THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday urged the
public to immediately report to the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration or the Department of Labor any recruitment agency offering jobs
for domestic helpers in Egypt as these jobs are non-existent.
Citing a report by the Philippine embassy in Cairo, the DFA
said the Egyptian government only issues working permits and visas to foreign
domestic helpers employed by foreign diplomats accredited in Egypt.
"Filipinos who seek jobs in Egypt as domestic helpers are in
danger of arrest by the Egyptian immigration authorities for lack of valid visas
and working permits," the DFA warned.
The Philippine embassy in Cairo said the modus operandi
involves hiring DHs for nearby countries like Jordan, United Arab Emirates and
Kuwait then bringing them to Egypt for delivery to their real employers. The
embassy said this approach is used because Egyptian immigration laws allow
foreign employers to bring with them foreign domestic helpers when they vacation
in Egypt. It added that some DHs enter Egypt as tourists then overstay and are
hidden from immigration authorities by employers who lock them up in their
homes.
The embassy said it has also received reports that factory
workers, nurses, hotel service staff and other Filipinos are lured to Egypt and
later forced to work as servants. When the workers demand to be paid or sent
home, they are then abandoned at the Philippine embassy – overworked, unpaid,
maltreated or accused of theft by their employers as a ruse to avoid paying
their wages and/or plane fares home. – Anthony Ian Cruz
