This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 3, Feb. 18-24, 2007
MIGRANT WATCH
Just to earn money for
education, family
With nine screws placed in her
left foot and two big screws in her spinal column, Carmelita Lagata, a domestic
helper in Kuwait, was teary-eyed relating the pain she had to endure after an
accident while running away from her employer. She even had to fend for herself
during those trying times as the government failed to look after her welfare. BY
AUBREY SC MAKILAN With nine screws placed in
her left foot and two big screws in her spinal column, Carmelita Lagata, a
domestic helper in Kuwait, was teary-eyed relating the pain she had to endure
after an accident while running away from her employer whom she felt had evil
intentions on her. To make things worse, she had to fend for herself during
those trying times. To earn money Lagata, now 26, stopped
schooling when she was still a freshman at the Jose Rizal University (JRU) in
Kalentong, Mandaluyong. In order to help her mother who is a fish vendor and her
diabetic father, and later save money for her education, she worked as a
domestic helper in Singapore from 2001 to 2004. With a monthly salary of
320 Singaporean dollars (about P12,000 or $249.48 based on an exchange rate of
P48.10 per US dollar), she sent almost P8,000 ($166.32) monthly to her family.
After her contract, she
went home and learned that her remittance was not properly spent as her family
failed to invest her hard-earned money. “Pero ayos lang kasi nakatulong naman
(ako) sa mga gastusin.” (But it’s okay since I helped in the expenses.) So young and full of
ambition, Lagata applied for another overseas job at the Non-Stop Overseas
Employment Corp. in Ermita, Manila. She was surprised when she got a job order
only after three weeks. Domestic helper for sale On Nov. 26, 2004, Lagata
went to Kuwait and worked as a domestic helper. But when she was already there,
Ishakani Agency, the counterpart of Non-Stop agency there, told her that her
contract from the Philippines will be replaced with another one. With the new
contract, she would earn only $150 instead of $200 and would do all the
household chores instead of just taking care of a 10-year old child specified in
the original contract. Left with no choice, she
accepted the terms of the new contract. Though her employers were relatively
kind, she had difficulty dealing with her another Filipina maid. She said that
she could not stand working with her without talking to her. Lagata said that
her colleague refused to talk to her. After eight months of
trying to endure working with her colleague, Lagata ran away from her first
employer and went to the Philippine Embassy there. After a day at the embassy,
she was taken by her agency, Ishakani, and was sent to Qssin Hussin Agency.
In one and a half months
with Qssin Hussin, she was asked to work for various employers. The agency would
sell her to an employer for 10 Kuwait Dinar (KWD) for five days. But she
complained she was never paid. After some time, she and
another Filipina finally got an employer who paid for her visa. With the second employer,
she said that “halos hayop ang turing sa amin kapag may sumpong.” (We
were treated like animals whenever they have tantrums.) When they are not seen
working on the first floor of the house, she said her female employer would
curse them while yelling, saying they are being paid to work. The two of them
received 45 KWD monthly. After almost nine months of
working, her fellow Filipina maid planned to ran away when she got pregnant.
Knowing her employer would take her anger out on her if she remained, Lagata ran
away too. With no salary for about
two months, Lagata and her fellow maid sought refuge at the embassy penniless.
Though she wanted to go home already, her employer refused to give her passport. Lagata was taken from the
embassy by a different agency, Salwa. At the latter, Lagata met her employer who
physically hurt her when she tried to get her documents. Again, she was peddled by
the third agency to various employers for her trial period. After working for
three houses still with no salary, she got her third employer. With the latter,
she worked from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. for a monthly salary of 45 KWD. She was
only allowed to eat once a day every 9:00 p.m. Aside from household
chores, she also took care of her employers’ one-year and two-month old child.
At 1 a.m. of Oct. 6 when her employers were both out of the house, she left her
door open so that she could hear if the child was awake. While she was lying on
her bed, she sensed her male employer enter her room and for no reason stood
there for a few minutes. Afraid that he has bad
intentions on her, Lagata did not sleep until the break of dawn and she tried
escaping from her employers whom she served for about three months. With all the doors locked,
she jumped from the balcony of the house which she said could be likened to the
second or third floor in height. She was unable to stand after breaking her
spine and left foot. Her male employer brought
her to the Al Mubarak hospital where she had an x-ray. Her operation was done at
the Al Razi hospital. Nine screws were put in her left foot and two big screws
in her broken spine. In her one-month stay there, she spent two days at the
intensive care unit (ICU). While at the Al Mubarak hospital, a representative
from the Philippine Embassy visited her once while her employers did so only
twice. After a month, she was
transferred to the Physical Medicine Rehabilitation (PMR). She used to complain about
her numbing foot and painful back. At times when she cannot stand the pain and
cry, she said that PMR personnel would only tell her to stop crying because her
operation was long over. In one-and- half months
there, she said that hospital personnel would only sit her to a wheelchair but
she will do things on her own. Government neglect With a borrowed cellphone
from a fellow Filipina, she would text embassy personnel but she did not receive
any response. After learning about her condition through her text message, her
mother wrote local officials informing her pitiful situation. After that, Lagata
said, the embassy personnel visited her again but only interviewed her just like
the first visit. After a month and a half,
she was discharged from PMR. With no embassy personnel to help her, she said she
was taken by the police for investigation. At that time, Gil Librea,
who after experiencing inhuman working conditions as a factory worker in Taiwan
decided to work in Kuwait, was at the embassy to inform the irregularities in
his travel and work documents. There, he learned of Lagata’s condition. Librea
and a Filipino friend Dodong Ombina visited last Dec.
29 Lagata at the Rumiathiya police station. Though she has not fully
recovered and still uses a stick to walk, she was detained with no clear charges
filed against her. Inside the cell of 13 detainees she met two other Filipinas,
Rowelyn Monilla and Laila Haiden,. After 27
days in prison, she was picked up by embassy representatives after the police
informed them of her status. Lagata said that Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) personnel there thought she has been
deported. But Lagata lamented, “humihingi ako ng tulong hindi nila ako
iniintindi, ewan ko kung bakit.” (I asked for help but I was ignored. I
don’t know why.) While she was housed at the
OWWA shelter, she cannot understand how the OWWA refused a group of Bicolano
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) willing to provide her airfare. In a month at the OWWA, she
complained they were given food she described “parang pagkain ng baboy.” (Just
like food for pigs) They were fed rice was either uncooked or with too much
water, monggo soup with just a few beans, and chicken-bones crumb. She
also said that there was no free coffee so they would just skip breakfast.
Sometimes, they would ask
Librea to bring them anything to eat. Librea would then bring rice, fruits,
chicken, coffee and sugar whenever he visits them at the OWWA. Librea who acts
as the Migrante International coordinator in Kuwait was not allowed to see the
stranded OFWs. “Hanggang labas lang
siya,” Lagata said. “Pinapagalitan nga ako pag ako lagi ang hinahanap ni
Gil. Bakit daw ako nagsusumbong sa Migrante. Kung magsusumbong daw ako, ‘yung
totoo lang sasabihin ko.” (He can only stay outside. I am even scolded if
Gil would come looking for me. They ask why I confide to Migrante. If I were to
confide to it, I was asked to speak only the truth.) On Nov. 28, Lagata was
scheduled to have a spine check up but she said OWWA officials would only tell
her, “mamaya lang,” (later) until the day was over and she missed already
it. Lagata, however, did not
file charges against anyone because she wanted to go home already. “Ayoko
nang tumagal pa ‘dun,” (I do not want to stay there longer.) said Lagata. Seeing that nothing was
happening to her condition, she thought about allowing another arrest by the
police that would lead to her deportation. She finally got her passport after
texting her employer that she was at the embassy. She expressed her desire to go
home without charging anyone for what happened to her. Back to the Philippines She arrived at the
Philippines on Feb. 15. Migrante International volunteers accompanied her from
the airport to the OWWA office. Initially, Lagata only
wanted her unpaid salary of five months and the return of her personal
belongings. Jonathan Panlilio, Migrante
International case officer, said their records show hundreds of illegal
recruitment cases against Lagata’s recruitment agency. He added that its license
has been cancelled a long time ago but based on the government website at URL
www.pia.gov.ph, Non-stop Overseas Employment Corp. was issued a license by
the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) from March 2, 2003 to
March 1, 2007. Though the agency expressed
willingness to bring Lagata to the Orthopedic Hospital for her check up,
Panlilio said that Migrante will file charges against Non-Stop agency for
illegal recruitment. He added that administrative cases will be filed against
POEA officials. Not an answer Until now, Lagata’s foot is
still swollen and her back is still aching. While at Migrante’s shelter with her
mother, Carmelita most of the time spent the day lying down recalling her bitter
experience in Kuwait. “Sa totoo lang, napakaraming (stranded) OFW sa
embassy,” she said. “ni-rape sila, binenta, binugbog. Ganun sila kahayop
dun.” (There are many stranded OFWs at the embassy. They were raped, sold,
beaten up. They were treated like animals.) Panlilio said that the new
POEA policy, setting the age limit of aspiring domestic workers to 23 years old
and imposing additional training, would not stop the abuses against OFWs. Citing two cases ─ Lucenda
Guston, 35, an illegal recruitment victim who died last Dec 28 allegedly of
gastroenteritis due to severe dehydration in Bahrain and Loida Agrehales, 25,
who arrived in the country on Feb. 12 after she was raped in Dubai ─ Panlilio
said that abuses could not be stopped by setting stricter age limits and even
paying for additional training. Panlilio criticized OWWA
deputy administrator Adam Musa’s statement that they don’t rescue OFWs from
their employers, especially in the Middle East which he said, “iba daw
kalakaran.” (The system is different there.) “Bilang representante ng
embahada, responsibilidad nilang pangalagaan ang OFWs, dapat tugunan ang mga
pangangailangan lalo kung mga inabuso na,” said Panlilio while citing that
Migrante members were the ones who rescued Agrehales. (As representatives of the
embassy, it is their responsibility to take care of OFWs. They should address
their needs especially if they were abused.) Bulatlat © 2007 Bulatlat
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OFW in Kuwait Goes Home
almost Paralyzed
Bulatlat