Visayan Forum Foundation Inc.

MEDIA STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 10, 2006

Click here for full version of situationer
and campaign paper on domestic workers in Lebanon

Learning our Lesson from the Crisis in Lebanon:
An Urgent Call to End the Slavery and Abuse

Of Filipino Domestic Workers

We, the Visayan Forum Foundation, a non-government organization working to protect the rights of domestic workers, together with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples (CBCP-ECMI), Samahan at Ugnayan ng mga Manggagawang Pantahanan sa Pilipinas (SUMAPI) and other civil society groups, express our solidarity to the exceptionally courageous Filipino domestic workers still trapped in Lebanon, many of whom have long been braving extreme conditions of exploitation even before the present conflict broke out.

At a time when the vast majority of the 30,000 Filipino workers in Lebanon await full evacuation, it is becoming increasingly clear that regardless of who is to blame, our government is facing tough challenges to respond to the immediate costs of the crisis.

But one lesson stands crystal clear: the government’s preparedness has been undermined by the long-standing problem of lack of monitoring mechanisms for domestic workers invisibly scattered in many of Lebanon’s private homes even before the war erupted. If we were effectively reaching out to the abused domestic workers, then how come some of them ironically saw the war as a rare chance to escape from the exploitation they have been enduring? It should not surprise anyone that only a few cases of abused domestics are reported because most of them remain unaware of their rights and where they can file complaints.

Harrowing accounts by returning domestics who escaped from the escalating attacks have shocked the nation. During the first few days of the bombardment, Lebanese employers tied and locked up their domestics to the house while the whole family fled out of the country. Desperate workers jumped off from high-rise buildings to join their compatriots. Employers have stormed relocation centers and pulled out their Filipinas, which they seem to consider as their traditional household properties bought cheaply from placement and recruitment agencies. Employers had confiscated their passports and travel documents to restrict their movement and would be forced to guard the house, which makes them equally vulnerable to the ongoing bombardments.

Indeed, the pervasiveness of such physical and psychological violence as well as exploitative working conditions of domestic workers in Lebanon have been noted in a report published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002. According to the same report, many domestics also have to survive rape attempts, endure constant beatings, being forced to sleep with dogs, refused any days off, and being paid less than the promised salary, if they were paid any salary at all. These abuses are not isolated reports nor totally unique to times of military crisis.

While we appreciate the effort and good intentions of our government to evacuate more domestic workers in Lebanon and offer “Supermaids” training to those who have been repatriated, we believe that we must put forth longer-term solutions to the systemic abuse of domestic workers. We believe that the magnitude of this crisis should serve as a strong wake-up call to the government for it to exert political will in breaking the cycle of exploitation and turn the tide in the struggle for domestic workers’ rights.

Therefore, we call on the government to act on the following recommendations with utmost urgency:

The immediate passage of Batas Kasambahay or the Magna Carta for Domestic Workers which sets minimum standards of decent work and social protection normally accorded to other workers. By enacting this national law, the Philippines stands to gain moral high ground in demanding better conditions for our domestic workers overseas. Thus far, even after 10 years of lobbying and despite having won the support of several legislators and the approval of majority of the public, the bill remains stalled in the Congressional Labor Committee, co-chaired by Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Congressman Roseller Barinaga.
The repeal of Sections 29 and 30 of the Migrant Workers’ Act, which currently provides for the deregulation of the recruitment of overseas workers and the phase-out of systematic supervision in this area.
Lastly, the full enactment of migrant laws and the drafting of international legal standards on domestic work that reflect the principles of decent work and the rights of migrants.

In this time of crisis, we recognize the government’s insufficient manpower and resources. In this light, we in the civil society, led by Visayan Forum, the CBCP-ECMI, and other institutions that support the cause of local and overseas migrants offer the following services:

Open our existing shelters in Manila and other regions to the evacuees. In these centers, we will provide counseling and other psychosocial interventions to help the reintegration of the evacuees who may have suffered traumatic experiences.
Operate hotlines to provide assistance to families who remain unable to contact their relatives in Lebanon. We will work with local civil society groups, the government, local parishes and our regional partners in this endeavor.
Step up our information dissemination drive for Filipinos arriving at airports or passing through local seaports after being repatriated by local authorities.
Try to organize a pool of lawyers to assist the evacuees who want to file legal complaints.

The stories of Sarah Balabagan and Flor Contemplacion echo from the testimonies of the hundreds of domestic workers coming home from Lebanon today. We must not allow ourselves to become mere spectators at this historic moment. The deafening cries of our “modern heroes” are now too loud to be ignored.

In this unfortunate situation, let us stand up for the rights and recognition of our kasambahays here and abroad. Together, let us help domestic workers – in the Philippines, in Lebanon and beyond -- to win their war against neglect, abuse and exploitation, once and for all.

END

click the link below to read full campaign paper

Help Filipina Domestic Workers Caught in Lebanon War