Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts

Vol. VI, No. 18      June 11-17, 2006      Quezon City, Philippines

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MIGRANT WATCH

From Saudi, With Tears

Stranded OFWs in shelters abroad write letters, not to the government, but to a migrant workers organization pleading for help. 

BY AUBREY MAKILAN
Bulatlat

Migrante International chair Connie Bragas-Regalado had been wearing her reading glasses, poring over several letters, her face all red. No, she was not blushing over a love letter. Her face was red with anger and she was gnashing her teeth as she read letters from stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Cases

On a table in front of Bragas-REgalado is a brown envelope containing letters from about 50 female OFWs secretly given to a Migrante member in KSA.

The letter-writers were staying at the Bahay Kalinga, a shelter in KSA for stranded and run-away OFWs. One gets an idea how the OFWs in the shelter share things no matter how little they have, as shown by the letters written by different people on the same kind of stationery or simple pad paper.

HELP US: Migrante International chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado pores over letters from Saudi-based, abused female OFWs staying at Bahay Kalinga

PHOTO BY AUBREY MAKILAN

The OFWs wrote about cases ranging from unfair labor practices to rape.  Some letters were like short profiles while others are in short bio-data form. Although the letters were dated April, Bragas-Regalado received the envelope only this May, when a fellow Filipino went home.

All letters have a common plead: “Sana po ay matulungan n’yo ako.” (I hope you could help me.) 

At the shelter

At the start, migrants may find the shelters their safe haven until they experience “life” there, said Bragas-Regalado.

In KSA, Bahay Kalinga can accommodate only a hundred people, she said. However, two weeks ago, Migrante learned from Maria Jinalyn Rejano, a rape victim staying in that shelter, that there were already about 300 stranded Filipino migrants there.

The letters started coming in after Migrante found out in 2004 that mobile phones of OFWs at the Kuwait shelter were confiscated by Embassy personnel.

Kukumpiskahin nila e ‘yun na nga lang ang paraan para maka-connect sila sa mga pamilya nila sa Pilipinas at malaman ang kondisyon nila,” (They confiscated the phones which were their only means of connecting with their families and telling them of their condition) said Bragas-Regalado.

When the group learned about this, they immediately wrote to Embassy officials in host countries confiscating mobile phones.

Although the confiscation stopped, she said that OFWs were allegedly told not to report anything, particularly to Migrante.

Siguro para di malaman na wala silang ginagawa,” she added. (They probably didn’t want anyone to know that they’re not doing anything.)

But instead of being thankful, most wrote complaints about the inefficiency of government officials in Philippine embassies to act on their cases.

Bulok ang sistema ng emabahada dito (sic) ang trato sa amin ay parang preso (sic) kulang sa pagkain, tubig at personal na gamit (sic) maraming nagdo-donate na pagkain pero walang nakakarating sa amin at ibinubulsa ng nangangasiwa sa amin,” wrote Emma Manao. (The embassy’s system here useless. They treat us like prisoners, we lack food, water and personal needs.  There were many food donations but none reaches us because it gets pocketed by the one who administrates over us.)

Manao’s contract was already finished, but although she already has her plane ticket, she still lacks travel documents and an exit visa.

No response

Whenever Migrante members based in other countries announce plans to go home to the Philippines, OFWs in different shelters in those countries would send letters for their families or for Migrante, telling them their condition and case status.

Based on these letters, Migrante would write the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) about the OFWs’ conditions at the shelter. Bragas-Regalado would meet with DFA officials and case officers to get updates on their reported cases.

Last May, they reported 38 cases of stranded OFWs but there was no response from the DFA as of this writing.

“Kung walang nagtitiyagang mag-follow up, walang mangyayari,” she said. (If nobody will follow it up, nothing will happen.)

Worse, Bragas-Regalado said they can only monitor those inside the shelters where only women were accomodated.

E pano na ‘yung mga lalaki, pakalat-kalat lang sila?” she said.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, OFW organizations under Migrante’s network have the “Bantay Konsulado.” This campaign evaluates the performance of the Philippine consulate in HK and exposes anomalies. Bulatlat

 

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