The Irony of Nuan's Fight

Nuan is an OFW in Ajman, an emirate not far from Dubai.

She worked as a domestic helper for over a year. But sadly like any other OFWs, her story is not far from different.

She fled her employer months ago because she was abused and hasn't been given her salary. She had burns on parts of her body due to 'horrific injuries' inflicted on her that left permanent scars and bruised memories. I am lost in translation as to how to call the source of the injuries. The scars on her skin were from a hot flat iron. Probably for something she didn't do right?

She is now at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai waiting for justice to be served upon her. The Sharjah (another emirate of the UAE) immigrations filed the case. It wasn't clear what cases were filed but so far, she only got AED 11,800.00 for her 19 months of service. That's around AED 621.05 per month. It's just enough to pay for my month's rent when I was there.

How did she survive all these?

This reminded me of a post I made over a year ago. You can find it here.

Both Filipinas worked as domestic helpers. Nuan worked in Ajman and Girlie (the Pinay from the bus stop) worked in Sharjah. Girlie was luckier because she was able to escape. But honestly, I still think about her every so often. Her tourist visa was supposed to expire in a few days after that bus stop meeting. After the expiry date, she either had to go home or exit in neighboring countries like Omman or Kish Island, Iran to change her visa status. This is = money, which she didn't have. At that time, all she had was her bag of clothes, a dead watch, a pair of wounded hands and a piece of paper with her name on it; at least that's what I saw. When my memory serves me, I remember her with a question: What happened to her already? Because when I got home that day and shared the story with my room mates, we feared for the worse. That after her tourist visa expires, she might become like one of those many.... a prostitute. I know you would say that we are pranings (paranoids. But THAT is reality. I sometimes wonder if Girlie ended up like one.

From what I heard, she will stay at the Consulate and help around in return for her shelter. Nuan's fight would be be long. But I wonder what would be at the end of this tunnel.

The irony of it all is that she can stay but she won't be able to work. Chances are no one will hire her while her case is ongoing. How will she survive? It's good to know that there are some Filipinos who share their blessings to Filipinos like her. But how can her family survive?

Nuan's decision to stay there and fight is a very tough decision. Frankly, I do not know what she's fighting for and if indeed it's worth it. The irony is that if she's fighting for an injured soul, I wonder if the trials will even make her wounds worse. Or if she's fighting to get back her damaged dignity, isn't it that home is where we get our wounds healed?

Excuse me for being a pessimist, but I see an empty victory, if a victory would even be possible.


Nuan's story is here.