Stranded maids claim rejected
By EUNICE del ROSARIO
Published: 15 January 2007
OFFICIALS in Bahrain have dismissed as untrue reports that Philippines housemaids were stranded at their embassy shelter without food or water.
Kakammpi, a non-governmental organisation helping overseas Philippines workers and their families, released a statement in Manila that 25 maids were suffering greatly under the care of embassy officials, as they awaited results of their individual cases.
It quoted one maid by the name of Nanette Enginero of Malanday, Marikina City, saying that workers seeking shelter at the embassy needed food and money for their daily basic necessities.
Stranded maids claim rejected
By EUNICE del ROSARIO
Published: 15 January 2007
OFFICIALS in Bahrain have dismissed as untrue reports that Philippines housemaids were stranded at their embassy shelter without food or water.
Kakammpi, a non-governmental organisation helping overseas Philippines workers and their families, released a statement in Manila that 25 maids were suffering greatly under the care of embassy officials, as they awaited results of their individual cases.
It quoted one maid by the name of Nanette Enginero of Malanday, Marikina City, saying that workers seeking shelter at the embassy needed food and money for their daily basic necessities.
She added that the embassy only provided a place for them to stay.
Philippines-based television news giant, GMA News, covered the story on air, reporting that Kakammpi officials were working to raise more awareness on the plight of housemaids in Bahrain and other Gulf countries.
Philippines Embassy welfare officer Venus Bravo said that they were aware of the report and had conducted a thorough investigation.
“However, following our investigation, we did not find anyone by the name of Nanette Enginero having stayed at the shelter at all,” she told the GDN yesterday.
“It is untrue that our workers here are going without food or water.
“They eat regularly and we are working very hard and doing our very best to help them in their individual cases.
“There are also many charity organisations in Bahrain that have come forward to donate goods, including funds, clothes, food and other necessities, for these workers. I honestly do not know where Kakammpi got this information from, but it is all not true.”
Kakammpi executive director Maria Fe Nicodemus said on GMA News that the majority of maids in Bahrain were abused and underpaid.
“Many of (these maids) are paid between BD25 and BD50 and hardly any of them are paid the former minimum wage of BD75,” she said.
“Nanette Enginero also said that some maids had reported they suffered physical and verbal abuse.
“Some were reportedly made to work for 21 hours a day, while some others were made to serve three households.”
Intention
Msy Bravo said that the NGO’s intention was most likely good, but that it failed to check its sources.
Kakammpi could not be reached yesterday, despite repeated attempts.
Its website www.kakammpi.org was still under construction, while two contact numbers supplied by the site and directory services in Manila were classified as “not in use” and one turned out to be a private family home, whose head said that they knew nothing of the organisation. An email address provided by the website was also not in use.
The Philippines Embassy is the only one in Bahrain that has a large shelter for its distressed workers.
The Thai Embassy has temporary shelter in the form of one room at its premises, while the Migrant Workers Protection Society has a shelter for workers of various nationalities, in Manama.
© Gulf Daily News