Dfa Said It Is Still Awaiting Notification From Kuwaiti Authorities About The Arrest Of The Employers Of Joanna

Duterte, who had earlier warned of pulling Filipinos out of Kuwait amid reports of deaths and abuses of OFWs, made the directive following the death of household service worker Joanna Demafelis, who was found in a freezer. The DFA said Tuesday it is still awaiting notification from Kuwaiti authorities about the arrest of the employers of Joanna. “The embassy is awaiting formal notification from Kuwaiti authorities who are the ones taking the lead role in the efforts to locate and apprehend the two and have them repatriated to Kuwait,” a DFA statement said.

The murder of Joanna has triggered outrage but the estimated 252,000 Filipinos already working in Kuwait must weigh their fear of sharing her fate against the potential loss of vital income for their families. Many have relatives back home who depend on remittances to survive, and some say they are forced to choose between their own wellbeing and that of their children. A Filipina who works in a beauty parlor in downtown Kuwait City said she has been working since 2013 to support her five children who live in the Philippines.

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Despite being rattled by news of her compatriot’s murder, the 40-year-old said going home was not an option. “I need the money,” she said. “My eldest son is in university studying business administration. It’s expensive, and there’s no way I would have been able to afford it if I had stayed in my country.” “I was truly afraid — but actually because I want to stay here to make sure my children graduate from school,” she said without disclosing her name. “But if the government asks me to leave, I will have no choice but to comply.” Sources said, like many others, her fate — and that of her children — now lies in the hands of diplomats, as the crisis between the two countries deepens. Kuwait, whose image was dealt a serious blow, offered an amnesty to illegal workers wanting to fly back home. But Human Rights Watch has warned the new Philippine ban would likely trigger a wave of unregulated labor migration, exposing thousands to an even greater risk of abuse.

Some plan to lobby the Philippines’ Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to lift Duterte’s ban, at least for skilled workers whose status in Kuwait is not tied to a single family under the “kafala” (sponsorship) system.

Mohammed Al-Humaidi, director of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, said his group regularly receives calls for help from Filipinas with abusive employers. “While we have a deal with a legal bureau which represents workers and maids in court, the unfortunate reality is that many calls for help do not even reach us,” he said. The head of Kuwait’s parliamentary Human Rights Committee, Adel Damkhi, says the judiciary does not discriminate when it comes to crimes in Kuwait. “There have been several horrific incidents on both sides, but crimes committed by Kuwaitis are more prominent in the media than crimes committed by the maids,” Damkhi said. Damkhi called the murder of Joanna “a heinous crime.” — news.abs.cbnglobalnation. inquirer,thestandard.com.ph

SOURCE : ARABTIMES

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