European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 3, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine in South Africa Nellie to Khlat is a scrubbing laundry in a tub for a a by Cynthia Stevens associated press Nellie to Khlat lives 10 Miles from to one of the worlds most prosperous but Shes never been to the eaten in a restaurant or had a like most of South Africa one million Domestic to Khlat has Little time or Money for such the White minority governments racial Segre gation known As in any Case ban her from nearly All recreational facilities because she is my heart is sore theres no my troubles Are heavy and my life is crooked says a woman resigned to a future of Drudgery and the care of her youngest who is six Days a week she rises at 5 wraps a plaid Blanket traditionally worn by the Soho tribe around her freshly laundered print balances a Black plastic tote bag on top of her knitted and begins the journey to her she is employed by White families in the suburbs North of the economic capital of Goldrich South when the commuter trains Are the Normal journey of 90 minutes can take up to four she often stands the whole because younger residents of the Black township of Soweto beat her to the to Khlat works As a scrub Bing clothes in an employers Bathtub or in a tub in the Yard behind a typically gracious Complete with Tennis Pool and manicured Many South african Homes do not have washing machines because of cheap labor drawn from the 20 million Black i grow six children by myself with says a who is paid an average of a once i ironed a wedding but you need time for that big in the evening she travels by bus and commuter train to her spartan three room a govern men owned dwelling in the Dusty township South West of Johannesburg where More than a million Blacks the House is surrounded by a Fence with a padlocked Gate and barbed wire on top As a safeguard against the crime that is rampant in like most Soweto it has no hot water or indoor monthly rental for such a House is around unlike most Domestic to Khlat has never lived in the on room servants quarters attached to Many White Homes because of her when he was a child he was very she he would Tell you the thing that would happen Tommor like a Witch but now the brain is gone and he is sick in the when i i dont know what will happen to i think this every to Khlat prepares dinner for Solomon and cleans until the House is and goes to bed by 9 on sundays she washes their the routine is her whole servants who live in Are spared the Cost and hassle of but Are separated from their the government forbids the children of maids and gardeners to live with them in neighbourhoods reserved for unless the employer is prepared to risk a stiff the children Are raised by a grandmother in a Black Urban township or in a tribal but there Are other smaller hardships in a society where the million Whites hold virtually All the in eight Black nannies who took their White charges to a Ballet concert at a White suburban recreation Center in Johannesburg were denied entry because they didst have efforts by two White House my heart is sore theres no my troubles Are heavy and my life is crooked says a woman resigned to a future of wives to get official permission for the nannies to watch the show were unsuccessful according to the no Blacks were allowed in the recreation the relationship Between servants and White madams and masters was explored last year in a controversial Book called maids and by Jacklyn a sociology lecturer at Rhodes University in Gra its publication resulted in a series of newspaper followed by irate letters to the editor from White Many complaining that Domestic serv ants get More than they in someone threw three lighted Sticks of dynamite into the authors Home As she entertained Din Ner police arrived in time to defuse a guest said cock had been receiving threatening Telephone for her she interviewed 50 employers and 175 servants in the Eastern Cape province Over three she found that monthly wages ranged from to and that almost 75 percent of the full time Domestic workers earned less than a All the workers in the Sample received some food but in 86 percent of the cases the food was Only 18 percent ate the same food As their sixty two percent of the workers said they were provided with a uniform by their but it was not uncommon for this to serve As the employees Christmas the average full time according to the was on the Job 59 hours a it also found that 34 percent of All the domestics interviewed received one weeks Holiday or less each cock wrote that the accommodation for residential Domestic workers is frequently Bare and and that Only three out of the 175 domestics in the Survey had Access to a Only one had hot water available for her personal one maid said she had to Wash in the toilet with water from the the Domestic workers and employers project is trying to help servants form a nationwide association in which they can learn to take collective a sue deeps National says her Johannesburg office receives complaints from domestics who have been dismissed without notice at the whim of the servants Are legally entitled to at least a months notice or she one of the most appalling things that makes us deeply angry is that some maids work for 20 or 30 years and the employer youre too old to work and you should go so february 1981 the stars and stripes Page 13