In the afternoon of Aug. 14, the Saudi police raided the safehouse of the migrant NGO Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan and arrested and detained 18 Filipinos, including several runaway OFWs. Their crime? They violated a Saudi law that forbids unrelated men and women from living together.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO, Migrant Watch, Bulatlat.com
MANILA – The Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan is a nongovernment organization based in Saudi Arabia that helps overseas Filipino workers. It provides assistance, counseling and, in several instances, opens its safehouse to distressed OFWs – mostly victims of maltreatment and abuse by their employers — who have no one else to turn to.
In the afternoon of Aug. 14, the Saudi police raided the group’s safehouse while KGS leaders were holding their weekly dialogues and counseling to OFWs. Their crime? They violated a Saudi law that forbids unrelated men and women from living together.
At the time of the raid, distressed OFWs had sought refuge at the KGS safehouse. Out of the 18 leaders and members of KGS and OFWs who were arrested and detained, only six were released. The others remain in prison as of press time and are afraid that they would soon be deported to the Philippines.
“When has it become a crime to advise others who are in need?” the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, a nongovernment group, asked in a statement after the raid.
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