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On the call of Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez to probe 'OFWs selling blood' in Saudi Arabia

Wednesday, August 1, 2012 11:25

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Dear Friends,

It came to our knowledge that Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez urges the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs (COWA) to probe the report about Saudi OFWs selling blood, we decided to re-issue Migrante-Middle East statement issued on 15 October 2011, which is related to the mentioned subject, for clarity and transparency.

Migrante-Middle East officials, including the undersigned, are ready and willing to appear as resource persons if called by COWA members.

Thank you and kind regards,

-John Leonard Monterona, regional coordinator

Migrante-Middle East

—————————————————–

Press Release

15 October 2011

Jobless and undocumented, OFWs earn a living by ‘selling’ blood

They used to live for their daily survival -only if they are fit to survive.

According to Migrante-Middle East (M-ME), an umbrella of overseas Filipino workers group in the Middle East, a number of jobless and undocumented OFWs in Saudi Arabia were forced ‘to sell’ blood for their daily subsistence.

M-ME regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said undocumented OFWs who have previously sought assistance from his group, confirmed to him that they are ‘selling’ their own blood to hospitals, ‘for their daily subsistence’, and others say ‘to send remittance for their families’ in the Philippines.

Among them is OFW ‘Roy’ (not his real name), 30, from Tondo, Manila, who arrived in Saudi Arabia on 2009 to work as a glass cutter.

“After months of working and have not been paid of his salaries, he was forced to run away from his employer and since then he became an undocumented,” said Monterona.

Monterona said, like many other undocumented OFWs, OFW Roy is jumping from one part-time job to another.

“Mahirap ang walang permanenteng trabaho at TNT. Kaya buwan-buwan ‘nagbebenta’ ako ng dugo para may pera at remittance para sa pamilya ko (It’s hard to have no permanent job and as a TNT (tago-ng-tago). Thus, every month, I am ‘selling’ my blood to have money and send remittance to my family),” OFW Roy told Monterona.

Monterona also cited the case of OFW ‘Miko’, 38, a store merchandiser in Riyadh, Saudi’s capital.

OFW Miko, according to Monterona, confirmed that he, too, ‘sold’ his blood in a hospital in Riyadh when he was terminated from his job and could not easily find a job for 3 months.

“Una, nag-donate ako ng 500 CC, binigyan ako ng 500 Saudi rials (SR). Pagkalipas ng 2 buwan, 500 CC ulit ng dugo, binigyan ako ng hospital ng 300 SR. (First, I donated 500 CC blood, I was given 500 SR. After 2 buwan, 500 CC again, I was given 300 SR. of the hospital,”OFW Miko told Monterona.

Monterona said there is nothing wrong to donate flood. “It is in fact a noble and humanitarian act,” he added.

He noted some hospitals in Riyadh urged its nationals and expatriate workers to donate blood in return donors will received a sort of ‘honorarium’.

“We could fully understand the dire situation of our undocumented and jobless OFWs who often donated their blood to various hospitals in Riyadh, though their apparent motive is to get money in exchange of the blood they donated,” Monterona added.

“Some jobless and undocumented OFWs were forced to do this to survive and even to send remittance for their families,” Monterona concluded.

Migrante-ME estimates there are around 8,000 to 10,000 undocumented OFWs in Saudi Arabia.

Migrante chapter in the Kingdom has been urging the PH embassy in Riyadh to consider putting up a shelter for undocumented male OFWs who are in dire situation.

The PH embassy has a Bahay Kalinga, a temporary refuge for distressed women OFWs. # # #

Reference:

John Leonard Monterona

Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator

Mobile No.00966535921228

2012-08-01 11:01:47

Source: http://migranteme.blogspot.com/2012/08/on-call-of-cagayan-de-oro.html

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