The Asian ladies that work in nail salons

[Charlieandthechocolatecake]

Please forgive my ignorance. Please!

I had a pedicure today (for the first time in 5 years!)

I was thinking whilst i was there that the majority of that staff in salons I have been to are Asian women. Some of them young.

I've also noticed that in my experience, their English is limited.

I'd like to know if anybody knows if these women are here specifically to do that job?

Or are they here for education? A better future?

I ask because I have never had my nails done by an Asian woman that can speak fluent English.

I had my nails done by a lovely young woman today...i know this is a career choice for many that have a passion for it. But is it for these women in particular or do they hope to gain an education here and an alternative career? If like to think so.

LaLegue no doubt you have travelled extensively in Asia. However, it's a very large continent and living standards vary a lot. I've been to only the richer parts. I wouldn't say Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan is any poorer than the UK from what I see. Houses will be smaller, but the level of material consumption is higher. More people have LV bags and Rolex watches, that kind of thing. You can tell how much worse living standard is once you step foot into China.

NotI yes please explain what was racist about the OP. You have only mentioned so far that you think OP's use of the word "Asian" was not specific enough. Which is not racist. So is there anything else?

Young Woman does not necessarily equal trafficked Worker.

But t

But this is only part of what people are highlighting. On its own, no. But coupled with the fact that these young women often do not speak English and therefore are vulnerable in terms of not being able to communicate with people outside their own circle or with the authorities for example. Also given that a nail tech would not be able to get a working visa for this country, so unless they are also studying (unlikely given the language barrier) then they are probably not here legally. You may think it's the PC thing to do, because you're not profiling people or whatever. But actually as a consumer (and just as a decent human being) you have an obligation to educate yourself on the world around you, and this industry is rife with slaves and illegal labour. You are not helping these women by crying "racist" at everyone who tries to highlight the problems.

Head Point well made and I can't disagree. I didn't literally mean all of Asia, I was just being a bit lazy in not listing all the countries where people might be likely to want to come to the UK )or any richer, more highly developed country) in order increase economic opportunity. I was over-generalising of course, but we are talking specifically about Vietnam and China here, though the problem is not limited to those two countries.

Ummm why do you care? As long as she did your nails nice.

Jesus wept, how can you be so bloody selfish?

well said Ratatouille

Birds that was badly worded - sorry if it sounds like I was saying that you had called anyone racist. I know that's not what you were saying and were making the point that there are other people in these situations too. It's NotI who I think is being ridiculous. I've got a newly mobile baby crawling and standing all over me so I'm a bit distracted I'm afraid!

Probably been said already but i worry about the effect of them breathing in chemicals all day.

OP and some of you saying that you wouldnt work there (on people's feet) is similar to some of these Asian women working in low skilled/low paid job as they'd rather do it than staying at home asking for unemployment benefit when you are completely well.

Please stop spreading this rubbish suggesting most people on benefits are scamming the system (it is regularly found that only around 1% are committing some sort of fraud). If you have ever been ill/disabled you will find that you regularly have to fill out a small dossier and provide ample evidence to the DWP and even then there is no guarantee you will be awarded anything.

I feel you felt that these women are being judged for the type of work they do. No one is judging them. I for one have admiration for the courage to leave their home country and live often times in bad conditions and vulnerable situations. This is not an excuse to reel off the usual uniformed 'benefit cheats' nonsense that is advocated by the Daily Fail.

I hope that more is done to help these women if they have been trafficked and thanks OP for an interesting and in no way racist discussion. And also to HelloKitty for her fascinating insights.

The OP is asking a perfectly valid question. Why on earth should she be accused of racism for asking it? If all the employees were redhaired women wearing kilts, wouldn't you ask why this was, too?

Disclaimer: I am Scottish so - before anybody jumps in - I am not resorting to lazy stereotyping...

Ratatatouille - good post.

Little off topic but any nail salon where the staff wear masks are generally using unsafe and cheap products that do not belong on nails. At the salon I go to masks are not worn and the lady who does my nails says they are not necessary when proper product is being used.

To be fair though, South East Asians in general are very fond of a face mask in just about every situation. Walking down the street they'll wear them because of pollution or dust, being in close proximity with anyone who might have cold or a virus they'll wear them. I don't doubt the chemicals they are exposed to are dodgy but they could be working with organic unicorn glitter and still wear a face mask.

Bitchqueen

I would imagine inhaling dust particles of anything on a regular basis is unhealthy.

Wearing a mask is a sensible precaution.

In the US studies have proven that the long term inhalation of the solvents causes lung problems, a lot of them develop what sounds like "smokers cough"

A lot of the Nail bars here are run as part of human trafficking rings, whereby the company offers to pay for illegal immigrants to come to the US, and then they can work off the debt.

yes good point just the dust from filing the acrylic tips etc alone would necessitate a mask I imagine.

Kursk but on what basis do they come in? I've no idea about the specifics for the UK, the US or Australia etc, but I can't imagine it's easy for anyone to just waltz in on a tourist visa from Vietnam without having to show that you have sufficient funds to self support, questions asked about where you are staying etc?

Surely if it's well known that they are probably illegal/trafficked why aren't the places being raided more often and shut down with the owners facing charges?

Legue, I would imagine that's where the trafficking gangs come in. They can probably find evidence to help, forge documents, temporarily deposit funds in an account to make someone appear solvent, coach them with details, provide addresses to give to immigration, booking and cancelling hotel stays etc.

As for why they're not raided. The black economy is huge and worth a lot to our economy. So efforts to stop it are not necessarily that sincere. Particularly those parts of it laundering money back into the legit economy. The UK is a hotbed of money laundering, especially via the property market.

Shops here in the South East all seem to be Thai, long established and same staff however they don't seem to want to speak English.

I remember reading about Vietnanese workers being exploited in New York. www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-nail-salons-pay-2m-ripping-workers-article-1.2629526

The ones in South West London seem to be all Vietnamese or Indian. Mostly Vietnamese. I have no doubt some are trafficked. But the one I use on my high street is likely legit. Owner speaks good English and has no problems with her staff engaging with customers in chit chat. Her staff are frequently are having lunch in high street cafes, shopping in Sainsburys. Surely they wouldn't allow trafficking victims such freedom. The 2 girls on student visas I mentioned earlier speak of their travels to visit family members living in France and Germany. Trafficking victims wouldnt normally be allowed to travel across borders unaccompanied i think.

I think there are some legit salons and some that are run by traffickers Fatdog.

The reason 50% of nail salons in the US (and 80% in California) are Vietnamese operated is because they were set up by refugees from the Vietnam War. Tippi Hedren visited lot of women in a refugee camp. She wanted to help them to be able to earn a living in the US- so she sent in typists and seamstresses to do training. As a lot of the women had been fascinated by her manicure, she also sent in her manicurist. Then she arranged for people to get jobs in salons in Hollywood/LA. And many of those original manicurists went on to have salons, run training schools and hand on family businesses. It was an attractive option, because you don't need much English to do manicures, so people could start earning quickly.

So the fact that there is an extensive legit Vietnamese network of manicurists (there are training schools that teach in dual languages- English and Vietnamese) must make salons an attractive cover for traffickers. If people are used to seeing South East Asian manicurists in legit salons, then they won't bat an eye at another salon staffed by South East Asians.

This is one of the most interesting thread I have read in a while. I have never been to a nail bar, and I had absolutely no idea that they are often a cover up for illegal activities.

babybarrister

It's very easy, they would apply for a student visa. The traffickers set up a fake school and provide all the documents that they would need for the visa.

The travel and enter legally, and then go to work and pay off the debt.