Bulatlat

She left the country full of dreams not for herself but for her family. Because of the dearth of jobs in the country and the lack of attention given to the working sector by the Arroyo government, she was tempted to try her luck as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia. But in less than a year, Genia Baja ended dead from mysterious circumstances, a story all too familiar to hundreds of OFWs and their families.

BY HANNAH FAITH DORMIDO
BULATLAT
Vol. VIII, No. 13, May 4-10, 2008

She left the country full of dreams not for herself but for her family. Because of the dearth of jobs in the country and the lack of attention given to the working sector by the Arroyo government, she was tempted to try her luck as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia. She, like a lot of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), suffered in the hands of her foreign employer. Worse, she’s dead and her lifeless body remains in a territory distant from her family.

Eugenia Baja, 25, had to work right after graduating from high school because she wanted to help her parents send her younger siblings to school. As the fourth among seven children, she felt responsible for the three younger siblings, especially since their parents are already old and they barely survived with their income as farmers. Lilybeth Garcia, her eldest sister, told Bulatlat that farming used to be the only source of livelihood for their family in Sierra Bullones, Bohol. They paid rent to the landlord, spent for seeds, fertilizers, and other production inputs, to get half of the harvest. Otherwise, the sharing would be 70-30 in favor of the landlord. Garcia also said she and her other siblings had to work as household helpers to augment their parents’ income. It came to point that their parents could no longer farm because of old age.

Eugenia, or “Genia” to her family, worked as a saleslady in a department store, as a server at a burger machine stand, and as household helper before going abroad. Her older siblings who used to support the family already had their own families so she felt it was her time to shoulder the responsibility of bringing rice and food to the table. Genia also decided to work abroad because, Lilybeth said, “Ayaw niyang maging katulong lang din yung mga kapatid namin (She didn’t want our siblings to end up as household helpers.)”

She was supposed to leave for Lebanon in 2005 as a domestic helper, but wasn’t able to because war erupted in the said country. Genia left the country in May 2007 to work as a domestic helper, this time in Riyadh. During her first month in Riyadh, she usually told her Ate Lilybeth through text messages that work was difficult. “Nagugutom daw siya dahil tinapay lang yung kinakain dun” (She was always hungry because they only ate bread), Lilybeth told Bulatlat, tears streaming from her eyes.

Despite the heavy work, Genia would always assure her Ate Lilybeth that she was alright. Lilybeth said, “Maraming pangarap si Genia. Sabi niya sa isa naming kapatid, umuwi nalang sa probinsiya at tulungan sina tatay magsaka dun. Nagpadala siya ng pera para ibili ng kalabaw” (Genia had dreams. She told one of our siblings to go home to the province and help our father in farming. She gave money to buy a carabao.)

“Kapag kinakausap niya yung mga bata naming kapatid, lagi niyang sinasabi na ‘para sa inyo’ itong pagtratrabaho ko.” (Every time she talked with our younger siblings, she constantly told them that she was working in a foreign land for their sake)

Around December 2007, Genia called her family to deliver sad news; that she can’t send them money for the holidays because her salary for the months of October, November and December were not given to her.

By the first week of January, Genia’s family became worried because of a text message she sent “Nong, tabangi ko ninju, malooy mo nako. Pangetaa ko ninju” (Big brother, help me. Please find me.)”

Another text message alarmed the family. “Hindi daw po niya alam kung anong nangyari sa kanya. Basta may naamoy daw siyang mabaho. Tapos lamig na lamig daw po siya at parang mababaliw na. Lagi daw po niyang naririnig ang ‘allah’ pero di niya alam kung ano ginagawa sa kanya,” (She said she did not know what was happening to her. She smelled something noxious. She felt terribly cold and seemed to be losing control of her mind. All she heard was “allah” but she did not know what was being done to her.) Lilybeth recounted. Her family felt scared for her, but all they could do was to console her through text messages.

By the end of January, the family became more worried about Genia’s situation when she failed to reply to their text messages. Around February 27, they were shattered by the news that Genia died last February 24 and that her remains are at the Shumeisy Hospital. In a written statement, Genia’s employer claimed that she got sick and was brought to the hospital and later died.

“Hindi na namin alam kung kanino kami lalapit. Kahit ang DFA hindi alam na may namatay na OFW doon sa Saudi Arabia. Kaya lumapit kami sa Migrante” (We didn’t know whom to approach for assistance. Even the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] didn’t know that an OFW died in Saudi Arabia. So we decided to ask help from Migrante) said Liliybeth. Migrante International is an alliance of organizations of OFWs and their families.

Migrante vowed to continue pursuing justice for Genia, together will all the other cases of OFWs. Migrante is demanding that the Arroyo government gives due attention to the plight of OFWs . As of now, the remains of Genia is still at the Shumeisy Hospital. “Mag-aapat na buwan na, hindi parin makauwi dito sa Pilipinas (ang bangkay ni Genia),” It has been four months now and her remains have not yet been brought home.) said Liliybeth.

“Sabi sa amin ng mga ahensiya ng gobyerno, unahin daw ang buhay kaysa sa patay. Diyos ko naman, huwag naman ganoon. Yung nanay nito (Genia) nagkasakit na. Tatay din nito pumunta na dito sa Maynila upang makatulong sa pag follow up ung kaso” (Government agencies told us that thy are prioritizing the repatriation of OFWs who are alive rather than those who are already dead. Why are they like that? Genia’s mother is sick already. Her father went to Manila just to follow-up her case,)” said Roque Magdula, Genia’s uncle.

“Gusto ko lang sanang iparating sa gobyerno na gawan naman nila ng paraan ang kaso ng pagkamatay ng kapatid ko” (I just want to tell the government to follow up the case of my sister’s death.) Lilybeth said.

Lilybeth and the entire family aren’t convinced that Genia committed suicide, as claimed by some sources. “Marami siyang pangarap. Hindi niya magagawa iyong iuntog ang sarili sa tiles” (She had a lot of dreams. She would not hit her head on the tiles) said Lilybeth, gripping her handkerchief tightly.

For the Baja family, Genia’s death is not just another OFW case. “Kapamilya po namin yun, kapatid ko. May mga pamilya din po sila, sana maintindihan nila ang nararamdaman namin” (She’s part of our family, she’s my sister. They have their own families and I hope they understand how we feel.)

The call for justice for Genia still continues. And as long as her body isn’t brought home and the real reason for her death is revealed, her family, together with Migrante and other OFW families will continue the fight for justice.

Genia’s death is not an isolated case. A lot of OFWs in other countries suffer the same fate. The Arroyo government needs to address this national problem, or the call “Gloria Palayasin” (Oust Gloria) will continue to resonate louder and louder from Migrante, OFWs, and their families. Bulatlat