Author:
Publication: Riyadh Daily
Date: November 6, 2003
URL: http://www.riyadhdaily.com.sa/display_assay.php?id=38366
Riyadh...................................
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office
(POLO) of the Philippine Embassy is much busier these days than during
the other months of the year.
"It's during Ramadan when POLO receives
so many calls from dometic helpers (DHs) who have run away from their sponsors
and are seeking to be rescued. So, we are taken up by taking instructions
on how our drivers would pick them up to be brought to the Bahay Kalinga
or OWWA Center," Labor Attache Jainal Rasul Jr. told Riyadh Daily on Monday.
Since Ramadan started on Oct. 27,
some ten Filipino domestic helpers have sought sanctuary at the Bahay Kalinga,
which is slightly more than the nine recorded during the same period last
year.
"Ramadan is by tradition the month
when Filipino domestic helpers escape from their sponsors. They choose
to escape at this time because their sponsors are asleep during the day,
during which they could contact the POLO staff and request for assistance.
On ordinary months, many sponsors are normally strict and don't allow their
maids to get out of the house," Rasul said. He added that one reason why
DHs escape during Ramadan could also be due to pressure of work.
"During the day, the employers are
asleep but the children are awake. So, naturally they have to look after
them and provide whatever they need. At night, the children are asleep
but that's the time when the adults are awake. So, naturally the maids
have to tend to them and look after their needs," he said. He added that
they sleep at about 4 a.m. and wake up at six.
Rasul said that POLO is also busy
endorsing runaway DHs to the Center for Domestic Workers' Affairs (CDWA),
formerly Saudi Social Welfare Administration.
"On Monday alone, we endorsed four.
They are Lizaida Abdulhassan, Mrylin Santos, Nancy Pabico and Lolimar Dulce.
Santos may not go home since she is willing to work with another sponsor
while Dulce has requested to be given until Wednesday to decide whether
she should go home or not," he said. .......
