Abused Filipina’s return delayed
Recruiter won’t hand over passport
Ayla Marisse G. Ginete
Contributor
After enduring a barrage of rebuke over phone from her family back home, 15-year-old Rosanna Baro braced herself for another disappointment. The plan to have her repatriated last night did not come through because the agency that recruited her, Al Hayki Manpower Agency, refused to hand over her passport.
Rosanna was in tears when she met Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) officials on the first day of Eid in tears. She had run away from the abusive sponsors she worked for. Rosanna bore a big scar on her right leg, resembling iron burns, but she insisted that it was a result of falling from a ladder while cleaning a ceiling fan.
Abused Filipina’s return delayed
Recruiter won’t hand over passport
Ayla Marisse G. Ginete
Contributor
After enduring a barrage of rebuke over phone from her family back home, 15-year-old Rosanna Baro braced herself for another disappointment. The plan to have her repatriated last night did not come through because the agency that recruited her, Al Hayki Manpower Agency, refused to hand over her passport.
Rosanna was in tears when she met Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) officials on the first day of Eid in tears. She had run away from the abusive sponsors she worked for. Rosanna bore a big scar on her right leg, resembling iron burns, but she insisted that it was a result of falling from a ladder while cleaning a ceiling fan.
During her stay at the shelter she confessed that it was her parents, particularly her mother, who convinced her to accompany her uncle to Manila to be sent abroad as a housemaid.
Reports of her planned repatriation were released yesterday. An airline ticket to Manila was also issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The Philippine laws demands immediate repatriation of any minor who has been a victim of illegal recruitment and abuse. The girl is to be immediately reported to the Philippine authorities with the help of social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the government agency that is assigned to assist victims of child labour cases and other related cases.
“We already received the ticket from the DFA and were told by the agency that they would produce the passport later in the evening, but we waited in vain. We are trying to get in touch with them – this child needs to go home,” said an OWWA spokesman.
Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com