(MENAFN- Arab Times) A Filipina household service worker (HSW) who appealed for help on the social networking site Facebook on May 24 after being slapped by her Kuwaiti lady employer several times, locked up in her room and threatened to cut her fingers is now safe at the Filipino Workers Resource Centre (FWRC) in Faiha after her agency representative extracted her from her employer's house in Bayan.
Rosemarie Sumali, 26, a single mother and native of General Santos City in Southern Philippines whose Facebook post has gone viral on weekend, prompting Filipino netizens not only in Kuwait but also across the globe to call the attention of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait to help her.
Philippine Charge d' Affaires Atty Raul H Dado and Philippine Labour Attache David Des Dicang acted on Sumali's case swiftly after being informed by Filipinos via phone calls and e-mails on the Facebook post of Sumali to rescue her from her employer's house. Dado and Dicang along with the Assistance to Nationals Unit Officer Mar Hassan and embassy Interpreter Muamar Mamosion went immediately to the Bayan Police station on Saturday and coordinated with police authorities to rescue Sumali.
Summon
The police officer on duty issued a summon to Sumali's employer on Saturday night and ordered his men to go to the address of the house that Sumali posted on the Facebook, however, the police went back to the Police Station without her as the address posted was incorrect. The Philippine Embassy and the POLO-OWWA contacted the recruitment manpower agency that deployed Sumali to Kuwait to trace the exact address of her employer.
"The social media is phenomenal in helping the distressed OFW, but we also have to be very careful in posting the right information. We're able to secure this person with the help of the composite team of embassy and POLO officials, police authorities and the manpower agency. The social media is very helpful in information gathering and dissemination," cited Dado.
Following the failed rescue on Saturday night, the representative of the recruitment manpower agency on Sunday went to the house of Sumali's employer and took her to the POLO-OWWA where Dado and Dicang waited.
Speaking to the Arab Times on Sunday, Sumali recounted that on May 24, she together with the three-year-old daughter of her employer were at the International Fair Ground in Mishref. "I was looking after the kid when she went to one stall and started taking some of the stuff there and the Filipina saleslady called my attention. So I took the kid away from the stall but she started crying and throwing tantrums," she narrated. She added that the kid started boxing her and slapping her while crying prompting her to touch the kid's face to calm her down as she looked for her lady employer. "When my madam came, the kid told my madam that I slapped her on the face but I didn't do it. So my Madam got mad but I told her to ask the people around if I really did that but she won't believe me and she was fuming mad," she stated.
When they reached home, Sumali recounted that her lady employer allegedly slapped her on the face several times, twisted her right arm while her mother tried to stop her and went in between them. Her lady employer took Sumali to her room and locked her up.
Appeal
"She screamed at me and said wait and you will see when my husband arrives, we will cut your fingers. I was very afraid and became desperate so I took my mobile phone which I have been hiding for a long time now and used it to post an appeal for help on my Facebook. That was my only hope to be rescued and I would like to thank everyone for alerting the concerned authorities, " she shared as tears welled in her eyes.
Meanwhile, the manpower recruitment agency vowed to help Sumali to retrieve her passport, collect her unpaid salaries and expedite her repatriation. "I was the one who went to the house of her employer and her employer turned her over to me. She is okay now and we're glad that nothing serious happened to her. Rest assured that from the agency's side, we always take care of the welfare of those OFWs we have deployed and we thanked Consul General Dado and Labour Attache Dicang for all the assistance on Rosemarie's case," stated Lailah Venturina, the representative of the manpower recruitment agency.
The Philippine Embassy and the POLO-OWWA thanked the police authorities and all those who helped in the rescue of Sumali. "She's now here with us. She's safe. We thanked the agency for bringing her here after the police could not find her last night. Consul General Dado and I were at the police station. Thank you also to all the concerned citizens for informing us. She decided to go home so we will help her," pointed out Dicang.
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