Sunday, August 2, 2009

August 1, 2009

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/168826/Mga-nais-maging-OFW-pinayuhang-tiyakin-kung-kakayanin-ang-kalungkutan

Mga nais maging OFW pinayuhang tiyakin kung kakayanin ang kalungkutan
08/01/2009 10:12 PM

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Pinayuhan ng isang opisyal ng embahada ng Pilipinas sa bansa ito ang mga Pinoy na nagpaplanong magtrabaho sa ibang bansa na tiyaking kakayanin nila ang kalungkutan na mawalan sa mga mahal sa buhay.

Ang payo ay ginawa ng opisyal matapos lumitaw na labis na kalungkutan ang nagtulak sa isang Pinay domestic helper kaya ito tumalon sa isang gusali na naging dahilan ng kanyang pagkaka-ospital.Ayon sa welfare officer ng Philippine Consulate General sa Saudi, tumalon umano mula sa unang palapag ng gusaling pinapasukan noong Hulyo 3 si Veronica Lascano, 24-anyos.Nagtamo ng pinsala sa katawan ang biktima at patuloy na nakaratay sa King Fahd Hospital sa Jeddah.

Sa panayam kay Lascano, sinabi nito na mabait naman ang kanyang mga amo at hindi rin niya maisip bakit niya nagawa ang tumalon. Inamin niya na lagi niyang naaalala ang kanyang pamilyang naiwan sa Pilipinas.

"Hindi ko po alam ang gulu-gulo ng isip ko noon. Kahit po ako iniisip ko kung bakit ko nagawa ‘yun," kuwento ni Lascano.“Wala naman akong problema sa amo ko. May mga kasama naman ako pero ‘di ko po alam kung bakit ko nagawa ‘yun, lagi nga po akong umiiyak at laging naiisip ang aking pamilya," idinagdag niya.

Tubong Malolos, Bulacan si Lascano at dumating sa Saudi Arabia noong Marso 2. Naiwan niya sa Pilipinas ang kanyang asawa at dalawang anak.

Dahil sa nangyari kay Lascano, pinayuhan ng mga opisyal sa konsulado ang mga nagbabalak na magtrabaho sa ibang bansa na tiyaking handa ang sarili sa kakaharaping kalungkutan sa abroad.Aminado naman ang Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at Philippine Consulate General sa Jeddah na bagaman hindi na bago ang insidente ng mga tumatalon sa gusali, bagaman kakaiba ang sitwasyon ni Lascano.

Kadalasan umano na sa insidente ng pagtalon ng OFW sa gusali, ang biktima ay nakaranas ng pang-aabuso o pagmamaltrato ng kanilang mga amo.Ipinapahiwatig ni OWWA Welfare Officer Romualdo Exmundo na labis na kalungkutan o depresyon ang nasa likod ng pagtalon ni Lascano dahil na rin sa pag-amin nito na wala siyang problema sa kanyang amo.

Katunayan, sinabi ni Exmundo na nakikipagtulungan ang amo ni Lascano sa gobyerno para mapabalik na ito sa Pilipinas.

Pinayuhan din niya si Lascano na ihanda at itabi ang mga kakailanganing dokumento sa posibleng pagkuha niya ng benepisyo pag-uwi sa Pilipinas.“Payo ko sa kanya na itago nya lahat ang medical records nya at pagdating nya sa Pilipinas ay pumunta sa OWWA at titingnan kung ano ang step by step na dapat gawin para ma-evaluate ang kanyang sitwasyon," ayon kay Exmundo. - Ronald Concha, GMANews.TV

July 31, 2009

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/168722/Homesick-Pinay-jumps-off-building-in-Saudi-Arabia

Homesick Pinay jumps off building in Saudi Arabia
RONALDO Z. CONCHA, GMANews.TV
07/31/2009 04:03 PM


JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - A Filipina domestic helper in Saudi Arabia has been hospitalized after jumping off a building in what an official said could be a case of depression.

Veronica Lascano, 24, jumped from the first floor of the building in Jeddah where she was working at around 6 a.m. last July 3, a welfare officer at the Philippine Consulate General said.She suffered injuries at the back and other parts of her body from the incident.

She is currently confined at the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah.In an interview, Lascano said her employer was very kind but that she really couldn’t cope with the though of being separated from her family."Hindi ko po alam ang gulu-gulo ng isip ko noon.

Kahit po ako iniisip ko kung bakit ko nagawa ‘yun (I don’t know what I was thinking, my mind was a mess. Even I don’t know why I did that)," she said.“Wala naman akong problema sa amo ko. May mga kasama naman ako pero ‘di ko po alam kung bakit ko nagawa ‘yun, lagi nga po akong umiiyak at laging naiisip ang aking pamilya," she added.(I have no problem with my employer. I also have some companions there, but I was still lonely.

I always cry and think about my family.)Lascano, who came to Saudi Arabia last March 2, is from Malolos, Bulacan where she has a husband and two children.Learning from the incident, Lascano advised other aspiring OFWs to make sure that they can stand the loneliness of work abroad.

Different caseAccording to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, the number of domestic helpers jumping off buildings was nothing new. But they were quick to add that Lascano’s case was different from the other cases that they have handled. In most cases, the workers were maltreated or exploited by their employers.

OWWA Welfare Officer Romualdo Exmundo said Lascano was apparently suffering from loneliness due to separation from her family and difficulty in adjusting to a foreign environment.Exmundo assured Lascano of help from the OWWA.

Lascano’s employer is arranging for her repatriation.One of the benefits being offered by OWWA is for disability but the case still has to undergo assessment to determine whether the disability is permanent or not.

“Payo ko sa kanya na itago nya lahat ang medical records nya at pagdating nya sa Pilipinas ay pumunta sa OWWA at titingnan kung ano ang step by step na dapat gawin para ma-evaluate ang kanyang sitwasyon," said Exmundo.(I advise her to keep all her medical records. When she returns to the Philippines, she should go to OWWA and look into how she can have her situation evaluated.)

On mandatory psych testsThe Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has proposed that household service workers undergo mandatory psychological tests to prevent incidents like that of Lascano from happening.

The DFA said the proposal was triggered by the recent spate of cases of runaway Filipino workers who are said to have been unable to adjust to life in the Middle East. Then DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal said the test is only aimed at protecting the welfare of OFWs abroad. [See: Psych tests will protect OFWs - DFA official]"The psychological test is aimed at checking whether or not the coping mechanism of Filipino workers is well," he said.

He added that even DFA and embassy officials undergo such tests before they are deployed to other countries. “It is needed simply because it is very stressful overseas," he added. The test, however, received flak from various migrant workers’ groups. [See: More groups nix proposed psych test for migrant Pinoy domestics]Migrante International said such a policy would only castigate Filipino workers as mentally unfit and unstable for work in other countries.Instead of preparing OFWs, the group asserted that employers should be made to undergo psychological tests to determine if they are fit to employ foreign workers.. - with Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

July 29, 2009

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/168572/RP-school-in-KSA-goes-on-offensive-vs-A(H1N1)

RP school in KSA goes on offensive vs A(H1N1)
RONALDO Z. CONCHA, GMANews.TV07/29/2009 08:38 PM

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - A Philippine school in Jeddah has opted not to suspend its classes even after one of its students got infected with the A(H1N1) virus.

Instead, the Al Hekma International School cleaned the premises and advised parents not to let their children go to school if they are sick.“Mahirap naman kasi na tuwing may virus ay suspinde agad ang school. (It’s not practical to suspend classes every time a student is infected) Prevention ang kailangan nating gawin ngayon (is what we need to do right now," Al Hekma principal Belma Regis told GMANews.TV.

She said the school will also assemble all its students and check for flu-like symptoms. Al Hekma has more than 1,000 students, 98 percent of them Filipinos.

“Hindi na natin mapipigilan ang pagkalat nito. Ang kailangan ay maiwasan na lamang na mahawa pa ang iba nating mag aaral (We won’t be able to contain the virus anyway so what we need to do is make sure our students don’t get infected)," she said.

With that in mind, the principal said parents should immediately inform them if their children test positive for the virus. A parent, who refused to be named, said many parents do not report to the school even if their children do get infected.This became evident when a female student of Al Hekma tested positive for the mutant virus.

The mother of the student told GMANews.TV that her daughter started showing signs of A(H1N1) after a male student who earlier tested positive for the virus did not inform the school of his condition.

Early this month, the International Philippine School of Jeddah and the Philippine Sunrise International School were temporarily closed down due to the virus. [See: RP school in Riyadh closed due to A(H1N1)]The principals of these schools said that they will resume classes in August.There are 13 Philippine schools in Riyadh, nine in Jeddah, one in Buraidah in the central region and three in the Eastern Province. - with Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV