Rapunzel update number four

Rapunzel is my name for the Pinay housemaids locked up in Lebanon so they wouldn't leave their employers when things got dangerous...two died jumping out windows, and at least three others were injured doing this.

Well, the government now is going to investigate the abuse of maids.

A total of 5,696 OFWs have been repatriated from Lebanon...(since) July 23...the DoH said 377 OFWs had been debriefed, including 14 who claimed to have been sexually abused by their employers.Also, at least 80 percent claimed to have been abused physically or orally and deprived of food, and 20 percent said they were locked up during the war. Most of them, or 80 percent, experienced delayed or non-payment of salaries.

Now, since there were an estimated 30 000 Pinoys in Lebanon, the percentage might be higher in those who used the war to flee home. However, it is also possible that some of those who did not seek to return home were prevented from doing so by their employers...

Philippine center for investigative Journalism link

Human rights watch report on abuse of domestic workers

And, of course, it makes one wonder: If a similar survey was done of others working as maids in the Middle East, would a survey pick up a similar high level of abuse? The HRW report suggests it is so...and not just for Philippine citizens, but for Indonesians, Indians, Bengalis etc. who similarly feel such work is the only way to support their families...