Pinoys Cry Abuse in Saudi Crackdown

Thirty Filipino workers who were expelled from Saudi Arabia and returned home on Monday alleged that they were abused during the crackdown, Gma news online report said.

Domestic helper Amor Roxas said “They treated us like animals,” as she burst in tears narrating her ordeal.

Roxas said Saudi police rounded them up and placed them in a crowded cell for four days before they were paraded from the immigration center to the airport.

“Our feet were chained,” added Yvonne Montefeo, 32, in between sobs.

The Saudi Arabian embassy officials in Manila refused to comment on the allegation.

Migrante International, a support group for Filipino overseas workers, said that about 1,700 other workers remained stranded in Jeddah waiting for their documents to be processed so they can return home while about 5,000 more were scattered in Riyadh, Al Khobar and Dammam and also needing consular assistance.

Reports said it warned that the Filipinos “are in danger of being violently dispersed, arrested and detained by Saudi authorities” as the kingdom implements its crackdown. The Filipinos are among tens of thousands of mostly Asian unskilled workers likely to be expelled, the Migrante said.

Gma news online reported Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is also presidential adviser on migrant affairs, last week appealed to the Saudi government to extend its deadline, noting that “thousands are still hoping to correct their employment status.”

“Due to the large number of Filipino workers seeking correction of their employment status, many of them may not be able to meet the Nov 3 deadline,” VP Binay said in a letter to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud last week.

The crackdown started early this year, but the Saudi government offered an amnesty to allow the workers to legalize their stay, Gma news online said.

The Vice President said more than 4,000 Filipinos had been repatriated since the crackdown was announced, while 1,716 are waiting for their exit documents to be processed even as the deadline expired Sunday.

Reports said about a tenth of the Philippines’ population live and work abroad, and their dollar remittances are a vital pillar of the economy. Majority of them work as unskilled laborers or helpers, and are exposed to situations where they are prone to abuse.

The thirty OFW who arrived were among an estimated 6,700 Filipino workers stranded in parts of the oil-rich Middle Eastern kingdom where an amnesty for undocumented foreigners ended over the weekend, Gma news online reported.

2 OFWs in Hot Water

Meanwhile, another overseas Filipino Worker is in hot water in Saudi Arabia after allegedly stealing a car worth SR420,000 (around P4.8 million).

Hussein Abdain, an OFW of 10 years from Lamitan, Basilan, may lose a hand over the alleged theft, Gma news online reported.

Amnesty International said punishment by amputation is enforced in Saudi Arabia for some crimes, including theft, where those convicted have their right hands cut off, Gma news online report said.

Reports said one month into Abdain’s incarceration, his family in Basilan has yet to receive correspondence from him. Even appealing with the Department of Foreign Affairs – Zamboanga through a councilor in Lamitan, failed to produce results.

DFA Sec. Raul Hernandez, in a message sent after the report was aired, said that the department is confirming details of Abdain’s case and verifying DFA-Zamboanga’s alleged lack of response, Gma news online reported.

Reports said the alleged crime adds to the troubles of the DFA and VP Binay, who are currently appealing for another migrant Filipino’s life.

Moreover, Joselito Zapanta, another OFW in Saudi Arabia, may face execution, after the Philippine government failed to raise sufficient funds for the blood money demanded by the family of a Sudanese national Zapanta had killed, Gma news online said.

The deadline on November 3, was the second extension given by the Saudi government for Zapanta to pay the blood money, Gma news online report said.

Source: Gma news online