Saving workers from gallows<\/p>\n
Many female workers have endured traumatic experiences in the
\nMiddle East. While few rape cases have been reported from the
\nUnited Arab Emirates, this is no guarantee that the migrant
\nworkers there, most of whom come from Southeast Asia, the
\nPhilippines especially, can defend themselves in the face of
\ntheir employers and the law.<\/p>\n
The conditions under which they work and the respect for
\nfemale workers in most labor-importing countries is poor. When a
\nFilipina worker in the UAE desert town of Al Ain was convicted of
\nmurder in September, many inside and outside the Philippines
\nshowed their sympathy.<\/p>\n
The death sentence handed down to 16-year-old Sarah Balagaban
\nfor the premeditated murder of her employer outraged many the
\nworld over, except perhaps in Indonesia, where human rights
\nactivists and women's organizations seem too preoccupied with
\nmounting domestic problems. Perhaps the sense of Islamic
\nbrotherhood only has a local meaning.<\/p>\n
Sarah Balabagan, a Moslem worker from the southern
\nPhillipines, was condemned to death last year for the
\npremeditated murder of her employer, Almas Mohammed al-Baloushi.
\nA court rejected her claim that she was acting in self defense
\nwhen she stabbed him 34 times in a rape attempt. An appeal was
\nfiled on Monday, though a decision has been postponed for several
\nweeks.<\/p>\n
French President Jacques Chirac is watching the case and has
\npromised to intervene in a manner which respects the UAE's
\nsovereignty.<\/p>\n
A number of countries sympathize with the Philippine
\ngovernment's determination that Balagaban was only 15 years old
\nwhen she committed the murder. That she was registered in the UAE
\nas being 27 years of age, according to the Philippine
\nauthorities, is because her travel documents had been falsified
\nby her recruitment agency to meet the minimum age limit of 25
\nyears for Filipinos (and Filipinas) to work abroad.<\/p>\n
Other countries -- but regretfully not the UAE -- are well
\naware that forging documents has always been part of the
\nbureaucratic game in poor Southeast Asian countries. As of
\nMonday, however, the court was not convinced of Balabagan's age,
\neven though her defense lawyer, who is fighting for her
\nacquittal, has submitted 11 pages of documents to back the
\nargument. The case has also been complicated by the victim's son,
\nwho is demanding that the court execute her. In line with syaria
\nIslamic law, the court must listen to the victims' relatives.<\/p>\n
Balagaban will only be saved from the gallows if the UAE court
\nand the relatives of the murdered employer understand the
\ncultural and administrative background of the defendant's
\ncountry. This is very important considering syaria law, which has
\noften times been too rigidly applied in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The irony of this notion lies in the sad fact that many
\nworkers have been condemned for killing abusive employers, while
\nfew employers, if any, have ever been penalized for rape.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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