by Raïssa Robles
This was what Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Brillantes told me when he was still a Department of Labor and Employment undersecretary.
He said this to explain why many Saudi employers treat Filipino domestic workers inhumanely and abusively, such as kicking, punching or branding them with a hot iron if they make mistakes or take daily baths; or working them half to death with little rest and food; or sexually abusing them.
I was shocked by his explanation. I could not use it of course because I was then writing for Saudi newspaper Riyadh Daily.
In recent days, amid an announced ban on recruitment of Filipino and Indonesian domestics imposed by the Saudi government starting yesterday July 2, I confirmed from two separate sources that what Brillantes told me years ago was true.
A Muslim ambassador recently shared this startling bit of info: Unknown to us Filipinos, the Saudi government used to stamp on passports of Filipino domestics being deployed to the Kingdom words in Arabic that stated what Brillantes had told me. That the bearer of the passport was a household worker whom the employer could treat in a sub-human manner. Like slaves.
The other instance of confirmation came from news reports following the Saudi government’s beheading of a female Indonesian domestic worker who repeatedly stabbed her Saudi employer to death in January last year after being berated constantly.
Saudi authorities had refused to give Indonesian diplomats access to Ruyati Binti Sapubi because they said she had already confessed to the crime. Indonesia tried to ask for clemency and a chance to defend her in court. But over a week ago, it learned from news reports her head had been chopped off with a sword.
The beheading prompted Salim Said, a former Indonesian diplomat-turned-political analyst, to state bluntly to Joe Cochraine, my fellow correspondent covering Jakarta for South China Morning Post:
In Saudi Arabia, they do not have a tradition of having maids or helpers – their ancient tradition is having slaves. So the mental attitude of their culture is treating their helpers and maids as if they are slaves.
Said even shared the information that when he was Indonesia’s ambassador to Prague, his embassy became a de facto shelter for runaway domestics whose Saudi employers were vacationing in the Czech Republic.
Indonesian maid Sumiati Binti Salan Mustapa, 23, had stab wounds, burns to her scalp and broken bones
The beheading had further inflamed Indonesians who were earlier enraged by the abuse that Sumiti Binti Salan Mustapa, 23, had suffered in the hands of her female employer.
Saudi’s ban on Indonesian domestics preempted a moratorium on their deployment that Indonesia said it would impose. Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at University of Indonesia, told Jakarta Globe he agreed with a ban because:
Migrant workers do not go abroad to commit crimes. If they do commit a crime, it must be because of the violent treatment they get from their employers.
In sharing these stories with you, I am not trying to denigrate the Saudis. I am trying to put their recent ban on Filipino and Indonesian maids in a wider context. And to say, no need to press the panic button and accede to Saudi’s request.
I find it very interesting that despite the previous government’s aggressive deployment of Filipinos overseas, it was loath to share statistics on the actual number of those currently deployed, including Filipino maids in the Kingdom.
According to a 2008 New York Times article, Saudi Arabia has around 1.5 million domestic workers, mainly from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Nepal. The bulk or from 600,000 to 900,000 were Indonesians. A recent news report put the number of Filipino domestics there between 200,000 and 300,000.
So you can see, Indonesian and Filipino household workers altogether account for over a million of the 1.5 million maids in the Kingdom.
You will notice that the Saudi government did not say it was sending home the existing maids there, but only freezing new hires.
Well-off Saudi families, including members of the royal family, cannot exist without their Indonesian and Filipino maids.
And that’s where back channel negotiations can be made, before any more beheadings are carried out. There are 216 Indonesians and at least eight Filipinos on death row there.
I remember that during the time of Labor Secretary Pat Sto. Tomas, she had this initiative where every legally deployed Filipina domestic was sent over to the Kingdom armed with a letter saying she was under the protection of the King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Personally, I have often felt that the Philippine government’s deployment of Filipina domestics to Saudi was tantamount to pimping them because the circumstances of their employment rendered them quite vulnerable to sexual and physical abuse.
joesphine garcia says
kaya marami tayong mga kababayan rin naabuso ng mga arabo dahil minsan takot sila, dito sa muscat oman,marami ako alam na kahit inaabuso ng amo, ayaw umalis takot sila,kahit alukin muna sila ng tulong para makaalis ayaw nila dahil sa sobrang takot nila.yan ang nakakalungkot, ang mahirap pa kapag nagkasakit ang isang housemaid nila bihira lang ang mga amo na tutulungan ka, minsan kahit pambili ng gamot di ka mabigyan,kung tutuusin nakalagay yan sa kontrata na shoulder ng mga employeer ang pampagamot, but karamihan di sila sumusunod,pabayaan ka nalang nila.pero may isa tayong kabbayan na natulungan ko kung paano nakauwi sa pinas.itong pinay nakita ko siya sa labas ng mall kasi pupunta ako sa kapatid ko, so nadaanan ko siya nakaupo at tanong ko kabayan bakit andito ka nakaupos sa labas at tanghaling tapat.sabi nya sa akin meron daw siya inaantay, sabi nya pupunta ako ng dr, pero wala daw siya pera kaya dumaan daw siya sa mall nagbakasakali na isanla ang kanyag relo,dahil inutusan lang siya ng amo nya na pumunta ng dr, pero kahit isang sentimo di siya bingyan, sobrang naawa ako sa kanya dahil namamaga na pala ang kanyang isang hita patungo sa paa nya.so ang ginawa ko bingyan ko siya ng 2,,000, sabi ko pumunta ka ng dr,at ibingay ko yong tel no ko sa kanya, kung sakali kailangan nya tulong ko tawagan lang nya ako.dahil naikwento nya sa akin na ang kanyang amo kahit daw halos di na siya makatayo, pilit pa rin siya pinapatrabaho.simula nagkita kami, after 3 days tumawag siya sa akin, na gusto daw nya tumakas kaso lang natatakot siya,nagkataon naman na malapit lang yong bahay na pinapasukan nya sa kapatid ko, kaya noong tumawag siya sa akin,ibingay ko ang tel no. ng kapatid ko sa kanya.sa totoo lang dito mahirap makialam sa mga ganoon sitwasyon dahil ikaw ang pagbabalingan ng kanilang employeer.kaya ang ginawa ng kapatid ko meron siya kilala na taxi driver yon ang pinasundo nya sa kababayan natin, tumakas siya sa kanyang employeer at pumunta sa phil embassy.kaya nagpapsalamt ako dhail nakauwi rin naman siya.dito naman sa muscat oman hindi naman tottally lahat na omani masasama ang ugali, meron pa naman natitira na ok.
joesphine garcia says
Ako ay nagtratrabaho dito sa muscat oman bilang isang dh, totoo yan ang sabi ng isa natin ka blogger, na kapag nagpakita ka na takot kawawain ka ng mga arabo, katulad sa naging sitwasyon ko dito, noong una palang ako nagtrabaho dito, di ko kasundo ang naging amo ko, but nagpaalam ako na aalis kahit di ko pa natatapos kontrata dahil sa sobrang hirap ng trabaho, ang sabi nya sa akin kailangan magbayad ako ng ginastos nila sa akin, para bigyan ako ng release but di ako pumayag sa amount na demand nya sa akin katwiran ko, nakapag one year naman ako sa kanila, nagsagutan kami, pero pinayagan naman ako na umalis sa kanila.ganoon lang ang mga muslim kailangan matapang ka at may bunganga ka sumagot sa kanila.dahil kapag alam nila na palaban ka takot din naman sila
raissa says
Ingat.
Dante C. Ortiz says
Thank you Raissa for all the news. After my submission, I shall attempt to be active in this forum.
nelson ongpauco says
sino ba ang sumasagot sa akin ikaw bato raissa. salamat na lang.sa bog mo..
nelson ongpauco says
hay !!! na adik na ako sa blog na ito napupuyat tuloy ako ,sabi nga ng asawa ko ay magandang outlet ng stress ito../…buti na lang by accident ay napasukan ko ang raissarobles .com..
raissa says
Uy.
Matulog naman kayo.
allan says
Being here in KSA for almost 21 years, countless news I heard and saw with my own eyes and also in an unfortunate circumstance, I saw my female neighbor from my city also a victim of an attempted rape by his male sponsor luckily she escaped and is now reunited with her family in the philippines.
Qadama,is the arabic word for slave or so I say DH and sadly it continues to this day alleged abuses made..I hope that our government will stop deploying in this part of the region countries that does not give protection on our lowly paid, abused and traumatised Pinay DH.
raissa says
I think there’s a deployment ban on maids to Saudi right now, but sadly, some Filipinos are still tempted to go illegal.
allan says
it should be a total ban on deployment here in the middle east if i may say so..there is a lot of other markets that our pinay DH can always go. the THING here is that there should be a government sponsored school like tesda for those kababayang pinay dh who are palnning to go abroad as dh to undergo a 6 months crash course FREE of charge.
And lastly, OUR GOVERNMENT should be firm in defending the RIGHTS of our DH and do not cower or be intimidated by those countries who abuse and exploit our kabayang DH. A LIFE of a person is more precious than the DOLLARS that our government receives…
raissa says
Ii think this is the first time in a long time that the government is not budging on the minimum salary of domestics.
casey mann says
This is my first time to go to your blog. I went here via a post about Supreme Court CJ @abs-cbnnews.com.
I just feel bad about the plight of our fellow pinoys working as DH in other countries. I am working here in China as a teacher. Recently, there are thousands of pinoy DH in mainland China. Mostly are overstaying in the country despite the knowledge of the strict policy of overstaying in the country. However, they always say Chinese employers have hearts.
raissa says
Thanks for dropping by.
nelson ongpauco says
ako ay nagtrabaho rin sa saudi arabia noon 1977/1979 sa aramco distino ako sa uhdaliya ,pagnapakita ka ng takot ay aabusuhin ka ng arabyano .pakita mo na lalaban ka huwag kang mauuna na manuntok ambaan mo lang takot na ang mga ito dalawa ang arbianong sinampal ko.lumaban at pinalo ako ng sinelas buti nalang inawat ng kasamakong pinoy ,isinungbong ko sa kaibigan ko matandang arabyano pinagalitan sya …..sa sinehan ang operator ng sinehan nag papasiklab sa kapwa ni arabiano at sisigawan ako at kasamako .ng hindi ko pansinin inambaan ako ng palo ng silya ang ginawa ko ay nilapitan ko at inambaan ko ng suntok natakot at may tumawag ng security,. dunating ang head ng security pinagalitan ako at pinapasok ako sa sinihan ng libre.kinabukasan nag sorry sya sa akin ayaw daw niya ng nagaaway malas ng arbyano na kaaway ko dcahil hindi niya alam na kaibigan ko ang head ng security,…pag pinakita ninyo na takot kayo aabusuhin kayo…
menchie says
I also worked abroad but not in that country of saudi.I worked in latin america in a garments company owend by a chinese billionaire and our bosses are chinese. Some of them are nice and some are not. One day there’s a mistakes in one department and it reach in my department and my boss blamed it to me, so i was very very angry coz’ it wasn’t my fault and when i asked him why he couldn’t blame the person who was responsible for it, he answered me because he likes this person.It means he don’t like me.
I don’t know what kind of likes whether it’s kind of heart likes or just like for something else. We ( boss) just know each other when he took over the place of my old boss coz’ he transfered to other country.And when my old boss( 3bosses) learned what happened they decided to get me where they. And months passed my lady boss told me that me and my family just lived because of my job in their company. I was hurt with her words but I choose not to say something to her because they helped me when I had a problem with their co-chinese but after a year I decided to come to USA.And when I asked or talked to them she was like why you need to leave y you have a nice job here. But for me enough what she told me that we just lived because of my job in that company. para bang or let’s say nilait nya ako na kundi dahil sa job ko don sa company na pag aari ng kapwa nya chinese ay di kami kakain or mabubuhay. nagpapasalamat ako at binigyan nila ako ng work but to make lait I don’t deserved that kahit na mahirap lang ako. and you know what happened after I left the company closed. I don’t have any regret leaving that company.
I can understand some people saying that many employers abused their employee coz’ that is true and treat them like slaves.
amir says
Dear ALL,
if any one say that these fucking saudis are good so be clear there are only few those are really human.
but most of stupid enough today i also got to know one story of these rascal saudis.
actually they all are illetrate they must be fucked better,
they are having oil and abusing others 30 yeaar before they had nothing now they think themselves mudeer.
all countries should ban maids to come to here they dont excuse man how u can thing they will take care of women.
they are ignorant like african same things u will found in them long time is there to improve these rascals,
raissa says
Not all Saudis are bad, Amir.
But I agree with you on the total ban on maids – unless the King puts them all under his protection.
nelson ongpauco says
meron pang nangyari noon .na nakita ko ang arabyano na sinasampal ang isang pilipino ang ginawako ay huminito ako nila pitan ko ang arabyano kaya huminto,,kilala ako ng arabyanon dahil sa kaniya ako kumukuha ng passes ng tiket sa eroplano papuntang dharan.libre ang sakay dito ..natakot sya saakin ..sa kampo na tirahan namin pag pinatawag ako ng security angsabi ng supervisor ay ikaw nanaman ..sabi ko OO may kailangan kaba sagot agad ay wala kaya alis agad ako..noon ang mga indonesian at thailand ay iwas sa amin dahil kami ay aramco emlpoyee sila contractor lang..noon ay nag karoon ng riot 800 thailand laban sa 1000 indonesian pinapasok nila ang mga trailer at ginugulpi ang mga kalaban nila. sa dinning hall ay nambato ako ng pagkain sa isang indian na natatrabaho doon dahil ng humihingi ako ng saging ayaw akong bigyan libre ang pagkain puwede kangbumalik at kumuha uli ng pag kain kaya sa galit ko binato ko msya ng saging.at isinungbong ko pa sa pinoy na inspektor …ang mga indian at pakistani ay mayayabang dahil muslim sila..kaya parating nakakaaway ng mga pinoy…
raissa says
Take care.
Baka may toyo ang mahintuan niyo.
Anne says
I am a counselor of abused OFWs for only a year and I handle serious cases (rape, depression and suicide, psychotic breakdowns, etc). I cannot say what organization I am affiliated right now but what I can say is after a year of assessing and counseling them, I myself developed secondary PTSD.
I am angry at the Arabs who were responsible for the pain of our OFWs. I handled more than 20 rape cases and that is just a drop in the bucket when compared to the REAL number of cases. I had to get my own therapist to handle my own emotional state. I forgot how many times I cried after each counseling session.
I believe the government should and must stop sending OFWs to these countries. I know the economic implications of this move but I have seen the effects to our OFWs. It is just too much.
We must not forget that most of these OFWs are wives and mothers. Just imagine what kind of impact they will bring home to their families. Just imagine the heartache of the husbands and children when they saw them again.
Some people might think that I am too emotional and involved when it comes to this issue. But I am proud I am this involved. You need to feel something to understand what they have been through and the psychological trauma they will face in their future. Because the depth of my anger to these concerned Arabs is equal to the pride and amazement I feel whenever I see abused OFWs rise above their traumatic experiences. I always feel proud whenever I counsel OFWs who were able to survive these horrific experiences. I know there is resilience, but one must understand ‘OFW resilience’.
Imagine being repeatedly abused in every possible way, no support system for the longest time, no contact to the outside world, imprisoned in a house and a domestic worker female in a culture governed by men. Imagine serving your perpetrator every single day. Imagine living like that for a number of years but surviving it with your mental facilities intact.
Don’t get me wrong — they are traumatized but they can still handle their lives and plan for their future. Imagine all of that and still surviving in the end. THAT IS WHAT RESILIENCE IS ALL ABOUT. I myself cant imagine surviving that. I am too sheltered. I am too blessed with a mother and relatives who gave me everything I need.
The common source of their strength are always a combination of these factors: faith (it doesnt matter what religion), love for the family and the endless capability of looking at the positive side of every situation. It is always that formula. I will always be eternally grateful to our OFWs for teaching me the true essence of humility and strength of character.
At the end of some session, I thank God for all the blessings He gave me throughout the years. I thank my mother for providing me a good life. It makes me realize what I have right now.
raissa says
Dear Anne,
Thank you for sharing this.
You must take care of yourself.
Anne says
I just found time to read all the comments here. Pls dont get the idea of me having racial bias against the Arabs. I think some of my sentences above were just poorly constructed to express my thoughts. I am NOT angry to every ARAB men alive. I am just angry to those who abused our OFWs.
raissa says
Thank you for explaining, Anne.
Kritikong Kiko says
Hi Rissa, can I post this on my blog?
raissa says
Sure. Just add a link to my site.
farzaneh says
http://farzaneology.blogspot.com/2011/07/modern-day-slavery.html
Bobi Rodero says
I have lived in Saudi Arabia for six whole years (from 1986 and 1992) and have personally known many Saudi families. I haven’t heard first-hand stories of abuse of domestic helpers at all.
In fact the domestic helpers that I knew were allowed to hold parties for their Filipino friends in the homes of their employers during Filipino special holidays like Christmas.
During my stay in Riyadh, I was treated very well, provided with comfortable housing and was paid generously so that I renewed my contract six times.
Every country has its share of violence to domestic helpers but in my personal experience I can say that it was not rampant in Saudi Arabia.
Aldrin says
Your saying that the DH employer’s is allowing her to have parties in their house? Well, that is something new…
raissa says
There are really Saudis who are very compassionate and kind employers.
But there are enough of them to make the maids’ lives miserable.
Rallie F. Cruz says
I have lived in Saudi Arabia for 10 years and I have heard and experienced of different treatments of our Filipino workers. I cannot generalize the allegations as common among Saudi Citizens since with the company I worked with, I knew of four Filipinas working for the family of the owner’s company who were fairly treated even by their children. With business relations of our company owner to the sons of the late King Fahd, I also happened to be assigned oftentimes to attend to some of their gatherings in their respective palaces, I found most of them having Filipino male and female service staffs who tell me of their fortunate situations and have been with the family for more than five to ten years.
On several instances, with my occasional visits to our Embassy in Riyadh and Jeddah, there were cases of abuses of rape, maltreatment, non-compliance with the contract they signed prior to coming over to the country and being wrongly accused of robbery or malicious acts who ran to the embassies seeking for justice and help.
I personally do not have anything to complain while working there for my Saudi bosses who even granted me the privilege to know and be treated like a member of their families.
Prof. Anton Juan says
Dear Mr. Rallie Cruz,
Being an INDIVIDUAL FILIPINO who has not been treated sub-humanly does not mean you, even “personally,” should not EMPATHIZE, not to say SYMPATHIZE with the victims of abuse and inhumanity.
SYMPATHY FOR THE OPPRESSED – which, from the tone of your comment, is ABSENT from you) – is precisely why such an abusive way of looking at HUMANS persists. Or perhaps you would rather not make a comment which may jeopardize your position in Saudi Arabia.
I only hope that nothing such as this befalls your friends nor kin in any place so then you can wake up to say indeed, NO MAN IS AN ISLAND. Not even the fortunate people such as you can escape the rules of humanity that come from a just and merciful God. There is also a voice inside of you that should speak to you, if you listen well enough.
Prof. Anton Juan
Wendy says
What a deplorable situation to befall on anybody! No nation should have to send their citizens to other countries to work as second class citizens/ to be treated as such,where cultures vastly differ and the value of a human life is not placed at a premium.
Rallie F. Cruz says
To Wendy,
I wrote my comment separately but I can’t help replying to your comment as our nation’s citizen being classified as second citizen in countries who have been hiring our services. I worked there in a maintenance and construction company where I have encountered several American and European companies. These people I honestly would tell you that they do not just say what they think of us, but they also write them in their memos or notices, WE, the Filipinos, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Africans and other Asians (to Exclude Japanese and Koreans), they call us “The Third Country Nationals” whenever they will call for gatherings or meetings.
The kind of classification that the affected nations have been branded was totally ignored because we badly need to survive the inability of our own government to allow us to live with decency, dignity and integrity.
nelson ongpauco says
merron din nangyari sa uydhaliya noon na ang isang aerikano ay ginulpi ng 30 thailander dahil hindi na matiis ang ang pangaapi sa kanila…kayalang deported kaagad sila .buti na lang hindi pinapulis…ako ay nakapasok na rin sa loob ng bahay ng kasama ko sa trabho ang tulogan ng mga lalaki ay hiwalay sa mga babae pati ang magasawa.hiway din ang kainan nila kumain panga ako sa kanilang bahay .binibisita ko sya pag nagpuputa ako sa hupop …yung supervisor ko noong nabibiyahe kami sa isang opisina sa disyerto bigla kaming humito at ang sabi ay hahawkan daw niay ang paa ng donkey at banatan ko raw sabi ko hindi kami gumagawa ng ganyan…dahil gawain nila na nirerape nila ang mga donkey at tupa…HA!!!HA!!HA!!..
Cordi Villa says
This is really very sad. It is the failure of both our government and the United Nations to police this kind of thing. I was watching an opinion ed on Canadian TV about the Human Rights declaration of the United Nations, focusing on the first article which reads:
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
The host asked -why is it that these countries who obviously violate this article, with proofs such as photos like you posted and clips on youtube and other media, are not being dealt with by the United Nations for violating this article. What are they for?