Heartbreaking Facebook post shows maid forced to watch family eating at restaurant

Jakarta: In times when people are spreading hope by helping each other beyond boundaries of class and caste, some incidents do emerge that break our heart and shed light on the bitter reality of how a lot of people treat those who are underprivileged.

The social media has become a platform which does bring out such shocking incidents and has also at times worked as a driving force for change. Recently an image showing a housemaid in Indonesia being forced to sit and watch as a family had their meal at a restaurant, emerged on the internet.

The image from Jakarta was posted by a man named Michael Fanny with text in Indonesian saying 'Your pembantu (servant) is part of your life. A reflection of your humanity. Imagine you are in their position, no phone to hold, not invited to eat, eyes just looking around,' 'We must respect and love our maids, our drivers, our gardeners. Life is not about profits and loss, it is not about ourselves. 'By sharing a little of what we have then we are sharing the love of God. #respectotherpeople #respectourmaid #respectourdriver #loveotherpeople #Godislove.'

It got an overwhelming response as sympathy poured in from around the world and the image was shared almost 60,000 times. Although there hasn’t been any comment from the family in the image, and details are not available about the incident.

In a country with a high number of domestic help in the workforce, this post showcases economic disparity and a dehumanising of underprivileged people. But the reaction shows a gradual change in the mindset.