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The Place and Placelessness of Migrant Filipina Domestic Workers 103 known to members of the migrant community. It is a frequent and sore topic of conversation. For instance, members of the community were appalled but not surprised when I shared with them the story of how a middle -aged Italian man in a business suit who had been walking in my direction spat on my face after I failed to move aside and to his irritation forced him to do so when we passed each other on the street. This Italian had made it clearly known to me who was to show “spatial deference” in the public spaces of Rome. My story provoked mixed reactions. Some members of the community told me that I should have also spat on his face, after which they cited the expression “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” However, most said that it was better that I did not react at all to the assault and that I kept my dignity by calmly walking away. For many, my experience raised nationalist sentiments; they felt that my “good behavior” signaled the cultural superiority of Filipinos. With few exceptions, Filipinos tend not to gather in public spaces inhabited or frequented by Italians. Perhaps they do so to avoid confrontations such as the one I had the misfortune of experiencing. Notably, the central train station is the only site in the city center where Filipinos impose on the public space of Italians. Yet, on any given day, the bus stops of Termini are never congested with Filipinos in the morning and afternoon ; they seem to congregate there only in the evening. One can imagine that the women crowding Termini at night are just delaying their return to their employer’s home, staying a little bit longer, hoping they might run into a friend whom they have not seen in weeks. In general, most women do not spend an extended amount of time in pockets of gathering in public places such as Termini. They are often used as fleeting spaces of encounter . For the most part, Filipino migrant domestic workers spend their days off in the private domain, for instance, in apartments and church centers. In the public domain, the presence of food vendors essentially establishes particular spaces as official pockets of gathering. Ethnic enclave businesses among Filipinos in Italy have been restricted to the informal sector. Food vending is a popular informal business. Vendors who are mostly women prepack Filipino meals of rice and meat in separate plastic bags to sell to Filipino domestic workers, usually on their days off, Sunday and Thursday afternoon. Using paper plates and plastic utensils provided by the vendors, customers eat their meals sitting or standing around the 104 The Place and Placelessness of Migrant Filipina Domestic Workers pocket of gathering. Much monitoring of self and others occurs in these public spaces. For example, rarely do migrants litter, and when they do, they usually get reprimanded by those around them. Migrants also keep an eye out for Italian pedestrians and, more so, for Italian authorities. Vendors , who carry their goods in duffel bags, are ready to run at the first sight of a law enforcement officer, who could fine them for illegally selling food products in violation of health codes. Vendors are also known to use the trunks of automobiles. In a pocket of gathering, hidden in cars with slightly opened trunks are industrial-size pots carrying a selection of dishes to eat for lunch or dinner. Members of the community know that cars parked with slightly ajar trunks in a pocket of gathering are likely to be the stalls of a food vendor. During the time of my interviews, no other ethnic groups were known to sell prepared food informally in the public spaces of Rome. Polish domestic workers, I noticed, congregated at McDonald’s and other fast-food establishments, while Peruvians sometimes patronized the businesses of Filipinos, but rarely did Peruvians and Filipinos socialize with one another. One of the public pockets of gathering where Filipino vendors used to sell prepacked foods that they stored in large duffel bags was in the bus stop at Mancini. They were forced, however, to relocate as a result of the constant harassment of food vendors by the police, who not only imposed fines on them but also confiscated all of their goods. Notably, the police informed the vendors that it had been complaints from Italian pedestrians that forced them to penalize the...

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