I went to Doha because I hoped I could make a lot of money. I was given three thousand rupees a month. I could have saved much more if only I could have stayed. I needed the money to help my parents. In my village in Kolabissa the house is small. It has two rooms. I wanted to cement the floors and replace the tiles that had blown off in a great gale. I am the only one to help my family. My younger sister has to go for classes, for English and singing. All this needs money. I will spend for the English classes but I do not like her to go for sangeethaya. I myself never went to school, but when I came to work for loku mahathmaya he insisted that I should learn akuru, the Sinhala alphabet. I can read and write now. I can speak English too. This helped me when I was in Doha.

Oh, how afraid I was at the beginning! We first went to Bahrain. We were given sardines and parippu and bread to eat by the agency that employed us. The maids were waiting to be sent to their various destinations. Bossa Sir and Bossa madam were the only couple to come and choose their maids. Out of the twenty of us I was chosen. When Bossa madam held my hand I was afraid. She was big and tall; she was completely covered in a black burqa. She laughed when she saw me recoiling from her and moved aside the veil that covered her face. It was a pleasant face. They went back to Doha and when my visa was ready, I too flew there. But I had to remain for three days at the airport until they came to fetch me. I felt so alone and abandoned. I wanted to return home immediately but a young Sri Lankan Muslim boy who was working at the airport consoled me. ‘Akka,’ he said, ‘you must face the suffering now and not turn back.’ He brought me bread and tea. At night I was afraid to sleep alone. The policemen would open the door and look in. My clothes grew loose on me, my saree sagged at the waistband.

At last Bossa Sir came. He gave me a salute and smiled. He said, ‘Bossa madam gone on business, come with me.’ Bossa madam was a teacher. When I went to their house I was given tea and asked to sleep. The reason, I discovered later, for the delay was because in the house of my master and mistress the telephone was kept off the hook all day because they were at work, so none of the calls reached them.