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

“It is prudent for the Aquino administration to seriously put a break in peddling Filipino workers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), amid the still volatile peace and order situation in this part of world,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator.

Monterona noted that Middle-East and North African countries are considered, for the past 10 years, as fertile labor market frontier by past administrations and even by the present Aquino III govt.

He said there are five middle-east countries making on the overall top ten destinations of Filipino workers such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. There are also a considerable numbers of OFWs in Iraq and Syria.

While in North Africa, there are large concentrations of OFWs in Libya and Egypt, both were besieged of political upheavals last year; both countries peace and order situation is still volatile.

Monterona noted on Friday, January 27, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car near a funeral procession in southeastern Baghdad killing at least 32 people in the latest brazen attacked since the US troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The incident prompted Philippine Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario to travel Sunday to Iraq ‘to assess the security and safety of the Filipinos in light of the reported escalating violence.’

“Massive buildup of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt has also been noted, while in Syria violence continued. There is fear that the Iran conflict will escalate amid economic sanctions imposed by the Western countries lead by the US and European countries,” Monterona noted.

Monterona said the current political events in some MENA countries should be treated as revealing ‘signs of the time’ that could not anymore qualify these countries as fertile labor market frontiers. ‘Thus, the Aquino III govt. must shun peddling OFWs in MENA countries; instead it must focus creating local jobs with decent pay and benefits.”

“It is high time for the Philippines to develop and have its own vibrant local industries it could rely on –first, by nationalizing its basic industries, and secondly, genuinely implement agrarian reform with support services and technological know-how to develop our agrarian-based economy which will serve as a reliable economic backbone of the emerging Philippines,” Monterona ended. # # #

Written by:

John Leonard Monterona

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator

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.

The indefinite detention of illegal migrants dispossesses asylum seekers from their basic rights, including the right to trial as well as to timely deportation. The law only requires a review of detention within seven days, and once again every three years. Any crime committed by migrant workers – from graffiti to weapons possession – is grounds for detainment. This default criminalization of migrants and the terms of their detention contradict several international treaties. Mandated periodic reviews that are years apart fail to mitigate these abuses.

The amendment adds to the growing body of legislation targeting migrants, which includes a five to fifteen year prison sentence for individuals aiding or sheltering illegal migrants. The brute response to migrants is entangled in Israel’s ambiguous, ad-hoc refugee process which broadly condemns assylum seekers as economic profiteers; to date, less than 200 asylum seekers have been granted refuge status. Israel has failed to uphold its obligations as a signatory to the Convention on the Status of Refugees, which requires nations to implement substantive assylum law.

The Knesset’s heavy-handed approach to migration is driven by, and itself perpetuates, this misperception of migrant; statements by the Knesset members and citizens alike manufacture a disasterous image of Israel’s future if refugee migration is sustained, stoking fears in the hopes of justifying draconian and discriminatory laws.

The debate over asylum seekers is particularly intense in Israel as many of its own citizens are refugees from Europe. Israeli communities and international organizations have strongly voiced their discontent with the law; a homegrown initiative called STOP the Infiltration Prevention Law Campaign produced an awareness video featured on Care2.com’s politic’s cause page. See the video and responses from other Israeli NGOs here. Amnesty international also condemned the law in a public statement here.

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator and Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS – Brotherhood in the Middle East) spokesman John Leonard Monterona said the repatriation efforts of the concerned PH government agencies is still wanting after almost a year of conflict in war-torn Syria.

Monterona, citing official data from the Department of Foreign Affairs, noted as of 2nd week of December, there were about 300 OFWs were repatriated from Syria. “This is translated to about 1.7% out of the 17,000 estimated numbers of OFWs in Syria.”

“We would also note that the recall of PH Ambassador to Syria Wilfredo Cuyugan hasn’t made a difference who was replaced by Amb. Ricardo Endaya, who is, according to the DFA, more experienced in govt. repatriation efforts,” Monterona averred.

Monterona added that PH government failed to solve the constrains confronting the govt. repatriation efforts or at least find ways to effect an efficient and economical repatriation program for OFWs caught in war-torn Syria.

“For one, the PH govt. agencies failed to convince the employers of legally deployed OFWs, though their number is too small compared to undocumented OFWs, to let them go out of Syria by issuing a corresponding exit visas,” Monterona citing this as one of the constraints affecting the govt. repatriation efforts.

As to the case of around 13,000 to 15,000 undocumented OFWs in Syria, Monterona said the PH govt. could have early send a high-level delegation to diplomatically request and arrange with the Syrian authorities the mass repatriation of OFWs citing humanitarian consideration amid the escalation of conflict feared to be on a brink of a civil war.

Monterona also cited the PH embassy officials’ failure to accurately assess the political situation in Syria. “There could be no timely and efficient repatriation effort by the PH govt. if in the first place there was a misreading of the peace and order situation in Syria when the conflict had just erupted and even ‘til now.”

Monterona also noted the PH govt. itself often cited lack or unavailability of funds or the bureaucratic constraint in releasing the funds as hindrance to an efficient repatriation program.

“The bureaucratic process in releasing the evacuation and repatriation funds must be rationalized, streamlined in recognition of the urgent need to secure the safety and well being of our OFWs in war-torn countries,” Monterona suggested.

Monterona urges the Department of Foreign Affairs to review its alert-level classifications and its corresponding advisories and be more proactive in its evacuation and repatriation program.

“The Egyptian uprising, the Libya turmoil, and the current upheavals in Syria must teach PH govt. agencies useful lessons in developing an effective and efficient evacuation and repatriation blue print,” Monterona concluded.

Written by:

John Leonard Monterona
Migrante Middle East regional coordinator
Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan (KGS) Spokesperson

Two recent articles approach the role of Christianity and Islam in shaping migrant rights, in both social and legal spheres. One piece details global migrant discussions at the World Council of Churches conference in Beiruit, which attracted migrants and migrant leaders from across the world. Themes contributors emphasized centered on the importance of inclusiveness in religious communities, as well as the use of religious space to promote multiculturism and equality.

An article featured in The National lays out an Islamic approach to foreign workers’ rights. The theological perspective highlights the roles of “justice, equality, safety, security, and human dignity” in Islam, concepts precursory to true labor justice. It also notes the disparities between the sponsorship system and Islam, offering potential resolutions with Islamic finance principles that balance the rights of employers and employees.

Both pieces focus not only on religious principles that support fair treatment of migrant workers, but on the community-based activism that religious groups should pursue. While religion is certainly not the only ethical guide, nor the only form of organization, it is an exceptionally comprehensive social apparatus that can potentially wield widespread influence in support of migrant rights.

The whereabouts of another ex-Gaddafi servant interviewed in June are unknown. The man escaped to Sudan after falling victim to Skaf’s favored method of torture; In addition to a boiling-water bath and forced sleep deprivation, the backs of his hands were ironed by Skaf’s guards. The man, unnamed in the article, last expressed his intention to petition the new Libyan government for compensation.

WIth his lens, Chancel captures the Gulf’s theoretical ‘underside’, the part so visible yet so often excluded from the glossy magazine features and brochures. Read more about his experiences in the UAE and see pieces of his work here.

Rizana was originally sentenced in 2007 for the murder of her employer’s baby. Rizana maintained the baby choked to death, but Saudi’s discriminatory legal system likely rendered her defense futile. Critics chastise the Sri Lankan government for failing to provide Rizana with legal aid throughout her prosecution and only intervening after her conviction. Sri Lanka is rushing to stay her imminent execution in a delegation set to meet with officials in Riyadh. Rizana’s parents will reportedly join Sri Lankan representatives to appeal for their daughter’s life. NGOs have also weighed in to pressure the Saudi government; the Asian Human Right’s Comission (AHRC) has illustrated the critical importance of activist organizations in filling the void of bungling governments, spending over $30,000 to defend Rizana when Sri Lanka would not.

Sri Lanka claims that the execution has been suspended, despite any official announcement from the Saudi government. Rizana’s fate may ultimately depend upon Sri Lanka’s adherence to Saudi law rather than any efforts to reprehend their legal practices; in past cases, only the victim’s family could pardon the sentenced party. The Sri Lankan government has offered the Saudi parents financial compensation to ‘encourage’ their forgiveness.

The Saudi government does not release the schedule of its executions, indefinitely sustaining musings over Rizana’s future; whether Rizana becomes another casualty of craven governments, the recipient of subsidized reprieve, or the herald of a new era for migrant rights, are aftereffects secondary to her physical well-being, but nonetheless significant.

Read Time‘s coverage of Rizana’s case here.

Update: The Sri Lankan delegation, which included Rizana’ s parents, arrived in Riyadh Tuesday.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first between Nafeek and her parents following her death sentence on June 16, 2007.

The Sri Lankan government officials described the situation as “a delicate affair.”

“Take me home,” Nafeek cried when she met father Mohammed and mother Rifana at a Dawadmi jail. The trio embraced each other.

Read the full story here.