised by a labour rights organisation. During the session, a Filipino domestic worker spoke about her nearly nine years of working experience in Malaysia. Her story left everyone in the room silent, weighed down by sorrow.

That day, she spoke calmly. It was her daughter’s ninth birthday.

“I haven’t seen my daughter for three years. Not long after I gave birth, when my daughter was only a few months old, I came to Malaysia to work. This year, she turns nine. All these years, I have been taking care of my employer’s children. I celebrate their birthdays, prepare cakes, buy gifts for them… but in all these years, I have never once celebrated my own daughter’s birthday.”

Her words struck the room like a heavy blow. This story serves as a reminder that behind every person we refer to as “kakak” or “migrant worker” lies a family and children of their own. In order to survive, these women give up the chance to watch their own children grow, pouring their care and maternal love into other people’s families, while only wishing their own children a happy birthday through a phone screen.

Behind such personal stories lies a deeper and more systemic form of social prejudice. It is this collective indifference that renders countless sacrifices invisible, normalised, and taken for granted.

故事来源：唐南发

Story source: Josh Hong