Working 60 hours a week with no days off. That is the fate of Asian migrant workers in The Hague. Domestic workers employed by diplomats, among others, are victims of this exploitation. For fear of ending up on the streets, they do not report the abuse.

By Monica Lam

Twenty-year-old Nadya* from Indonesia moves to The Hague in 2024. She is able to work for a family that is seeking an au pair. The reality soon turns out to be different: Nadya not only has to take care of the children, but also the entire household. She works long hours and the family forbids her from going outside. Nadya is also not allowed to learn Dutch, even though this is part of the Dutch au pair scheme. Nadya is afraid to leave, because where would she go?

In September 2019, a 28-year-old Indonesian woman is picked up at Hollands Spoor station by a 60-year-old man from The Hague. He offers her a job that will earn her at least half a billion rupiah (more than 30,000 euros) after a year. She has to earn that money as a sex worker. The woman agrees; she has no better option. In her home country, as the eldest child in the family, she does not have a job, her father is no longer there, and she is responsible for caring for her younger brother. She also believes that sex work will be voluntary. Once she arrives in The Hague, she receives only a quarter of the agreed wage, is not allowed to go outside on her own, and is forced by the man from The Hague to take drugs and alcohol. When the woman wants to quit, he refuses to let her.

Distressing

These women, who have worked in appalling conditions in The Hague in recent years, have one thing in common: they came to the Netherlands as migrants from Asia in search of a better life. Through intermediaries, their fellow sufferers also end up here, often with an employment contract that promises them a stable income and decent working conditions. In reality, they find themselves in situations of exploitation from which they can hardly escape.