Dominican maids live in conditions of slavery: Avant-garde writer

Lima, (EFE).- Dominican writer and musician Rita Indiana saidin Lima on Friday that her literary work is "a bombshell of urgent issues thatthe Caribbean should address," such as prostitution or the situation of gays,and the maids in her country, who live in condition of “slavery.”

Indiana was the only woman among the five finalists of theBienal de Novela Mario Vargas Llosa, won by Chilean writer Carlos Franzse.

Rita Indiana’s novel, "La Mucama (maid) deOminculé" is a story set in 2024 in the midst the Afro-Caribbean religioustradition of Santeria and with a "queer" (homosexual) undercurrent.

"I come from a country that exports prostitutes andwhere sex tourism is very serious and it’s impossible to write without it permeatingbecause it’s a reality you see every day," she said quoted by EFE.

Author of four novels, including "Papi" (2011),and short stories, Indiana said she deals with the "the issue of themaid" in her work because in her country "there are people living inconditions of slavery, not only as servants but also in the cane fields."

"I grew up seeing how these women earned salaries thatweren’t enough to live on, and also lived in the houses (of their bosses) forridiculous wages without social security," said Indiana, born Rita Indiana Hernández, in SantoDomingo in 1977.