November 13, 2018
Voices: Au pair Workers in J-1 Program
Here are a series of testimonies by au pair workers in the J-1 program. To learn more about the program, check out Shortchanged; The Big Business Behind the Low Wage J-1 Au Pair Program.
Name: “Mara”
Country of Origin: Brazil
''Even if you’re not working in your free time, you don’t have rights to do whatever you want to do. You’re being watched all the time. Some families put a curfew.”
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Name: Estefani
Country of Origin: Brazil
“It’s false advertisement. It feels like hell on earth, but it’s advertised as an amazing experience. It’s sold to the au pairs as a cultural exchange, but to the family as free/ cheap labor. We are too vulnerable. We should feel like we have freedom.”
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Name: Heidi
Country of Origin: Mexico
''[My employer] works as a police officer and told me if she finds out I’m breaking any rules there will be consequences... things got so bad that I had to see a therapist.”
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Name: Claudia
Country of Origin: Colombia
“The program needs to educate the families with how to treat au pairs and what the laws are with regards to au pairs [and] make sure they understand the law and what abuse means. We never knew who would protect us.”
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Name: Johanna
Country of Origin: El Salvador
''When you come to the U.S., you think you’ll meet people, make money, and learn English. But you cannot do any of that. You’re with a baby the whole time -- being paid very little. I left the program because it was not helping me achieve the goals for which I came to the U.S.”