ABSTRACT
Velma, one of the research participants and founder of the Latin American “undocumented” women’s group Mujeres Sin Rostro, summarizes her life as an “undocumented” domestic worker with these words. As with the other women in my sample, Velma came to Berlin with the expectation of developing herself professionally and intellectually. Velma describes herself as a restless, active and unconventional person, driven by the aim of intervening politically and making herself heard when she perceives injustice. She told me that since her thirteenth birthday she has been involved in political organizing. First against the Pinochet regime, causing her family, particularly her father, some trouble as he was afraid his daughter would be detained by the police. Second, in Berlin she saw the need to fi ght for her rights and the legalization of “undocumented” migrant workers.
