Just a few days ago I got an interesting email from a person in the Middle East. He had a Filipina employee (Domestic Helper) at his house. Somehow early this month she went missing. He was trying to reach out to the family of the employee here in the Philippines and he couldn’t get any response. He also tried to call and emailed the Philippine Embassy in his country and got no reply too. He also emailed the agency where the lady was associated with but got no acknowledgment from them too.
Here’s the email that I got. I just edited the name of the girl because I just don’t want to invade her privacy. Plus, I don’t really know the real reasons why she left her employer.
“Dear Feyma,wouid you please help me to contact any of my employee’s reletives,since she is missing. she worked as a house
domastic maid at my house in the Middle East. i tried to reach her family in philippines but in somehow i got you. for some reason i think you can help.”
So he was trying to find any relative or agency on the web and somehow he came across my name. So, he then emailed me and asked me if I could help him. He even gave me the passport number of the lady for me to search I guess. he didn’t really give me much information about the lady other than her name and her passport number. I then emailed him back of some array of questions.
Honestly some questions he might not be comfortable with. I just don’t know if the lady was treated well at his household. I’ve heard too many horror stories of the OFW in the Middle East. I told him that I really am sorry for my blunt questions. I don’t know if the lady really went away because she was abused or was she hurt by somebody in the household and was killed? I don’t really know. I was left with too many questions in my mind though. I really hope that the lady is okay. If she ever was abused to report to her agency or in the Philippine Embassy in the Middle East. To be honest I am really bothered by this email.
I know a lot of the ladies that worked as an OFW, some really suffered from the hands of their employers. It is painful to hear sometimes on the news on TV about it. What can we do? The problem is the ladies really just want to gamble their lives to work abroad because they can’t find job here in the Philippines. I really am feeling sorry for the kids they left behind here. I know it must be hard for them, but they will sacrifice to earn money so the kids can go to a better school and have a better life. I just hope that the kids and the family that was left behind can see the sacrifice of the loved one that worked so hard abroad.
Anyway, I hope that the lady that was missing is okay. I haven’t heard back from the person that emailed me. I will follow up on this and give you guys the update. If any of you had the similar situation when working abroad please share it to the group here.
Thank you so much guys!
Hello fema
There are some realy sad storys for philippinos and philippinas here
in Kuwait, but some time we just here about the bad there are alot of
kuwait people treat there employees well, my philippina wife worked in the kuwait home and she told me she was treated allright, and when
when I see some of the young philippina girls at the airport crying when they leave for vacation, I know they have bonded with there sponsers. However there are some that treat there maids inhumane.
Thanks
James
Feyma: The best way for him to find her is to contact the POEA liaison officer at the Philippine Embassy in the country where he is located. If she worked legally as an OFW, she was required to register through the agency accredited by the POEA, and they will know where she is (Assuming no foul play on the employer's part and that she wasn't killed by a robber or so on).
This assumes that she went overseas legally, on a valid visa, with a proper invitation. Many, many people do not go legally, however. If she absconded, she is most likely working nearby illegally, or has gotten to Kish, Muscat, or some other haven for swapping or extending visas. The note sounds like he is legitimately concerned for her welfare, and I hope that is the case. Because of Rebecca's past experience, I know most of the horror stories from that region of the world and there are many things that may have happened. Rape, robbery, abuse… Nearly all of the stories are true. There are also many instances of theft from employers and so on that are also true. She also may have simply gotten homesick and managed to return to the Philippines (Becky told me that her first year in Kuwait she was treated so poorly that all she wanted was to go home, money or no money… When they hold your passport, that becomes nearly impossible).
Good suggestions from John. I do hope the lady is safe and is found soon. I do find it a bit strange though that this person would email you and assume that you could help. I would think that email would be disturbing to receive.
If you know the agencies name, the POEA website lists all registered agencies and their status. Maybe look them up and call and explain the situation.
As for my thoughts, there is more to the story.
I don't have anything to say that would help in this situation. All I can say is that I'm so thankful that my gal (currently an OFW DH, but not much longer..YAY!) is in Hong Kong and has been treated well there. These kinds of situations really get to me.
Feyma – I hope the person gets back in touch with you with lots of good news. Even here in Michigan we see in the newspapers where someone gets caught having girls from other lands working as slaves. Everyone get a free trip to jail. Then the trip back to their homeland. I hope the girl is still alive.
This is the "Dear Feyma" column, so in salutation, allow me to address you as:
Dear Feyma:
Since you have not heard from the foreign employer again, but you have the purportedly missing OFW's name and passport number, you may be able to find out if the person has re-entered the Philippines by contacting the Philippine Bureau of Immigration. You also may be able to trace the Pinay's address in the Philippines for the purpose of contacting her relatives through the BI, if indeed she is missing, but I don't know if the BI would share such confidential information with you through email or by phone, if at all.
In any event, assuming that the story about the missing OFW is factual and there are no other complications to obscure the fact, it's a serious matter and should be referred ASAP to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay and let them handle it. Consular information, (632) 556-000; Trunk Line (632) 834-4000; address, 2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
In my opinion, the DFA alone has the ultimate responsibility for keeping track of Filipino citizens abroad and overseeing their welfare. It's not for a private citizen to be engaged in some wild goose chase overseas, particularly if someone's life may be in danger as we speak. However, since you had been unwillingly involved in this problem, you may, in a gesture of compassion, try to console the Pinay's loved ones once you have identified and located them, and let them know by snail mail that you have referred the matter to the appropriate Philippine officials and that they are doing everything they can to locate her.
We can't expect the foreign employer to do the reporting to the DFA-POEA himself as he may not be particularly savvy about which Philippine government agency is responsible for what situation, as clearly demonstrated by the fact that he contacted you instead. For all we know, he may be a lurker in LiP! LOL
Let's do the reporting to the appropriate Philippine government agency officials, instead of wasting any more time instructing the employer what to do, because time is of essence here. Another thing, the employer's non-response to your queries may suggest that all is well and the OFW has returned or had been found.
Lastly, are you free to divulge which Middle Eastern country this happened? If Kuwait, the last U.S. Consul General to have been posted at the American Embassy in Kuwait is a good, personal friend of mine, a FilAm, in fact, who is now a visiting professor in international relations at West Point. I can ask for pointers.
Although obviously he did not represent the interests of the Filipinos in Kuwait, nor did he try to intercede in their behalf in his official capacity as the U.S. ConGen there, he was known in the OFW community in Kuwait as a FilAm, and so was visited often by OFWs with their wide-ranging problems at Filipino social events away from the U.S. Embassy.
When my hon came back from Iraq she went to Singapore.
She was not even there several days. I can't imagine what they wanted her to do.
Now that she is at the Ramada in Doha, she has few problems.
I hope this lady is ok.
Hi Lloyd – You got that right it's shocking and disturbing. I am really thinking a lot of the lady now. A lot of things going my mind right now. And I am really hoping that she's okay since the employer didn't email me back.
I don't know what did he type on the search engine I am also really wondering how did my name come up on it. I even asked him that on my email to him.
Thank you for your comment and for stopping by!
Take care!
Hi rc – Thank you for your comment. Good to see you here!
Hi Edward Gary Wigle – Me too I am hoping for the best for the lady. I am still waiting from the employer. Hopefully he will email me soon.
Thank you for your support. Really good to hear from you again.
Take care!
Hi Feyma – Do you know anything new about this lady? I was just thinking about her. Hope all is well.
Best Regards,
Gary
Hi Edward Gary Wigle – Honestly I haven't heard back from the employer. Still waiting to hear from him. I emailed him again and got no reply.
Same as you I am thinking a lot of the lady. I am really hoping for the best for that lady.
Thank you for the reminder though. Good to see you again here!
Take care!
Hi
Im a british male having lived in Kuwait for more than 5 years.
I have interest in the phillipines as my girlfriend is in Davao.
I have police friends and a very good lawyer here.
If this girl was in Kuwait contact me and i can out the word out.
Hi Steve Wright – Thank you for your comment. The employer is not from the place you’re at. He is not responding to my email. I am hoping that the employer found the family here. I’ve email him so many times where is that girl from in the Philippines?
Thank you so much for stopping by here!
Why is it that email is not taken seriously in th Philippines or many other 3rd world countries? They need to wake up and realize email is the n 1 communication tool in every modern country.
Hi D.Harold – Welcome to the Philippines. Everything works slow here.
Thank you for your comment.