The often extralegal existence of domestic workers, the prioritization of Saudi employers, and the correspondingly ad-hoc legal verdicts, are particularly pronounced characteristics of this case. Nafeek has been awaiting an official response to her request for clemency since 2007. In November, Sri Lankan officials traveled to Saudi Arabia to ask Rafeek’s former employers for forgiveness in accordance with Saudi’s pardoning laws. But allegedly false accounts of the delegation’s work made by a Sri Lankan parliament member may have Jeopardized Nafeek’s prospects. Shaik Faisal al Otaibi, leader of the Othibi tribe to which Nafeek’s former employers belong, threatened Nafeek’s case will be impacted by the MP’s suggestion that the Othibi tribe has more than one leader. Furthermore, Otaibi claims the Sri Lankan delegation lied about the current circumstances of Nafeeks case, as neither the tribe nor the Saudi government has indicated Nafeek will be released. The leader, who was appointed by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, is demanding an apology.

Saudi Arabia’s legal policy towards migrants is volatile to the detriment of these workers, as well as to the groups and governments working on their behalf. However, if Otaibi’s claims are true, the Sri Lankan government must also accept responsibility; whether the delegation truly deceived the Sri Lankan parliament and public, or whether the delegation clumsily mishandled their assignment, the government did not act with the swift resolution that Nafeek so desperately needs. Faith in the Sri Lankan government’s mission has been meager since its outset.

Rizana’s situation reflects the wider relationship existing between Saudi Arabia and migrant-exporting nations, in which migrant-exporters often approach legal cases and permanent policy change with timidity in fear of disrupting the important economic bond. Otaibi’s suggestion that the “false words” of the MP will ruin both Rizana’s case and the Saudi-Sri Lanka relationship demonstrates the convoluted, exponentially weaker position of migrant workers fated to the Saudi legal system.

Lebanon witnessed two cases of suicide last week alone. The blog Ethiopian Suicides catalogs many Ethiopian deaths in Lebanon as the country possesses a large Ethiopian population, as well as a dismal record of migrant rights. Both cases involved a Lebanese domestic worker hanging herself in an employer’s home – almost certainly the source of their misery.

Another Ethiopian woman hung herself in her sponsor’s home in Saudi Arabia, where paltry workers rights and neglected conditions also have a history of pushing maids to commit suicide. Police are investigating the incident according to routine procedure, though the causes of suicide are generally standard themselves – as are the effectively nonexistent punishment for abusive employers.

In Kuwait, where disregard for the plight of domestic workers appears normalized, a woman unsuccessfully attempted to overdose with items from employer’s house. Police investigations have again commenced to determine the woman’s motivation – as if the reasons for her agony could be separated from the life that sponsors almost entirely dictate and create. Another domestic worker attempted to commit suicide in her sponsor’s home as well, but was ‘thwarted’ by police, who then proceeded to interrogate her.

These suicides and suicide attempts come amidst promises for substantive legal change made by many countries; Kuwait agreed to increase the minimum wage for domestic workers, Saudi has promised more protections for its workers, and Lebanon’s minister announced the Kafala system’s forthcoming abolishment. Whether these agreements affect the lives of domestic workers and mitigate the conditions that preempt suicide – or whether they are lost into abyss of broken treaties and pacts – will, at least tangentially, be measured by this year’s suicide rate.

Last week, DoLE chief Rosalinda Baldoz announced that they have agreed with the Lebanese govt. and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) stipulating provisions that will provide protection to deployed Filipino domestic workers in its bid to lift the ban imposed by the PH govt.

Simultaneously, with the signing of a bilateral agreement with the Lebanese, the Philippine and Saudi governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is expected to end the ban hiring Filipino domestic workers that was imposed by the Saudi govt. last year.

‘We came to know specific to PH-Saudi agreement on hiring Filipino domestic workers that the host govt. acceded on the minimum wage of $400/month, a weekly day-off, holiday time totaling to 30 days, and free ticket for the OFW upon completion of her contract,” Monterona noted.

Though, Monterona welcomed the above stipulated provisions of the PH-Saudi agreement, he said ‘the many cases of abuses and rampant labor malpractices were never thoroughly given much attention and serious consideration.’

“The effectiveness of these agreements with the Saudi and Lebanese governments hosting thousands of Filipino domestic workers cannot be determined in the absence of mechanisms of enforcement of what were stipulated in the agreements or MoU,” Monterona opined.

Monterona added the passage and ratification of legislation or local laws in adherence to international labor standards providing protection to migrant workers, including domestic workers, accompanied by specific implementing rules and regulations by the host governments are still desired.

“Protection of Filipino migrant workers is not simply a matter of signing off a MoU between the PH and the host governments; it is more of how to seriously implement the stipulated agreements care of the host governments by passing local laws that would guarantee migrant rights and their protection,” Monterona ended. # # #

Written:

John Leonard Monterona

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator

OFW Carlo Dayrit Jose, in his late forties, has been imprisoned in Jaw prison, Bahrain’s central jail. He was convicted on the murder of OFW Maricel Garduque in 2000 after a heated argument broke out between them resulting in the woman’s killing.

As per court records, in the same year he has also been diagnosed with Psychological schizophrenia.

According to Bahrain’s Daily Tribune news reporter Mr. Roberto Carillo, OFW Jose is currently ‘the only Filipino to ever receive a life sentence from a Bahraini Court.’ Mr. Carillo conveyed OFW Jose’s pleading for assistance to John Leonard Monterona, Saudi-based Migrante-ME leader.

“I was informed that in 2010, OFW Jose obtained a letter of forgiveness from the mother of the victim in the Philippines and this was forwarded to the Royal court for appropriate action but until now nothing happened,” said John Leonard Monterona, M-ME regional coordinator.

Monterona said OFW Jose has been expecting that he will be released then since he obtained a written forgiveness from the kin of the aggrieved family by virtue of a Royal pardon which the Bahraini Royal family grants every year.

Speaking to Daily Tribune’s Carillo, OFW Jose said, “Almost two years and ten pardons have already passed since the forgiveness letter has been given to the Royal Court. Every time, my hopes are up that I will be included in the distribution of the royal pardons.”

Monterona calls on the Aquino III administration through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the PH embassy in Bahrain, and to Vice President Jejomar Binay, presidential adviser on OFWs concerns, to attend and closely follow the application of OFW Jose’s inclusion in the upcoming Royal pardon.

“We came to know that the Bahrain Royal family will issue a pardon this coming February 14, 2012. We are more than happy to see OFW Jose be included in the February 14 pardon grant by the Bahrain Royal family and eventually be released from prison and reunite with his family in the Philippines to start a new life,” Monterona added.

OFW Jose sent us an open letter, as stated below, which he hopes would reach His Majesty the King of Bahrain.

Your Majesty,

My name is Carlo Dayrit Jose, a Filipino national with CPR number 640538720 sentenced to life imprisonment in May 28, 2002 by the higher criminal court for the unpremeditated murder of my fellow Filipino Ms. Maricel Garduque. However, on April 26, 2010 I obtained a letter of forgiveness from the mother of the deceased, Mrs. Norma Garduque which was duly authenticated by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.

On October 18, 2010, the Philippine Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Her Excellency Ma. Corazon Yap-Bahjin met personally the Minister for the Royal Court, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and handed the original letter of forgiveness.

The Minister told the Ambassador that he will forward the letter of forgiveness to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Your Majesty, numerous amnesties have already (pardoning of inmates) were given by your esteemed office since Ambassador Bahjin handed my letter of forgiveness to the Royal Court. As of this writing, I am still under incarceration.

Your Majesty, please, I am appealing to you to consider my letter. May almighty God bless you with good health and long life. Thank you.

Written by:

John Leonard Monterona

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator

After months of negotiation, Saudi assented to these demands in an accord signed in Manilla. The agreement stipulated a minimum wage of $400//month, a weekly day off, holiday time totaling thirty days, and a free ticket for migrants to return to their home country. The accord also targets several of the most prevalent abuses, rendering it illegal to withhold maids’ passports, to treat them poorly, or to force them to work in multiple households.

While legal protections for domestic workers is a significant achievement in the Gulf region, the effect of the agreement cannot be determined until Saudi’s commitments are ratified in legislation and mechanisms of enforcement are implemented.

The article is written from the perspective of a Saudi employer who, after years of consciously avoiding the entanglement of profiteering and corruption that characterizes the foreign domestic service market, finally gives in to temptation and initiates his quest for a foreign maid. The introduction gives the impression that the author is primarily concerned with contributing to an enterprise indifferent to the exploitative conditions it begets. But when speaking of corruption and exploitation, the author almost exclusively refers to the victimization of Saudi employers.

He explains his own encounters as well as those of others. For his part, he claims to have been blackmailed by the employment office. He expresses his outrage that such a crime could happen under the watchful eye of the relevant embassies – the embassies that largely fail to regulate these same agencies even with the well-being of their own citizens at risk. He continues with anecdotes from his acquaintances, from news articles (we must assume), and hearsay from the grapevine; this includes nefarious scheming on the part of maids, who cooperate with agencies in pretending to be experienced with housework, and to be “good” for three months – the period an employment agency remains legally responsible for her work. It is presented as wholly conceivable that a maid could “pretend” to be experienced for three entire months without her employer realizing she is unskilled at ironing, washing dishes, etc. He describes a semi-theoretical, generalized trajectory of a maid’s behavior: She is swell and docile for three to four months, fulfilling all of her obligations (even though in truth she does not possesses the applicable skills and is in fact hoodwinking her employer), and then she suddenly undergoes a tremendous change – she’s rude, she can no longer cook, she can no longer launder – she may even abscond.

The author does admit that both the rights of maids and Saudi employers are violated by employment agency tactics. There is certainly truth to this statement, as agencies are notorious for their largely unregulated behavior. Saudi employers do have the right to be upset when they are swindled out of their own money. However, the suggestion of a large-scale conspiracy between migrant workers and these agencies is unbelievable and dangerous; the notion that the average maid would want to abscond from steady employment in a non-abusive household to return home, after the extraordinarily arduous process of immigration, where the prospect of employment is significantly lower – all for for a one time-sum, is difficult to fathom. The author also recounts the story of a friend whose maid absconded, but was later found working in the employment agency’s office. Certainly possible in one instance – but absolutely implausible as the systematic practice the author suggests. Similarly, the author’s other notion that thieving migrants abscond after their three month commitment only to obtain new passports and work permits to continue bamboozling Suadis nationwide is preposterous given that the legitimate documentation process is difficult enough, not to mention the severe penalties illegal migrants, as well as absconding migrants, face.

Perhaps the article is not devious in its intention, but its effect is to support the misperception of foreign domestic workers in the Gulf. Such pieces encourage suspicion towards maids, exacerbating the already tense relationship that exists between so many migrants and their sponsors. Furthermore, it designates migrants as the principal problem while relegating the stories of abuse, slavery, and exploitation to mere stereotypes used to hide the somehow more perturbing manipulation of Gulf employers. It overshadows the darker experiences of domestic workers, who are subject to the invisible sphere of the home and often excluded from labor legislation, with a narrative that centers on economics – rather than human rights.

While migrant workers are not the only victims in the foreign domestic service complex, they are the most seriously affected. This article only adds to the myriad of irresponsible pieces that trivialize migrant abuse in the Gulf.

The ranking was framed around the HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey, which polls expats across 100 countries regarding their “ability to befriend locals, success in learning the language, integration into the community and ease of fitting into the local culture,” as well as personal economics, raising children, and overall experience.

Emirates and expatriates living in the UAE, shared their thoughts over the new label on twitter; critics and sympathizers alike used the hashtag #UAEFriendly to express their defense of the UAE, or of the article’s findings. Given the relatively limited access to internet by the average migrant worker in labor or domestic fields, the overall response is likely dominated by mid-to-upper class white collar migrant workers.

The UAE’s The National ran a feature criticizing the article’s methods and conclusion, but the response again appeared to only address top-tier expats, rather than migrants from undeveloped countries – who aren’t afforded the protections and courtesies that come with high paying employment and reliable consulates.

While some of the ranking criteria have their weaknesses, the polling questions do pinpoint an important aspect of migrant wellbeing: the social integration or marginalization of non-citizens. Marginalization is the precursor and the enabler of iniquitous labor laws, including the disparate standards of employment safety, maximum working hours, and minimum wage for citizens and migrants (or in the case of domestic workers – hardly any standards at all). The ‘unfriendly’ designation, while subjective, is consistent with a recent study that found 25% of Emirati migrant workers are clinically depressed.

Read a lively discussion which includes commentary from migrants across the socio-economic spectrum here.

In the first case, the Indonesian Consulate fell into its old habits - failing to intervene in the woman’s case until she had been sentenced death. In receiving no representation or even translation services throughout her trial, Mesi binti Dama Idon underwent a lonely journey in a foreign legal system that had disappeared so many migrants before her. While Indonesia ultimately secured her freedom, the unnerving, lengthy process could have been avoided if litigation assistance was provided from the trial’s commencement.

Migrant Care executive director Anis Hidayah has criticized Indonesia’s modus operandi in the past, most recently telling The Jakarta Post that:

Almost all the workers who have avoided beheading in Saudi Arabia had undergone a very long and arduous legal battle. Some of them had actually been imprisoned for more than 10 years [before having their sentences commuted].”

But in what may represent an incremental improvement in the full assumption of responsibility to its overseas citizens, the Indonesian task force provided Neneng Sunengsih with a lawyer, who was able to persuade the courts that there was not enough evidence to convict her. Migrants accused of similar crimes in Saudi Arabia are often sentenced to death.

The task force alo announced that seven other Indonesian citizens will soon receive pardons from the King. While Indonesia’s ad-hoc policy is problematic in that it avoids comprehensive legislation changes in Saudi Arabia, these efforts may designate a shift towards more assertive diplomacy.

Police investigators indentified the OFW as Nidzmar Bahjin. According to her kin, she is supposed to return to Manila from Bahrain last Tuesday on board Gulf Air flight GF156, which is expected to arrive 4pm from Manama, Bahrain.

“We condemn her brutal killing. Only a person with no conscience but with a highly criminal mind can do it to her putting even her cold dead body inside her own suitcase,” declared John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator.

He said the killing is quite alarming as it underscore the need to tighten the security not only at the NAIA airports but also in others around the country.

“The OFW’s brutal killing happened under a lax security measure provided by the NAIA security personnel and the deputized members of the Philippine National Police (PNP),” Monterona added.

He said NAIA or other airports must be placed on a high security alert or measures. “This should not be waived or relaxed.”

Monterona also urges the formation of a composite taskforce composed of PNP investigators and NAIA security personnel to probe deeply on the OFW’s killing and a manhunt against the killer or killers must be conducted.

“We will more than be happy to see OFW Bahjin killer rot inside prison cell. Only then, we could say justice is attained,” Monterona concluded.

Written by:
John Leonard Monterona
Migrante Middle East regional coordinator
migranteme@gmail.com