Just the other day, my kuya told me about a Filipina DH in the Middle East who was raped and videotaped by her employer’s son. The worse part of it was that she was even passed to all of her rapist’s sadist friends. My initial reaction was, “Buti na lang naka-uwi pa siya (Thank goodness she even got home).” Then my kuya said, “Hindi pa nga eh. Hindi pa nga alam kung nasa’n siya eh (Nope she hasn’t come home yet. They don’t even know where she is).”
From PCIJ:
Top Ten OFW Destinations (New Hires)
Saudi Arabia 64,971
Japan 38,756
Taiwan 34,346
UAE 33,861
Kuwait 24,861
Qatar 17,669
Hong Kong 17,624
Lebanon 13,176
Korea 6,916
Bahrain 4,814
As you can see, the stats say that Japan and primarily the Middle East countries top the destinations where we send our Pinays to work (supposedly) for money they couldn’t earn here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Japan and our country is still in the middle of a long-standing battle: COMFORT WOMEN. PM Abe doesn’t even recognize the fact that his countrymen raped and killed our women during the WWII. And yet, we keep sending our women, primarily, to work for them as entertainers or helpers.
The Middle East countries are an even bigger source of headache for us. We know what’s been going there: Pinay DHs being raped, being maltreated, not given any pay, and even the Pinoys are given the same treatment. We know of the lives of our kababayans who died or was killed, we even had movies made in honor of these people, but we just keep on letting our people go there and be killed almost willingly.
It’s such a sad reality that some people must and should leave the country in order to support their families in this way; be it that these people are walking blindly into an unforeseen tragedy or blessing specifically designed for them. We sympathize and even admire these people for braving the unknown, but what the government can do for them is to make more of an effort to protect their rights and their lives while they work their asses off for their loved ones.
I agree with a lot of what Pedestrian Observer said but seeing as our politicians can do all talk and no apparent action is just damn wrong. They do it for publicity and that’s sick. Where’s the public service in all of that? I guess the people who work for POEA or whoever maybe doing something to ensure our OFWs’ safety, but again, could it be possible that they are working too slow?
9 Comments
August 13, 2007 at 7:28 am
I think the politicians are only counting the USD dollars coming in…
August 14, 2007 at 1:57 am
I’m glad you agree with some of the points I raised regarding the governments thrust to export our people.
Sadly it seems that our government would rather be the biggest exporter of our people and not give our people enough information vital to the individuals decision to go forward with working in a condition that is really dangerous.
Disclosure should play a major part in the recruiting process and as such the need to gather data on the destination country regarding their score on human trafficking, maltreatment, abuse (physical & emotional), witholding of passports, and non-payment of wages which in itself is a major labor criminal offense in civilized parts of the world.
August 14, 2007 at 5:02 am
Sidney:
that seems to be the case. actually, economy isn’t getting better nor is the unemployment rate getting any lower. it’s all thanks to these people and their USDs.
August 14, 2007 at 5:03 am
Political Jaywalker:
Kapit sa patalim…that’s what’s going on here. sad but true.
August 15, 2007 at 6:45 am
In my own opinion, the government lacks political will/power to petition against these injustices. Political will in a sense, since no one in his right political mind would endanger his/her career by petitioning for a nameless person on the other side of the globe in which, that country is a “stable” trading partner of the Philippines, and if which it blooms to an international event, that country, in turn will cut ties with the Philippines and would cause a economic fall-out of the business sector concerned with that country. If not cut ties, enforce strict laws that would harm the products produced by Filipinos.
Political power/power plays, the Philippines has no bargaining power against these countries who we deal with, and to further comment on this, I remember a comic strip in the Daily Inquirer, specifically Pugad Baboy commenting on an expats comment about a raped Filipina, “If you hadn’t come here in the middle east, you wouldn’t have been raped”. And to think, a Filipino politician agreed with the sick comment of this expat! Sick it may sound but this is sad case of us Filipinos.
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August 15, 2007 at 11:15 pm
On the other side of the fence, I think Japan is also still in denial that they were ever involved in WWII to begin with.
August 16, 2007 at 11:18 am
Sargi:
totally off topic pero ang taba mo na talaga.
August 16, 2007 at 11:20 am
volume addict:
know about the rape of nanking? i think its in china. they did a horrible thing there too but up until now they dont want to accept their part in that. animals.
August 16, 2007 at 11:52 am
Well its not that off topic. And yes I got fat and been trying to get thin again.