Kuwait and the Philippines Settle Dispute Over Workers Rights

Kuwait and the Philippines Settle Dispute Over Worker's Rights

With a shortage of well-paying work opportunities in the Philippines, it is extremely common for Filipino's to go abroad in search of work. The money that Filipino's make while working internationally is a huge help to their impoverished families back in the provinces, Filipino-American's alone sending home roughly 10 billion dollars every year. They leave to find a wide array of jobs, from construction to nursing. But one of the most common instances for Filipino women is traveling to the Middle East for a job such as a cook, maid, nanny, or simple domestic worker. 

As a Filipina-American with several family members of my own that have traveled abroad for work, I've heard my own fair share of the horrific tales of Filipino workers being held captive by employers and forced to work for free. 

Despite the widespread awareness of abuse in our community, many Filipinos are still driven thousands of miles away from home in search of jobs because of their dire need to support their families.

One such person was a woman named Joanna Demafelis. 

Like many in the Philippines, her house was destroyed after Typhoon Haiyan, and her family was in desperate need of money. After learning from a recruiter that she would have the opportunity to earn 10 times the amount a maid in the Philippines would make, Joanna eagerly accepted a job as a maid in Kuwait.  

Since she was then living over 4,000 miles away from home, she constantly called her family and very frequently posted on social media platforms. So when she no longer called home and stopped posting on Facebook, her family became concerned and reported her missing. 

Nearly a year afterward, her body was found in a freezer in the apartment in which she worked. Markings on her body revealed that she had been tortured, then strangled. After the couple that employed her brutally murdered Joanna, they left her body in the freezer and abandoned their residence.

Jessica Demafelis cries over the casket containing the remains of her sister, Joanna Demafelis.

News of the circumstances surrounding Joanna's death led to widespread outrage in the Philippines. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte response was to ban Filipinos from filing for worker's visas in Kuwait and to supply free flights for all Filipino workers that were currently working there. Thousands of Filipinos took him up on his offer and used the free flight to permanently return home to the Philippines. 

Though Kuwait and the Philippines had a very strained relationship following the discovery of Demafelis's body and the return home of over 10,000 Filipino workers, it appears that the ban on working in Kuwait will be lifted. Recently, the Philippines and Kuwait have settled the dispute and come to an agreement. The new agreement includes at least one day off a week for domestic workers, the right for workers to keep phones and passports (which would typically be confiscated by employers), guaranteed meals, proper housing, clothing, and health insurance. 

These new laws are a step in the right direction to improve conditions for domestic helpers in Kuwait. Hopefully Kuwaiti and Filipino lawmakers will continue to work to ensure that the tragic story of Joanna Demafelis does not repeat itself.



Sources:

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/03/how-a-maid-found-dead-in-a-freezer-set-off-a-diplomatic-clash-between-the-philippines-and-kuwait/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.d872fedcb126
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43177349
• https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/pair-sentenced-to-death-following-discovery-of-womans-body-in-freezer/news-story/1fbf63b9d5c00f265a149b362b0ed0fc
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