Quitting Kuwait: The tragic tales of repatriated OFWs

For many of the repatriated OFWs from Kuwait, coming home to the Philippines means being with their family again. Yet for Ana (not her real name), it also means moving on from a tragic past in a land she thought would fulfill her hopes of escaping poverty.

Arriving aboard flight GF154 on February 12, Ana was a picture of joy. Her fluffy fur jacket kept her warm from the numbing coldness at the arrival area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport-Terminal 1.

Yet underneath the warm blanket of cloth was a pained heart.

I asked the row behind Ana if anyone had experienced any form of abuse from their employers in Kuwait. Instead of hearing answers from the group, Ana volunteered herself. "Ako!" she told me in a cheerful voice.

As soon as the camera rolled, she lost her composure and sobbed like a child as she narrated how she was sold by a friend to became a sex slave to her employer in Kuwait.

"Binenta ako. Pinapirma nila ako ng katunayan na nakipag-boyfriend ako. Wala akong kilala sa Kuwait. Wala akong contact kahit sino. Gusto nilang lumabas na pag nagkaso ako labas sila. Wala akong magawa. Wala akong contact, anong gagawin ko?" Ana said. 

As if making her a sex slave was not, Ana was also a virtual punching bag of her employer, who she said was a drug addict. "Binugbog ako. Wala na siya sa sarili. Nag sha-shabu amo ko. Kami lang dalawa, wala akong magawa."  

Without having to ask more, Ana went on to tell me why she chose to be a sex slave than to fight for her liberty. "Gusto ko man lumaban, anong magagawa ko? Mayroong baril."

"Gusto ko magpakamatay"

Yet the most painful part for Ana was that it was a fellow Filipina who threw her to the lion's den. "Hindi ko matanggap, gusto kong magpakamatay. Yan ang totoo ngayon ko lang binulgar dito sa Pinas. Wala akong kakampi doon. Gusto ko magpakamatay sa sobrang lungkot, gusto kong magpakamatay. Hindi ko matanggap, binenta ako ng kapwa ko Pinay. Siya si Sarah yun lang natandaan ko."  

In between sobs and sighs, Ana told me she has already recovered from her sad experience abroad. She apologized several times for crying like a child in front of the camera. Looking at her as she passed through immigration, I doubted that she was okay. I asked her as I walked her out of the airport what coming home means to her. She said it gives her hope to be back in a country where everything is familiar. 

"Sana nakapagsimula ulit," she said. 

Sad stories

Ana is just one story told. For many of these OFWs, they have their own sad stories to tell.

Arriving hours earlier, Virginia Evangelista got to the Manila airport past 8 in the morning. Clad in a bolero and hat, she was more stylish than the rest of the group. She didn’t look like anywhere near a picture of distress. Yet just like many of the OFWs who chose to avail of the amnesty program of the Kuwaiti government, she also experienced maltreatment from her employer. 

"Isang beses ka lang sa isang araw kakain. Nasaktan, namura — lahat na. Di ko natiis kaya po ako nag-decide umuwi," Virginia said.

Virginia came home empty-handed. She confessed she was not able to save money while working overseas. Yet she came home brimming with love for her children waiting from her return. 

"Belle, Jileen, uuwi na mama nyo, magkakasama na tayo ulit," she said as tears began falling down her cheeks.  

Every day, more and more OFWs from Kuwait are arriving in the Philippines. On Friday, Lea Govinia arrived aboard Flight PR669 along with a hundred others. She told me she left for Kuwait only last January to work as a domestic helper but decided to run away from her employer just a month short of her stay .

"Kapag nagagalit siya pag nagluluto ako, pag hindi nya nagustuhan itatapon niya sa basurahan tapos sasabihin niya kainin mo doon sa basurahan. Wala kang choice kasi wala kang pagkain. Kakainin mo talaga," she said. 

Lea is a widow and sole provider for her nine-year-old daughter. She wouldn't want to leave her behind but poverty pushed her to try her luck far from the comforts of home. 

"Wala naman magandang trabaho sa Bacolod, hindi ako nakatapos ng college," she said.

Homesickness

Not all OFWs in Kuwait ended up with abusive employers, however. Others just wanted to go home to be with their family.

Enely Aquino, a native of Davao del Norte, has been away from her family for eight years now before deciding to come home. In those years, she never had once come home as she was saving every Kuwaiti Dinar she could. She later learned that her husband had an affair and ended up leaving their two children under the care of relatives. 

"Araw-araw po umiiyak. Gabi-gabi umiiyak po pero at least naka-survive naman 'yun dalawang anak ko. Gusto ko nang umuwi pero wala akong magawa kasi para makaaral mga anak ko at mabigay ko kailangan nilang suporta bilang ina," she said.

Enely told me she didnt regret leaving her family for eight years. After all, she was able to send her children to school. As she counted the hours before she sees and holds her children again, she said she is just thankful that she is finally home. 

"Anak, nandito na mama niyo. Sa tagal ng panahon na hindi tayo nagkikita at least binigyan pa tayo ng pagkakataon na magkasama ulit kahit na tatlo na lang tayo," Enely said. 

Even with these stories of heartaches and pain, many are still hopeful to find their luck in the tiny, yet oil-rich country of Kuwait.

I met Cecille Biljot at the MMML Recruitment Agency in Manila. She told me how for months, she has been hoping to go to Kuwait to work as a domestic helper.

I then asked her why go to Kuwait when recently an OFW in the person of Joanna Demafelis was found dead inside a freezer in an abandoned house in Kuwait. Cecille said, "Kahit naman dito sa Pilipinas may mga among ganyan. Swertehan na lang talaga, dasal na lang."

Now 2 top destination

With a many others hopeful to find better employment in Kuwait, the Philippine Association of Agencies for Kuwait (PHILAAK) fears many would fall for the bait and take their chances with an illegal recruiter. 

"Dadami victims ng illegal recuriter kung gusto pumunta ng Kuwait. Hindi naman sila mapipigilan mapa-domestic or skilled," PHILAAK President Amanda Araneta said. 

According to Araneta, some 5,000 Kuwait visas are now on hold following the government decision to ban the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait. 

"Nahaharap kami sa malaking problema. May visa na kami with contract, kulang lang ng OEC (Overseas Employment Contract)," she said. 

Based on PHILAAK data, Kuwait is the number 2 top destination of agency recruits in recent years. In 2016 some 60,000 OFW left for Kuwait with almost 80 percent working as domestic helpers.

As of latest figures from OWWA, there are some 251,000 documented OFWs in Kuwait — 163,000 of which or more than half are domestic helpers. 
At any given time there are about 200 to 300 distressed OFWs housed in a shelter in Kuwait who are receving free accommodation and food. OWWA Adminstrator Hans Leo Cacdac said Kuwait's amnesty program is the best way for distressed and overstaying OFWs to come back to the Philippines.

As the Philippine government makes a bold move following the annoucement of a total deployment ban to Kuwait, OWWA believes it is time to revisit existing recruitment process in the Philippines.

"Hindi ito paramihan ng pinapadala kundi dapat siguradong handa, dapat properly matched sa employer na disente at dapat may malinaw na kaparusahan kapag ang recruitment agency ay lumabag sa mga patakaran,” Cacdac said. 

No more Joanna Demafelis

The Philippine Government hopes to prevent another Joanna Demafelis from happening. Yet the responsibility to ensure the safety of our OFWs goes beyond our own borders. Cacdac said, "Dapat nga magkaroon ng pag-uusap between Philippines and Kuwait kasi ang responsibilidad ng pagbibigay ng proteksyon sa ating OFWs ay nasa Philippine government pero may papel di na kailangan gampanan ang Kuwait."

Demafelis is just one sad story of an OFW from Kuwait. As more and more OFWs come back home each day through the amnesty program, a lot more stories remain untold. They may have different reasons for coming home, yet they all share the same hope that one day working overseas and leaving their family behind would no longer be a necessity but merely a choice. —KBK, GMA News

Bernadette Reyes is a Senior Correspondent and Anchor for GMA Network Inc.