NEED YOUR SUPPORT * NEED YOUR SUPPORT * NEED YOUR SUPPORT

Dear Sisters and Human Rights Defenders,

Greetings of peace and solidarity!

We are appealing to you to support our campaign to save the life of a sister, mother and domestic worker Marilou Ranario from the Philippines who was sentenced to death by hanging last 28 September 2005.  She is currently imprisoned at the Kuwait Central Jail awaiting final decision of her case by the Court of Cassation.  The oral argument of the case is scheduled on 13 November 2007 and a decision be reached during the first quarter of 2008.

You can help Marilou by sending 1)  Letter of Appeal to the Kuwait Amir; 2) Letter to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and; 3) sign the petition hereto attached.  Please furnish us a copy of your letters and send it to our email:  migrantecampaign@gmail.com .

We must not waste time.  Let's all work towards her freedom.

Thank you very much in anticipation.

Your sincerely,

CONNIE BRAGAS-REGALADO
Chairperson, MIGRNTE International
Convenor, Save Marilou Ranario Movement (SMRM)

FACT SHEET

Marilou Ranario
Sentenced to death in Kuwait

OVERVIEW

Marilou, 35 years old, was arrested and imprisoned for the alleged murder of her female employer Najat Mahmoud Faraj Mobarak in 11 January 2005. She was sentenced to death by hanging by Kuwait’s Court of First Instance on 28 September 2005. Kuwait’s Court of Appeals upheld this sentence in February 2007.

Her case is now under final appeal with the highest court, the Court of Cassation. Oral arguments are set to start this November 13th with a final verdict to be released in the first quarter of 2008.

A closer look at her case reveals that Marilou is in fact more a victim than a criminal.

She is a victim of a systemic poverty so intense that it forces more than 3,000 Filipinos daily to work overseas just to survive. As such, despite Marilou’s noble profession as a public school teacher, her meager salary was never enough to meet even her family’s most basic of needs. So in her bid to earn a decent living, she grasped onto the knife’s edge and went to work in Kuwait as a domestic helper in 2003. Clearly, Marilou went overseas because of her dream to give her children a better life – and not to commit a crime in a foreign land.

Marilou is a victim of abuse and human rights violations. She suffered maltreatment, verbal and physical abuse from her employer. She was also not given her salary, which was much needed by her family in the Philippines, for three months.

Marilou is also a victim of the Arroyo administration’s criminal neglect. From January to September 2005, when she was sentenced to death by hanging, Marilou received very little assistance from the Arroyo administration.

In fact, from January to April, she was left completely on her own because it was only in April 2005 that she was even provided a lawyer to help with her defense.

In 2005, a Migrante International campaign to expose her plight and the government’s criminal neglect of her case compelled Vice-President Noli de Castro to bring Marilou’s parents to Kuwait for a visit with Marilou in prison in October 2006.

But instead of helping her case, VP de Castro may have even worsened it by boastfully assuring the family and the public that Marilou’s life would be spared – especially considering how despite the letter of forgiveness or tanazul given by the family of Marilou’s victim, the Court of Appeals affirmed in February 2007, the initial verdict of death by hanging.

Under Shariah Law, the personal aspect of the Marilou’s case is already resolved with the provision of the letter of forgiveness. However, this aspect is outweighed by the public aspect which is now being heard by the Court of Cassation or Kuwait’s highest court.

A major factor that may influence the court’s final decision is the presence of a massive outpouring of national and international support in favor of Marilou.

The weeks remaining until the release of the final verdict in the first quarter of 2008 is the only window of hope left for Marilou and her family. Let us maximize this time to mount a strong campaign that will generate an overwhelming public opinion for Marilou Ranario – an abused domestic worker, a teacher by profession and a young mother whose sole and simple dream was to build a better tomorrow for her young children and her family.

CHRONOLOGY

PETITION LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT:

October 2007

H.E. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palac
JP Laurel St., San Miguel
Manila, Philippines
Email: corres@op.gov.ph; opnet@ops.gov.ph

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned im/migrants, women, advocates and concerned citizens in the Philippines and overseas, express our great concern over the plight of Marilou Ranario, the Filipino domestic worker sentenced to death in Kuwait. At the same time, we are extremely concerned over the situation of about 35 other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on death row around the world.

Marilou, 35 years old, was convicted of crime of murder for the death of her employer, Najat Mahmoud Faraj Mobarak in January 2005 and sentenced to death by hanging in Septmber 2005. Her case is under final appeal with the highest court, the Court of Cassation and a final verdict is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2008.

Marilou has two children, son Raffy John who is 12 years old and daughter Ruselle who is nine (9) years old. She is a university graduate with a teacher’s degree. Her case illustrates the heights of maltreatment and injustice suffered by many im/migrants, specially women domestic workers.

It is incumbent that your office exerts all efforts to ensure that at the minimum, Marilou’s life is spared and at the maximum, she is released and reunited soonest with her family.

We reiterate our firm commitment and support for Marilou and other overseas Filipino workers like her. We commit to continue our campaign to save her life and the lives of all other overseas Filipino workers on death row.

Save the live of Marilou Ranario!
Save the lives of all overseas Filipino workers on death row!
Justice for all migrant workers!

Signed:
Please state your name, organization and email address

(Download Petition Letter in MsWord Format here)

Sample letter of appeal to the Kuwait Amir

October 2007

HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH SABAL AL-AHMAD AL-JABER AL-SABAH
The Amir of the State of Kuwait
Al Diwan Al Amiri
Sief Palace - Building 100
State of Kuwait
Telephone: +965 888881
Fax: +965 2430559
Email: amirsoffice@da.gov.kw

Your Highness,

I am writing to appeal to you, on humanitarian grounds, to spare the life of Filipino domestic worker Marilou Ranario, whose death sentence by hanging is now under appeal with Kuwait's Court of Cassation. I was informed that a final decision is expected sometime early next year.

As a (write something about the letter writer/organization), I empathize greatly with Mariou's plight because her story is one that is largely shared by countless other migrants.

Marilou is a young mother, wife, sister and daughter who wanted little more than a better life for her family.  She is a university graduate with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Education but because of poverty she was compelled to leave behind her children ages 13 years and 9 years, and worked in Kuwait as a domestic worker. Her husband is a jeepney driver but until today, he does not ave a regular source of income.  It is indeed tragic that in her bid to eke out a decent living for her children, she now faces the prospect of perhaps never seeing them again.

In this regard, I hope very much that the extreme conditions Marilou may have been subjected to before the tragic death of her employer is considered.  According to statements by Marilou's family, Marilou reported told them that she was being maltreated and that the night before her employer's death, she feared greatly for her life.

In closing, I wish to thank you Hihgness in advance for considering my letter of appeal and again, I hope very much that Marilou's life may indeed be spared.

Yours sincerely,

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE LETTER IN MSWORD FORMAT HERE.