Migrante Int’l calls on gov’t to declare Sondos al-Qattan persona non grata

Militant pro-OFW group Migrante International on Thursday called on the government to blacklist Kuwaiti Instagram influencer Sondos al-Qattan from hiring Filipino workers and declare her persona non grata.

"Sondos is symptomatic of the long-standing impunity caused by the negligence of the government which is why Filipinos are continually being subjected to abuse and maltreatment," said Migrante Philippines chairperson Armando Hernando in a statement.

"The Duterte administration should all the more fulfill its promise of achieving justice for [Joanna] Demafelis and other abused and maltreated OFWs."

Samahan ng mga Domestic Helpers sa Gitnang Silangan (SANDIGAN) spokesperson Pinky Almano also called on OFWs to use the hashtags #SondosApologize and #SondosPersonaNonGrata on al-Qattan's social media "discredit and eliminate her influence."

"Huwag nating palampasin ang mga ganitong panghahamak sa mga OFW. Sama-sama tayong kumilos at isigaw, Stop modern-day slavery," Alamo concluded.

Another migrants rights group, Blas F. Ople Policy Center, condemned al-Qattan and called her the "ugly face of modern-day slavery and should be included in the POEA’s blacklist of abusive and undesirable foreign employers."

Several beauty brands have already dropped al-Qattan for her remarks on the new Kuwaiti law that aims to improve the conditions of Filipino domestic workers following the discovery of the dead body of a Filipina worker. — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News