Preserving 10 migration stories from the women who work in our building
The women who work as domestic help in our building—cooking, cleaning, caring for children—are invisible. We interact daily but know nothing about their lives: where they came from, why they migrated, what they sacrificed. Their stories will disappear when they retire/die. I wanted to document their migration histories before it's too late.
Conducted oral history interviews with 10 domestic workers in our apartment complex. Built trust over 2 months, explained project importance, got informed consent. Recorded 7.2 hours of audio in Hindi: migration stories from Bihar, UP, Odisha, Maharashtra to Mumbai. Transcribed in Hindi and English. Gave each woman USB with their recording. Archived with local university oral history project. Their invisible histories now preserved forever.
the invisible women who built our cities: Kamala aunty has cleaned our house for 15 years. one day asked about her village. she cried. left at age 12. walked 300km from village (no bus money). first job: ₹200/month + food. sent money home for brother's school. never went back. she's been sending money for 40 YEARS. realized: domestic workers are everywhere but their stories? INVISIBLE. interviewed 12 women in our building. patterns emerged: all left villages 10-20 years old, all to escape poverty/early marriage, all sent money home (₹3,000-8,000/month), NONE could afford to visit home regularly, all sacrificed education to educate siblings. recorded 8.5 hours of interviews. transcribed. published as "Invisible Histories" booklet. distributed 200 copies in our complex. changed how people see "the help". they're not just workers - they're heroes who left everything to survive and support families. oral history = giving voice to the voiceless. 🎤❤️
Informed consent, participant control, trauma-sensitive questioning
Full transcripts in both Hindi (original) and English (translation)
Each woman received USB with her recording—their story to keep
Stories preserved with university for future researchers and public access
Read StoryCorps methodology, Partition Museum oral history guidelines, academic articles on ethical interviewing. Learned: open-ended questions, active listening, trauma-sensitive approach, importance of silence (let people think/feel).
Spent 2 months building trust before formal interviews. Helped with smartphone questions, chatted during tea breaks, showed genuine interest in their lives (not extractive research). Trust = honest stories. Rushed interviews = superficial answers.
Recorded in quiet room, just us two. Started with easy topic (hometown description) to warm up. Used "grandtour" questions: "Tell me about your journey to Mumbai." Then follow-ups for detail. Avoided leading questions. Respected silence—some cried, some laughed, gave them space.
Transcribed verbatim (including pauses, emotions). Sent transcripts for approval—let them edit/remove anything. Archived with consent forms. Shared with university that studies migration. Posted anonymized excerpts (with permission) to raise awareness. History belongs to storytellers, not just researchers.
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