New Rules For Hiring Maids: Take It Or Leave It

"If the Philippines can pioneer  unshackling this evil bondage through its very own, the world will be on its feet, then other third-world countries will likely follow suit."

It is as easy as one plus one - if you cannot protect your guest workers then do not invite them to come over. The same is said of the Saudi government's seemingly desperate attempt to get Philippine counterpart to have a change of heart towards the latter's stance on the hiring of Filipino domestic helpers. This early, the Philippine government has stiffened its conditions set on hiring of domestic helpers - which the Saudi government finds absurd - because the prerequisites set by the labor-exporting country do not conform to the whims of the indolent and masochistic culture existent in the Saudi society.

In order for a Saudi family to acquire rights to hire a Filipina domestic helper, the Philippine government sets forth the following criteria:  The basic salary of the worker should be pegged at SR.1,500 - lower than that is deemed illegal and unacceptable. The head of the family should have at least a monthly basic salary of SR.9,000. - to ensure he is capable of paying his 'servant' (the term they label their household helper). And the prospective employer should attach a detailed map of his residence, for easy access of their whereabouts should an abuse is committed against their worker. If you see, the rules constitute protection of the worker but what the Saudi government fears about is that - its citizens are not yet ready to be bound by such rules.

Obviously if the Philippine government holds firm to its stake, the rampant abuses of Filipino domestic helpers in Saudi Arabia will be a thing of the past. And that is what their Saudi counterpart is keen to neutralize - in their favor. If this is the best way to teach Saudis a lesson - moral and diplomatic that is - then the Philippine government should remain firm to its advocacy.

If human rights wathcdogs will have their say,  Saudi Arabia will always be classified as a dangerous country for unskilled workers where there is no assurance of protection given to them . Most of them are household workers who exist at the mercies of their employers. Countless of documented and undocumented cases of abuses happen everyday in all corners of this country. They're lucky if they get to find way to escape from their abusive employers. Some of them have also found their ends here. Scores or sometimes hundreds of these distressed workers crowd temporary shelters inside Consulate in Jeddah and embassy in Riyadh awaiting months or years before being repatriated. And the bad news is - government's fund is slowly drying up for the cost of their subsistence and repatriation.

Acting the role of 'good and desirable' hosts, the Saudi government is not slow to sweet-lemonize the standoff between two governments saying there are domestic helpers from other countries waiting in large numbers offering their services to their nationals. There you go! If so, why bother to get Philippine officials to a dialogue hoping the rules set by them could be bent in mutual favor? The truth is, simple and fair the rules may sound, yet they are not willing to comply with it because they cannot guarantee the safety and protection of the worker inside a Saudi household.

How servants are being treated by them? In most instances, a servant is being enslaved by the whole clan. Her 24-hour day to day existence is offered to her masters. She is on-call even at the most unlikely of hours. She does not take offdays. After she finishes her work in her master's house, she is also being offfered  to serve in another house with the consent of her master. If she is thought to be pretty, she will be locked up in the bathroom by the wife before the husband comes. She could even end up a sex-slave by her male masters. If her masters are also monsters she could get a battering everyday. Even kids join the orgy by showering her with their spittle. ( I don't stereotype all Saudis, but my over a decade of stay in Saudi Arabia could attest to real stories of this kind, they're aplenty you would regret arguing with me.)

If the Philippine government plays its card smartly, I don't think this development is a bane to overseas employment for our household workers. Given that Filipinos are still the most preferred household workers for obvious reasons, good Saudis with penchant for quality skills possessed by Filipinos will be unperturbed by the rules. But those majority that raises the alarm are those inclined to be abusive, financially constraint and wanting  only to 'possess' a slave to flaunt to their ilks. If they cannot afford to give decent pay to their 'slaves' then it's about time that they move their asses off and wake up from their couch and start to declog their arteries because 'owning' a slave comes with responsibilities...and risks.

The astronomical cases of abuses to domestic helpers in general across the Arabian peninsula has been at the forefront of human rights groups' agenda all over the world. Various media and independent entities have documented the atrocities done to these poor individuals and how abusive employers get the luxuries of not being prosecuted for their crimes. From Lebanon and Jordan to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, records of abuses and deaths are dizzying that calls to end this modern-day slavery are mounting. If the Philippines can pioneer  unshackling this evil bondage through its very own, the world will be on its feet, then other third-world countries will likely follow suit. And if this trade persists to exist, it is because better reforms have been put in place. Now I put my stake on the strength of the Philippines' stand. If they stay firm (which I still beg to doubt), then it's about time to bid abusers goodbye, or one more time, "take it or leave it"!

And She Duly Lost Her Cause

"As long as there remain barbaric and sex maniac Arab employers, there will be no dearth of abused victims being raped and murdered."

Just like any domestic helper working  in the Middle East content with a dirt cheap salary, she did not wish to be rich, she just wanted to feed her loved ones, send her kids  to school and help her old parents.  Asria Samad Abdul  a typical housewife, frail and wrinkled by poverty, became a symbol of a failed struggle by hapless domestic helpers in their pursuit of a better life.. She hailed from Maguindanao, the third poorest province in the Philippines,  famous for its two group of people - the bestial and powerful billionaire Ampatuan clans and the poorest of the poor in the land.

In her struggle to escape untold of poverty, Asria Samad landed a job in Kuwait as a domestic helper. Not surprisingly, her employers maltreated her by starving and beating her - enough reason that she fled from them. The next phase of her precarious adventure would later prove to be her last gasp off the noose. The Kuwaiti couple who subsequently took her in had ferociously feasted on her on a daily basis by subjecting her to extreme physical abuse. The indescribable cruelties she suffered from their hands rendered her weaker each day that they decided to throw her in the desert. Asria was too weak but alive when the evil Kuwaiti couple run her over three times to make it appear that she was a victim of a hit and run. (So that proves that even the fiercest soul-less criminals can sometimes be the most stupid too.) Convinced that they got rid of her, they must be celebrating when police was able to track them down. Thursday, July 15 when the body of Asria was found near a horse stables in Kabad, a desert area. But the sleuths did not buy the idea that it was a case of hit and run when only her eyes were without  bruises.

In retrospect, a three-man team of solons led by Rep. Carlos Padilla went  to the Middle East in November last year on a fact-finding mission to see first hand the conditions of OFWs especially the domestic helpers. On their five-city tour that consisted of Riyadh, Jeddah, Amman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, they got to interview some runaway domestic helpers housed in those shelters and every one of them had a unanimous recommendation to the government, to put a stop to the deployment of domestic helpers in the Middle East. Each distressed runaway had the saddest story to tell them, that they came up with a strong consensus that it was about time the Philippine government  act on it.

The recommendation from the three solons would have gained ground, because there was no bilateral agreements that existed between Middle East countries and the Philippines, insofar as protection of migrant Filipino workers is concerned. Section 4 of the Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act of 1995 says, that there must have existing social and labor laws protecting the rights of migrant workers. Rep. Padilla would later hit the government on this, because it keeps on violating its own laws when it cannot ensure the protection of Filipino migrant workers yet aggressive in its  labor export policy.

Another compelling reason according to Padilla why the government has to put an end to the deployment of domestic helpers to the Middle East is, the cost of repatriation of distressed OFWs is too high that it could even cause bankruptcy to the OWWA. It is a fact then that the economy is not projected to suffer (or will not be affected at all) if the government pushes through with the complete ban.

So here we go. If the government is incapable of protecting its exported workers, why not stop exporting the most vulnerable? We know and the government knows that the DHs are the most susceptible to being trafficked, oppressed and abused by their employers. Not to mention those being raped and murdered by their sex maniac employers. I really wanted to hear success stories by our compatriots who worked as domestic helpers to give a bit of rationale (of continually exporting them),  but I could not find one. If there were few in the list, what was the ratio against those who were beaten, starved, raped and went home dead?

Media reports and Human Rights organizations certify that the Middle East is the most dangerous place for domestic helpers. Sans seers and oracles, countless cases of abuses and deaths don't see its end coming in the near future, because the trend is there to stay. So what else are we waiting for? It's a shame that the government has spent more time brainstorming ( as to the new title bestowed on our exported compatriots ) than deciding on their greater good. Hallelujah to them that sit on their thrones for protecting the dignity of our domestic helpers (by upgrading their title)!  Now we can legally and respectfully call them Household Service Workers or HSW and not DH anymore. But here in the Middle East? They will be eternally referred to as "Kadamat" or "Alila" or Servant.

It's still current in my memory how my older sister recounted to me the indignation she suffered at the hands of her recruiter from Bacolod City.  She was offered initially to work in the palace (kuno) for the Sheikhas of Qatar. She was very ecstatic then at the prospect of working in a palace. But when her documents were completed (minus the  ticket), she was told that her profile was liked by a very rich family in Lebanon and that they had no option but to send her to them. "In Lebanon you will be treated with the experience of a lifetime where you can literally walk on the snow, whereas in Qatar, you will  not be allowed to go to the mall nor remove your abayah, you will be a virtual prisoner inside the palace." (They now equated Qatar to hell.) All of us resisted the idea because of reports on some Filipino domestic helpers falling from buildings in Lebanon (like meteorites),  and widespread abuses of domestic helpers, (as evident in the embassy's crowded shelter housing hundreds of distressed runaway). When my sister decided to back out, she was made to pay for the ice cream and lunch the recruiter had earlier ordered in addition to  mouthfuls of profanities. Thank God she did not push through to Lebanon as the war broke out the next year that led to repatriation of thousands of domestic helpers from Lebanon.

Despite  Filipino communities and several Human Rights groups urging the government  to immediately ban the export of domestic helpers in Kuwait in the aftermath of the twin brutal murders of  our compatriots last month, the Philippine government stresses that it is not  placing a ban on deployment of domestic helpers in Kuwait just yet. The DFA was even straightforward in its assessment that placing a ban on domestic helpers in Kuwait is not the solution. So that tells of the wimps in the government how ineffectual and useless are they. All  facts and figures are readily laid out on the table yet they still refuse to act with urgency. Earlier recommendation in November 2009 by the three solons of complete banning did not even stand a chance of deliberation in Congress until it just died in limbo.

We know for a fact that abuses and deaths of our compatriot domestic helpers will not stop unless there is a complete banning of their deployment in the Middle East. As long as there remain barbaric and sex maniac Arab employers, there will be no dearth of abused victims being raped and murdered. The bad news is -  abusive behaviors by these human species have been the way of life here in this part of the world and will never become outdated and it will thrive as long as they propagate. Another bad news is - their cravings for human preys will be satisfied by the enterprising DFA officials, in the form of a fragile poverty-stricken commodity called Filipina domestic helper. Since the government admits its inability to find resolution to the situation, expect that more cases of abuses and murders will fill our primetime appetite in the coming weeks or months, ominously signaling that Asria's cause will be nothing but a 'charge to experience - better luck next time' send - off advice by the Philippine government. Where is the dignity they are advocating when the recipient is already dead?

Housemaids in the Middle East - Their Grim Plight

"Some are fortunate and have become successful. Some are not that fortunate. And some have also met their ends here."

One blazing afternoon, as we arrived from work, a dabab (small pick-up truck) was parked in front of our apartment building. A black African man could be seen struggling to offload a decrepit airconditioner. There was no way he could do it by himself. He had three or four women in abayahs surrounding him, looking anxiously but obviously shy. I can guess what they were up to. "We have brand new neighbours again. This is not a beautiful sight to behold". I said to myself, and a little annoyed. This will certainly exacerbate our compounding problem of daily water shortages. "Our landlord is really one hell of greedy flesh and fats!"

As we got down, the African guy asked for help for which I willingly obliged. "Don't you have any men with you to help?" I asked the guy. One of the women did interject. "We are all women, six of us." She said in Filipino. "I am the only Filipina and the rest are Indonesians", she narrated. All of them work as housemaids for different employers, and that they're not allowed to stay in. So they had to rent an apartment.

For them to afford the rent of an apartment, these housemaids pool themselves so as to make it more economical. Usually, their number exceeds the capacity of an average 2-bedroom apartments. However, the downside with this kind of tenants is that, their status draws suspicion of them engaging in illegal activities.

Days and months have passed, our new neighbours next door virtually become non-existent. Very rarely I could chance upon any one of them- except when it's night time, their supposed duty hours. However it didn't take long, when on a number of occasions, I've noticed some suspicious- looking Arab guys outside of the lobby's main door waiting anxiously. As I opened the door, he seemed to look uneasy and agitated, but coyly headed straight to a familiar door. He must have waited for someone else to open the door for him.

Housemaids are conspicuous features in every Saudi household. They are considerably larger in number compared to workers you essentially see outside. Their profession falls under the unskilled category, hence lowly paid. Despite their low wages, their job basically entails round-the-clock errands for their masters. Not to mention, the harshest of conditions most of them are being subjected to.

Their sad plight has become daily staples in any local newspaper. In most cases, the abuses they suffered at the hands of their employers are horrifying. Jealous Saudi wives would resort to locking the maids up when it's time for their husbands to come home. And countless have been reported being raped by their employers and sometimes offered to their friends. The most horrifying of all, some of them die from extreme physical abuses and just being dumped alongside garbages, still their identities unknown.

Until now I am still bothered by one incident that made me chill to the bone. On May 13, 2009, when I boarded a taxi on my way to Jama, this Pakistani taxi driver named Abdulatif confided to me, that he had witnessed a kidnapping of a Filipina woman a day before. The alleged kidnapper was a Saudi in his mid 30s, whose car was a GMC black Chevrolet with plate no. 3769 HKA. According to him, he saw this Saudi man dragging one of these two Filipina women into his car, as one of them was hysterically screaming for help. He could even hear the cries of the kidnapped woman as the car zoomed.

One of the women then hailed this taxi and asked for help. She narrated how her companion was kidnapped while they were waiting for taxi. He then volunteered to take her to the Philippine Consulate but she adamantly refused. She further stressed that they do not have proper documents [which means they are illegal workers] and that they would surely be apprehended and brought for deportation. This woman also refused to report this case to the police for fear of the same. She however prayed that her friend was unharmed. But she felt so distressed that she wanted this taxi driver to help them but not in a way he suggested to her. She nonetheless left her cellphone number to him.

Once I got to the shop, I immediately called our Consulate and reported to them all necessary details about the kidnapping of a compatriot. I also gave them the cell number of Shiela for information. But once they (Consulate people) introduced themselves to her, she replied it's a wrong number. So, what makes the situation all the more complicated is that, the refusal to cooperate by the victims made these cases difficult to resolve. This has become a Catch-22 situation with no resolution in sight. Because if ever they wanted to report the matter to the police, they will surely be apprehended and deported. While if they just keep silent, they can still keep their jobs without fear of being jailed and their loved ones going hungry. But the thought of a missing friend who could have been raped and murdered, remains a constant nightmare haunting them.

I already did what I was supposed to do, and I was ready to put this experience behind me. But after 9days to be exact, as I was watching Balitang Middle East on TFC, there was a report on a dead body of a woman found in Makkah in an advanced state of decomposition, allegedly that of a Filipina. Her identity was still unknown, for her remains carried no identification, except that she resembled that of a Filipina. God forbid! "Could she be the one?" Whoever did this to that unfortunate soul, may he rot in hell!

This is just one true story from a multitude of lives living as expatriates in Saudi Arabia. Some are fortunate and have become successful. Some are not that fortunate. And some have also met their ends here. Not everyone who has dreamed of a greener pasture has found it. Sometimes, we even prefer not to tell our stories to our loved ones back home. Some stories that would make them worry about us. However sad it would be, we always tend to keep it to ourselves, because we don't want to lose focus from our goals.

To our less fortunate compatriots who work as housemaids, I fully understand why they have become what they are. They just want to live simple lives. Not wanting to enrich themselves, but to feed and send their kids to school is just their modest dream. Those who have absconded from their employers have their own stories to tell. And they had no choice but to fend for themselves through illegal means, and help their families get by.

As for my new neighbours next door, I could say they remain shy and aloof, very seldom to be seen-except when ushering some male guests that coincided with my routine. Surprisingly, after quite a time, a newborn baby has been added to their family, as the shrieks and cries of the innocent can be audibly heard. Does the landlord knows about this? Yes of course! As long as they pay the rent on time, it would be a non-issue. God bless the baby!