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Travel anywhere in the wealthy world—to North America, Europe or the Middle East—and you will soon find people from the Philippines. You may not actually see them, because many work in menial or invisible jobs, often in hotels and restaurants—positions where travelers scarcely notice them. So common are Filipina women as maids and nannies that the word Filipina has become the generic Italian term for a woman domestic. In the worst cases, as in the Middle East, Filipino people suffer real degradation.