Worst year for OFWs

 Worst year for OFWs

OFWs are still forced to go abroad because the government has offered them nothing substantive and sustainable to address their families’s economic needs. Instead, what it has offered are mere dole-outs and band-aid solutions that does not do anything to address widespread unemployment and landlessness the root cause of forced migration.” – Migrante International
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — Fanny Espiritu, 47, stood before protesters in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). She was agitated while lambasting a government agency, which she referred to as “useless.” But when she went down from their makeshift stage, on top of a jeepney, tears flowed from her eyes.

“It is my first time to speak in a protest rally,” Espiritu told Bulatlat.com, “I do not know how I managed to pluck up the courage. In my heart, there is just too much hatred and disappointment on this government, which neglected my sister.”

Espiritu’s sister, Zosima Monterey, 43, is an overseas Filipino worker. It was her first time to work in Saudi Arabia. Their other sister suffered a bad fate when she worked in Jeddah, so naturally, Espiritu said, they were all against Monterey’s plan. “But she insisted for the sake of his nephews and nieces. She wants to help them because she loves them very much.”?

On June 12, 2007, Monterey left for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to work as a beautician for Sarah Abdullah Alsaeed Ladies Dress Shop. Her contract stipulates that she would be receiving $500 a month, including free accommodation and food. But like what happened to most OFWs, she received less and her salary was always delayed..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/07/24/worst-year-for-ofws/