Human beings with dignity

Amid reports of abuses and the deaths of seven overseas Filipino workers in Kuwait, President Duterte yesterday appealed to host countries to treat migrant workers “as human beings with dignity.” He also said that if there is one more report of a Filipina worker committing suicide after being raped in Kuwait, OFWs in the Gulf state “can all go home.”

Last Friday, the President ordered the suspension of worker deployment to Kuwait while the Philippine government investigates the deaths of the seven OFWs. In a speech yesterday, Duterte said the Philippines is poor and needs the help of countries hosting OFWs. He’s not trying to pick a fight with Kuwait, a long-time ally, the President said, but Filipino workers need humane treatment.

There are approximately 600,000 mostly foreign domestic helpers in Kuwait, with Filipinos accounting for a substantial number. It will require considerable adjustment on the part of Kuwaitis in case OFWs leave en masse, Duterte observed.

Despite the reports of abuses and suicides, however, many of those workers will be in no hurry to go home – unless the Philippine government can give them alternative employment in their own country.

Beyond appealing for humane treatment for OFWs and seeking justice for those who have died, the government must pursue long-term measures that will help create such alternative employment opportunities. OFW remittances have contributed heavily to the country’s robust economic growth. The recent reports from Kuwait, however, along with similar stories from several other states hosting Filipino workers, should prod the Philippine government to intensify efforts to promote job generation right here in the country.

In the remote event that the Duterte administration tells all OFWs to get out of Kuwait, those who comply may not return to the Philippines but instead find work in other countries, including those where there have been previous reports of migrant workers’ abuse.

Horror stories have failed to serve as deterrents to prospective OFWs. The tragedy of Sarah Balabagan was widely publicized, but it didn’t stop the continuing departure of Filipinos for jobs overseas for the next two decades. Balabagan was just 14 when she was sent to the United Arab Emirates by her impoverished family to work as a household helper. At 15, she was arrested and sentenced to death for killing her UAE employer who tried to rape her.

In Kuwait, if the reports are accurate, several Filipinas who suffered sexual assault did not kill their tormentors but themselves. If the Philippine government wants to bring back OFWs, they should be given sufficient reason to stop seeking greener pastures abroad and to come home.