Back to the shelter
Filipina, Rosario Pineda, a former tailor who has been in out of the OWWA shelter since 2003, has been reportedly returned to the shelter two months after she signed a waiver to work outside.
Rosario (right) has lived at the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) shelter waiting for developments on her labour case. She has already left the shelter on two occasions, disappearing for months on end and believed to have gone away with her lover only to come back crying and seeking help again.
Today, she is back and very much upset with the recent developments of her case including the stories that have been circulating around the shelter of her whereabouts. She claims to have done nothing wrong only to fend for herself when she needed money.
Back to the shelter
Filipina, Rosario Pineda, a former tailor who has been in out of the OWWA shelter since 2003, has been reportedly returned to the shelter two months after she signed a waiver to work outside.
Rosario (right) has lived at the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) shelter waiting for developments on her labour case. She has already left the shelter on two occasions, disappearing for months on end and believed to have gone away with her lover only to come back crying and seeking help again.
Today, she is back and very much upset with the recent developments of her case including the stories that have been circulating around the shelter of her whereabouts. She claims to have done nothing wrong only to fend for herself when she needed money.
“I feel like I am being treated like a criminal, but really I am the victim in all of this. I have witnessed two terms of the embassy officials’ pass by me and yet there is no resolution of my case. I believe that they know all too well the progression of the case and had the obligation to inform me of any developments,” she said.
She feels hopeless and even stated that she could not care less if she lived at the shelter for another year. She is also suffering from an acute case of diabetes and now requires a daily supplement that costs her at least BD2 to BD3 every two weeks.
“I had to take some drastic measures to survive here; if I stayed there any longer, I am afraid that I could just faint and die. I needed money to survive and send money home. I do not understand why some people want to destroy me.”
She filed a labour case against her employer, Rashid Mubarak Bu Turki, on November 22, 2006 for 5 months of unpaid wages working as a seamstress in his Muharraq tailoring shop.
The three-year-old labour case eventually evolved into a civil case soon after.
Her sponsor filed a case against her claiming loaned money amounting to BD560 prior to her departure from the Philippines. Her sponsor produced a signed promissory note by Rosario stating that reimbursement will be done through monthly salary deductions.
CID reports confirm that the signature didn’t match her signature or the signature specimen she was asked to provide at the station. A court order was issued based on CID findings in the sponsor’s favour since Rosario failed to appear for hearings.
Philippine Embassy officials believe this was the main contributor for losing merit over her case.
Tenants at the shelter are closely monitored; an attendance is carried out every four hours to ensure the headcount. Once a discrepancy is discovered with a tenant running away, the embassy officials immediately contact the sponsor.
Essentially, the runaways are forbidden to leave the OWWA shelter at any point in time except for visits to the hospital or court hearings, to the Ministry of Labour, the police station and the immigration department.
Those wishing to attend church or mass services must be accompanied by a responsible citizen who is made to sign a “waiver of responsibility” for the tenant. This waiver states exactly the location and the time of return. Through this, they bear full responsibility for the tenant and can be held liable if anything should happen.
Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com