Filipina stranded on Kish Island for 3oo days awaits passage home

Rosby B. Calim has been stranded on the Arabian Gulf island of Kish for more than 300 days. A 32-year-old Filipino domestic helper, Rosby is one of several people stuck on Kish Island.

There are several Indians, Indonesians, Cameronians, Egyptians, Moroccans, Syrians, Nigerians and Filipinos who have been holed up at the Iranian resort island after making a visa-change exit from the UAE.

Kish, which the Tehran government has turned into a free zone, is famed as a diver's paradise. But, just as important, it is also a popular exit destination for expatriates in the UAE who wish to transfer their visit visa into employment status.

Calim, a mother of two from San Manuel town, Pangasinan, arrived in Dubai to work as a housemaid for Issa, an Arab trader.

Within a year of working for her employer, Calim resigned, hoping to get a better paid job elsewhere. Against the advice of her employers, Calim made an exit to Kish, instead of her home country, the Philippines. And now she is stranded.

She said: "I'm stuck here for nine months now. It's not too easy for me. I survive by practically begging from fellow Filipinos.

Housemaids are given an automatic one-year ban if they leave the country after resigning from their jobs.

Calim, who admits her problem is her own making, is sustained by a continuous stream of Filipinos landing on Kish.

She said: "My cousin tried to do his best to get me a visa. I was naïve to think he could find a way around the ban. I didn't know this would happen. I just want out of here."

Calim made an exit to Kish from Dubai on July 10, 2003, hoping the promised visa would be granted. It was her cousin, Robin, who arranged a return ticket with Kish Airline for his relative.

Towards the end of 2003, Calim said her cousin stopped communicating with her after he lost his job.

Issa, Calim's former sponsor said: "I advised her not to go to Kish knowing she would get a ban."

Issa added: "My conscience has been hounding me. I feel sorry for Calim. I'm also suffering. If she only listened to me from the start, she wouldn't have been stuck in Kish.

"We didn't ask the immigration authorities to ban her. But the rules here are such that all domestic helpers get a one-year ban when they make an exit. It really breaks my heart knowing she's stuck in Kish. I'm also suffering because of this problem."

The employer said he and his wife had sent Calim telephone credits to ease her suffering.

"She had a good amount of money with her before she left. She spent them all calling people back in the UAE for help. But nothing happened. I sent her more than Dh500 worth of telephone cards. I asked somebody there to lend her money as well. But I can't push them anymore.

"I also asked people I know in Kish to help her find a job there. But I can't push them too hard. I have my own financial concerns. I have my own trading business and it's taking time to pick up. I also don't know what else to do."

Calim is staying at Al Fanoos Hotel, a low-grade hotel which rents bed spaces to people from the UAE on visa-change flights. She has already run up a bill of over Dh9,000 and cannot leave settling it. And she needs an air ticket to return to the Philippines.