PH thanks Kurdistan for rescue

THE PHILIPPINES’ chargé d’affaires in Baghdad has expressed the embassy’s gratitude for the assistance of authorities in Iraq’s Kurdistan region in the recent rescue and repatriation of 10 Filipino trafficking victims two months ago.

In a letter to Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Elmer Cato said the Philippine Embassy would not have been able to get back the victims without the support of the Ministry of Interior, particularly Minister Karim Sinjari and Director General Sami Jalal Hussein, and the International Organization for Migration.

“Their actions to immediately address our concern underscores the serious commitment of the regional government in working with the international community in combating human trafficking and preventing the exploitation and abuse of Filipinos and other migrant workers in Kurdistan,” Cato in an e-mailed statement.

Majority of the estimated 2,000 Filipinos in Iraq are in the Kurdistan region where they work in the oil and gas, health, hospitality and services sectors, the embassy said.

According to the embassy report, the 10 rescued Filipinos had been working 12 hours seven days a week with only three hours off once a week.

They were paid only $300 monthly of the $500 that was promised them and got deductions ranging from $100 to $500 for infractions such as smoking, taking naps or failing to clean the toilet properly.

The embassy said the women were also subjected to what is tantamount to debt bondage. Niña P. Calleja