DUBAI: The family of a deceased Filipino domestic helper continues to wait in agony for the remains of their loved one to be repatriated from the UAE two months after her death.
Maria Nila Ramirez, 42, breadwinner of her family, died on April 9 in Sharjah of natural causes, according to a Philippine Labour Official in Dubai. Her remains are in the Sharjah mortuary.
“We have been grieving since learning of my sister’s death in April. We have asked for help from the Philippine government to repatriate her but we have not received help as yet,” Janet Pabilan, sister of the deceased, told Gulf News from Manila.
“We were told it would take time to repatriate her but it is already more than two months since her death,” Pabilan added.
Ramirez arrived in the UAE to work as a domestic helper in 2008. Records cited by labour officials say that she absconded from her employer three months after she arrived due to non-payment of her salary. She had stayed illegally in the country since then, switching from one odd job to another to be able to send money back home. Ramirez leaves behind two young kids.
“We have already endorsed the request for assistance at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila. Since Ramirez is already considered an ‘undocumented worker’ her repatriation costs will have to be approved from there,” Vice Consul Geronimo Suliuin told Gulf News.
“She had been in hiding for the last four years. This makes her case very difficult. If she had reported to us what had happened during the time she absconded in 2008, we could have given her the appropriate help in securing her salary. But we are already doing what is necessary now, including coordinating with her previous employer to sponsor her repatriation out of humanitarian consideration,” Suliguin said.
Suliguin appealed to Filipino expatriates in Dubai to report their concerns to the Philippine Consulate General and not wait till the last minute to avoid such problems.
Suliguin said the approval for the request for assistance may take one to two months. A labour official at the Philippine Overseas Labour Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration told Gulf News that requests like these take time due to the volume of requests that the Foreign Affairs in Manila receives on a daily basis. Speaking of the last case that she handled, she said it took one year and one month for the human remains to be repatriated to the Philippines.
