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As government plans to ship over 100,000 jobless youths to Saudi Arabia to work in the country’s informal sectors, the experiences of those who have made the job trip to the gulf country paints not a so rosy picture.
A Filipino maid had her body disfigured by boiling water after a Saudi employer poured boiling water on her. Reason? She delayed to bring coffee to her employer.
In an incident which has angered the world, with Amnesty International warning that Saudi Arabia is a death trap to foreign nationals, the woman was lucky to be rescued by relatives working in the country who clandestinely shared her ordeal with the Embassy of Philippines in the country.
The 23-year-old employee, known by the name Fatma, asked her cousin to help her after the incident.
Fatma’s cousin took pictures of her body disfigured by the burns and uploaded them on Facebook, where many people showed their support and compassion.
According to Amnesty International: “Foreign workers suffer greatly in Saudi Arabia. Some go unpaid. Some are beaten or even raped. If arrested, they’re subjected to trials conducted solely in Arabic without translation and many have no money for a lawyer or family to turn to for help.”
The governments of Saudi Arabia and the Philippines signed an agreement, last May, that gives Filipino workers more rights in the Gulf kingdom.
However, like many other governments who have signed their citizens to work in Saudi, not much is done when employers turn their cruelty on these workers.
President Uhuru recently signed a deal to send over 100,000 NYS graduates to Saudi Arabia. If not opposed, our countrymen and women may be getting deployed to their graves.
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