Gulf | Kuwait
430 runaway Filipina maids to be repatriated
The tickets, from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, were handed over to the Philippine embassy as part of measures to bring down the number of runaway helpers
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:00 September 7, 2010
- Image Credit: Gulf News
Manama: Kuwait has provided 430 airplane tickets for the return of runaway Filipina domestic helpers currently sheltered at the embassy.
The tickets, from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, were handed over to the Philippine embassy as part of measures to bring down the number of runaway helpers currently being sheltered, Kuwait Times said.
The local daily touched on how 105 Filipinas are the third batch of domestic helpers to be repatriated since the programme to return them to their home country began in June.
Most of the women ran away from the homes of abusive sponsors and sought the embassy's assistance, with complaints ranging from non-payment of salaries, over-work and lack of food to physical and verbal abuse.
Sulan Primavera, the Philippine ambassador to Kuwait, said: "Their employers have filed cases against them although they are minor ones. However, the government of Kuwait has been very helpful and they have been assisting us all the way."
Vivo Vidal, the Philippine labour attache to Kuwait, said the mass repatriation was not an amnesty but the result of a joint agreement between the two governments that aims to decongest the shelter.
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