OFWs' tales of struggles and despair in Jeddah

MANILA, Philippines - After suffering deplorable conditions inside deportation centers in Saudi Arabia, stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) vowed to hold a ‘reunion’ once all of them are back in the Philippines. Their stories reveal their hardships in the oil-rich country as well as their struggles to be reunited with their families, who are the main reason why they left in the first place. Armando Navarro: Sharing a desperate fate with others Since he worked as a dump truck driver in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in August 2007, Armando Navarro was not able to send even a cent to his family. “Pa’no ‘ko makakapagpadala, kinukulang pa sa sarili ko ang sweldo ko(How can I send money home when my salary is not enough even for my own expenses)," said Navarro, who is among the first batch of Filipinos repatriated from Jeddah. For working 10 hours a day, the 46-year-old Navarro should be earning at least 1,100 SRI (US$ 293.33), plus 180 SRI (US$48) food allowance. But 400 SRI (US$106.67) was deducted from his salary every month without any explanation. If he would insist on an eight-hour-workday, as stipluated in his contract, he would earn only 760 SRI (US$202.67) basic pay, while 400 SRI (US$106.67) would still be deducted from him monthly. No longer able to endure this, he and fellow OFWs agreed that they have had enough. “Wala nang ibang paraan kundi takasan natin ‘to (There is no other way but to run away from this situation)," he said. In January, they did just that. With no place to go to, they wandered around Jeddah. “Natulog kami sa ilalim ng puno, sa gilid ng mall, sa tabi ng kalsada. Minsan binibigyan kami ng pagkain ng mga NGO (We slept under trees, at the side of malls, and on the streets. Sometimes NGOs [non-government organizations] give us food)," he narrated. They proceeded to the Al Kandhara Bridge because they heard that there are people there who could arrange for a “back door exit." After a month, they were so desperate to go home that they accepted the offer of Consul General Ezzedin Tago to undergo ‘due process,’ which, they were told, would take only two to three days to arrange. They then camped out at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah before they were brought to the Jeddah Deportation Center on February 27. “’Yun pala, pinaalis lang kami sa Consulate para sa welcome party ni Tago," (We then realized that they just made sure that we would be evicted from the Consulate premises for the welcome party for Tago) Navarro claimed. From Jeddah, they were brought to the Riyadh deportation center. All hope would have been lost on them hadn’t an OFW group based in the Middle East came top their rescue. “Parang nawalan kami ng pag-asa. Buti na lang tinulungan kami ng Migrante. Walang natupad sa pangako ni Tago (We lost hope. It was good that Migrante helped us. All the promises of Tago came to naught)," he said, noting that without Migrante, which helped publicize their plight, they would have been kept longer at the detention center. During his detention and transfer from one deportation facility to another, Navarro witnessed the sufferings of his fellow OFWs. At the Jeddah deportation center, there was an OFW who vomited blood. In Riyadh, he said, in the cell beside where they were kept, an OFW suffered a stroke the day he was brought there. Two days before their flight, two women OFWs gave birth. There was also an OFW in their batch of deportees who had bruises on his body. They feared that he has lost his sanity. Finally, Navarro was deported on April 12. Navarro wanted desperately to go home to his family in Palawan. But he chose to stay a little longer at the Migrante office in Quezon City to wait for his fellow OFWs. Navarro added that he did not want to stay at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) even if he was offered shelter and food there. “Limitado ang pagbaba (‘dun), itatawag muna ng gwardya sa ibaba kung lalabas kami. Kala namin nakatakas na kami sa kulungan, bilanggo pa rin naman pala(Our movements there are limited. The guards do not let us out unless they have verified that we are being allowed to do so. We felt that we were still in prison even if we have already gotten out of the deportation detention centers.)," he revealed. Unfortunately, one OFW will no longer be reunited with his family or join their planned reunion. Ryan Castillo, an OFW from Batangas City, died while at the Riyadh deportation center. Navarro said he received a phone call from a fellow OFW at the Jeddah deportation center informing him that Castillo contracted a disease inside the prison cell where he was brought by Saudi immigration authorities. Castillo, he was told, later succumbed to a heart attack. Philippine Consul General Ezzedin Tago confirmed that an OFW died at the Jeddah Deportation Center on April 6 and admitted that the OFW was unaccounted for as he was not endorsed for deportation. Castillo reportedly posed as a pilgrim who had lost his identification and turned himself in to expedite his deportation. Tago said that the Philippine Consulate had not endorsed the man who died. Endorsement by the Philippine government is required for Filipinos before they can be held for deportation. This process is aimed at weeding out criminals seeking an easy way to flee the country incognito, as well as workers who walked away from their jobs and want to avoid the more complicated process of seeking clearance from their employers for their final-exit visa. “Nagpaplano nga kami ng reunion ‘pag nakabalik na kami dito.’Yung inumpisahang laban (sa Saudi), itutuloy namin dito (We are planning a reunion once we are able to go back home. The struggles that we started in Saudi, we plan to pursue at home)," Navarro added. Ricardo Abad: A future dimmed in Saudi Arabia Even in his 50s, Ricardo Abad still tried his luck in Saudi on April 2007. His meager earnings from driving his tricycle in Davao could not support his 10 children. Two of his children who were already in college stopped schooling because they were short in finances. When he got a job as a mixer driver in Saudi Arabia, Abad thought a brighter future is already within their reach. But his 950 SRI ($253.33) monthly salary plus 180 SRI ($48) food allowance, was not enough to give his family a decent life. He was sending his family only P5, 000 ($119.30 at an exchange rate of $1=P41.91) monthly from April to December last year. His son, the fourth of his10 children, helped him support the family by driving their tricycle. But in November 2007, the tire of his truck accidentally burst and the company charged him 2,000 SRI ($533.33). Another tire burst before the month ended and he was told that the same amount would be deducted from his salary again. He was also suspended in December because of this. In January 2, he left the company because he could no longer afford another salary deduction that the company might impose again on him for accidents like the bursting of the tires. Like other runaways, he went to the Al Kandhara Bridge, then joined the camp out at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah. He was also sent to the Jeddah and Riyadh deportation centers. “Pagpasok sa deportation, pagkatapos lang ng isang araw, bugbugan na (After only a day at the detention center we were immediately involved in a fight)," Abad recalled. He added that stranded Filipinos were engaged in a fight with Egyptians for the meager food being given to the detainees. Abad said that there were about six fights related to food in the three weeks that they were there. In the morning, Abad said they were given only kubos or bread. In the afternoon, they were fed with rice and chicken. But six people had to share a small piece of chicken. “Minsan kalabasa lang. Mas masarap pa ang pagkain ng baboy. ‘Di ko nga alam anong klaseng luto ‘yun(Sometimes we were fed only squash. The food given to pigs is better to what we were served. I do not know how they cooked their food)," he said. At the Riyadh deportation center, Abad said, their things were stacked in a small space and were never given back to them. Sometimes, when they got the chance to wash their underwear, they would be wearing only their pants. Abad was with the first batch of stranded OFWs deported on April 12. Despite the miserable conditions he experienced while being stranded abroad, he was still able to buy something to bring home to his family, which he bought from the small amount he was able to save. “May mga pasalubong pa sana ako..kahit konti..chocolate, toothpaste, sabon(I was able to buy a few things for my family such as chocolates, toothpaste, soap. But they are gone)," Abad said. Abad said he would just go back to driving his tricycle even if it would not be enough to support his family. And if any of his children ever thinks of working abroad, he would beg them not to go to the Middle East. “Tama na ‘yung naranasan ko. Ayoko nang pati sa kanila mangyari pa ‘yun (What I experienced is enough. I don’t want them to suffer the same fate)," Abad said. Medy Silverio: Concerned OFW Medy Silverio, 40, was deported to the Philippines under an assumed name in September 2007. Although she was a runaway-domestic helper, she was arrested in a friend’s birthday party where some male friends were drinking liquor. She was brought to the Breman Deportation Prison where she saw Nora, an OFW. She still remembers Nora whenever she sees news footages of stranded OFWs in Jeddah. Silverio was told by other OFWs that Nora is a domestic helper who was raped by her employer’s first son. When the first son was finished raping Nora, the two other siblings argued as to who would rape her next. A fight ensued and the two accidentally killed each other. The first son then claimed that Nora killed his two brothers. “’Di s’ya umaamin na s’ya ang pumatay. Pero mamamatay din naman s’ya sa bartolina(Nora never admitted to the crime. But she would eventually die inside the isolation cell)," said Silverio. Silverio is so concerned and bothered about Nora’s plight that she went to the office of Migrante last April 15 to seek help for her. As for Silverio, she admits still experiencing nightmares. Silverio is still applying for work but this time in Hong Kong. Although she knows that OFWs like her could be abused anywhere, she just hopes that she would find a kind employer. “Ano namang mangyayari sa buhay namin dito? Ang hirap ng buhay(What would happen to our life if we stay here? Life here is difficult)," she said. - Bulatlat