Pinay maid in UAE flees after employer cancels visa

A Filipina domestic helper in the United Arab Emirates "escaped" from her flight back to the Philippines, supposedly after her employer failed to pay her some Dh2,300 (P26,831) in salary dues. The Filipina said her employer booked a flight for her back home and had her residence visa canceled at the airport, news site Gulf News reported Sunday. She was arrested at Dubai Airport while trying to travel to Kish Island to obtain another employment visa. While she said the sponsor promised to send her money in monthly instalments, she was not convinced he would keep his promise. "I was not convinced as he did not give me my money while I'm here; so how will he send me my money to my home country?" said the Filipina, who was identified in the report only as Jesusa. Jesusa added she had worked for the Emirati's family in Dubai for more than two years. At the airport, she said she did not go to the passport control counters after her visa was canceled. "When I saw the sponsor left the place I also left the airport and I went to my friends' house in Dubai, then after that I went to stay with other friends in Ajman," she said. She said she wanted her money before going home because she is a mother and has to support her family. But she was arrested at the airport while trying to travel to Kish Island to get an employment visa. "It seems my sponsor came to know that I did not go to my country and he filed [an] absconding case against me," Jesusa told Gulf News from the Al Aweer deportation jail. Lt. Col. Khalaf Al Gaith, assistant director general for illegals and foreigners' affairs, said Jesusa did an illegal act, adding she was not supposed to enter the country again from the airport. "She should have complained to our dispute office at the residency department and we could have helped her," he said. Al Gaith said Jesusa will be transferred to public prosecutor and court. "We will call the sponsor to investigate the case and if he had paid her salary or not," Al Gaith  said. — LBG, GMA News