Maid slashes wrist to go home
Filipina desperate to be with her ailing daughter
Ayla Marisse G Ginete
Contributor
A 29-year-old Filipina reportedly slashed her left wrist at her sponsor’s home so that she could be sent back to the Philippines.
Rowena Peñaflor was rushed to a nearby hospital by her Syrian sponsor, Ehad Marwan Shamaz, and later escorted to the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) shelter at the Philippine embassy in Zinj.
Witnesses said Rowena seemed “dazed and speechless” when she arrived at the shelter, refusing to speak to anyone.
The heavily-bandaged wounds on her left wrist were inflicted by herself, she said in a statement.
Maid slashes wrist to go home
Filipina desperate to be with her ailing daughter
Ayla Marisse G Ginete
Contributor
A 29-year-old Filipina reportedly slashed her left wrist at her sponsor’s home so that she could be sent back to the Philippines.
Rowena Peñaflor was rushed to a nearby hospital by her Syrian sponsor, Ehad Marwan Shamaz, and later escorted to the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) shelter at the Philippine embassy in Zinj.
Witnesses said Rowena seemed “dazed and speechless” when she arrived at the shelter, refusing to speak to anyone.
The heavily-bandaged wounds on her left wrist were inflicted by herself, she said in a statement.
She said she thought her action would convince her sponsors to repatriate her to the Philippines so that she could take care of her seriously ill daughter.
“I have been working for my Syrian sponsors for about one year and a half. A few months ago they promised me that they would let me go on a vacation. I didn’t need it at that time. But now I need to go home. My daughter is suffering from primary complex even now as we speak. I am a mother and I feel the need to take care of my child before anyone else,” she said.
“My sponsor seemed to be cooperating at some point but his wife changed her mind because she said I was needed at the house to take care of their four-month-old baby. I pleaded with them to allow me to travel. I promised them that I would return, but they would not budge.”
“I did not know what else to do, with my husband constantly informing me about our daughter’s worsening condition everyday. It breaks my heart. Just yesterday I found out that my daughter had also developed a urinary tract infection and was a given another antibiotic by the family doctor.
“I felt that slicing my wrist was right at the time thinking that my sponsors would immediately send me home. But instead, now I am facing heavy consequences because my sponsor has refused to send me home without agreeing to complete the remaining months I need to serve.
“Now that I have refused, my madam demands that I pay for my air fare for Manila and told me that my month’s salary will not be given to me,” Rowena said.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) is an attached agency of the Department of Labour and Employment and leading membership welfare institution that serves the interest and welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The association also commits to a fund stewardship that is transparent, judicious, and responsive to the requirements of its members.
Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com
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