Kuwait intensifies crackdown on ‘illegal’ migrants, OFWs arrested
Thursday, June 13, 2013 6:59
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Press Release
13 June 2013
Kuwait intensifies crackdown on ‘illegal’ migrants, OFWs arrested
Kuwait authorities are on a serious business running after ‘illegal’ migrants for weeks now, according to a Filipino migrant rights group in the Middle East.
Citing reports from Kuwait-based overseas Filipino workers, MIGRANTE vice chairperson John Leonard Monterona, also the group’s coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), said Kuwait authorities have intensified its crackdown by conducting house-to-house searches of ‘illegal’ migrants at various Kuwaiti districts that started weeks ago.
On May 29, 2013, over 1,000 expatriate workers were rounded up in New Farwaniya, Jleeb, a populous district in Kuwait. While 203 were arrested in early morning June 10 raid in Hawalli district.
“This causes so much fear not only to undocumented OFWs but as well as to those who are legally staying and working in Kuwait as there were reports of a number of legal or documented OFWs apprehended by Kuwait authorities,” Monterona added.
On April this year, Saudi authorities have launched massive crackdown on ‘illegal’ expatriate workers. Weeks after, the Saudi King ordered a halt by providing a 90-day grace period to allow the documentation and legalization of all ‘illegal’ migrants in the Kingdom as private sector and migrant organizations complained.
“Like Saudi Arabia, the crackdown by the Kuwait authorities has something to do in getting rid the country from expatriate workers who comprise around 69 percent of Kuwait’s 3.9 million population,” Monterona added.
Kuwait, per news report, is planning to cut 100,000 expatriate workers yearly starting this year.
Unfortunately, according to Monterona, many expatriate workers who are mostly in the construction and services industries including household service workers (HSWs) are undocumented after running away due to alleged employer’s labor rights violations, abuses and maltreatment.
“Per our monitoring, there are more than 20 OFWs were apprehended. Some of them with legal papers and properly documented with Kuwait-issued civil IDs,” Monterona added.
On June 11, the Philippine Embassy and labor officials in Kuwait have created a task force to help OFWs amid the massive crackdown by Kuwait authorities on ‘illegal’ migrants.
“We welcome the prompt initiative taken by the PH embassy and labor officials in Kuwait in their willingness to provide immediate assistance to apprehended OFWs, undocumented or not, and by assigning hotlines (55952909 or 65184433) for emergency assistance,” Monterona averred.
The OFW leader, however, suggested that the Aquino III administration through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to immediately interface with the Kuwaiti authorities in exploring the granting of amnesty, if not allow the legalization, of ‘illegal’ OFWs in the Kingdom.
“The granting of amnesty and/or legalization provision is on the best interest of ‘illegal’ OFWs in Kuwait, mostly victims of labor rights violations, abuses, and maltreatment”Monterona concluded.
There are nearly 200,000 OFWs living and working in Kuwait, a small, oil-rich Arab country and one of the World’s leading oil producers.
Reference:
John Leonard Monterona
MIGRANTE vice chairperson
Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator
Mobile No. 0063 923 420 0112
Migrante file photo.
Source: http://migranteme.blogspot.com/2013/06/kuwait-intensifies-crackdown-on-illegal.html
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