Pinoy repatriates from Kuwait bring home tales of abuse



Many Filipino workers who arrived home after availing of the Kuwaiti government's amnesty have brought back tales of abuse, with some bearing scars reminding them of their ordeal.
One of them, Angelie Calamba, said the scar was caused by her seven-year-old ward using the electric iron on her during a tantrum.
"Gusto maglaro eh ayaw kong maglaro kasi naglilinis ako kaya 'yon, 'yung plantsa ginanon sa kamay ko," she said in a Balitanghali report by Ian Cruz on Thursday.
A total of 610 Filipinos, including minors, arrived home on Wednesday, the biggest batch so far since the amnesty program in Kuwait started, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Meanwhile, a total of 2,286 of the estimated 10,000 overstaying or undocumented Filipinos in Kuwait have been repatriated.
Kuwait's amnesty program has been extended until April 22, according to Deputy Administrator Brigido Dulay of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
Dulay said Filipinos with pending cases in Kuwait are not covered by the amnesty.
The Philippine government has stopped the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait due to reports of abuses and following the killing of domestic helper Joanna Demafelis, whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in an abandoned apartment more than a year after she was reported missing. —KBK, GMA News

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