17 November 2005

For reference: Esther Buhay C Bangcawayan
Women's Program Coordinator
Tel. No.: 27237536, 96142481

Paralyzed OFW, finally coming home
Mediocre services cause delay of repatriation

Finally, Muslima Qusain is going home. Her ordeal, however, has again shown the mediocre services that the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) provides to migrant Filipinos.

Qusain, an OFW who tried to commit suicide by jumping from the second floor window of her agency due to severe depression and homesickness, had to go through the harrowing bureaucratic and snail-like pace of service delivery by Philippine government officials in Dubai before she could finally come back to the Philippines.

Paralyzed from the waist down, she stayed for two months at Rashid Hospital. Towards the end of last month, hospital authorities have given her a "fit to travel" clearance so she can finally go home.

However, because of the Philippine Consulate's tug-of-war with Qusain's employer on who will foot Qusain's bills, the process of her repatriation got delayed up to after the holiday season.

Such a delay only increases the risk of Qusain having a relapse. Even hospital authorities have strongly advised to repatriate Qusain as soon as possible because the hospital environment, they said will not be beneficial for her.

Qusain, a documented migrant worker who is entitled to full benefits from the Philippine government through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), was denied immediate assistance by the OWWA. Instead, her benefits were put on hold while the Consulate officials tried to transfer the responsibility of her hospitalization to Qusain's employer.

Though she is finally flying back to the Philippines tomorrow, there were reports that a fellow OFW was the one who paid for her air fare from Manila to Cotabato City because it was not shouldered by the OWWA.

Service delivery to migrants in distress is always urgent and primarily the responsibility of the Philippine government. Any OFW, like Qusain, should not be made to suffer more just because the Philippine government is too tightfisted to release money for welfare assistance that, in the first place, OFWs rightly earned.

If this is how the PCG in Dubai serves the Filipino community, it's no wonder then that only a few OFWs come to their office to seek help as they reported once. However, this does not mean that OFWs in Dubai are in better condition. On the contrary, it just shows the disbelief of the OFWs community that the PCG will do anything to help them.

With the case of Qusain, this does not seem far from the truth.