OFW bloodletting not abetting

OVER the week, another one of our modern heroes in the Middle East fall prey to the tentacles of human rights violators among their foreign employers. Said to be newly-hired in one of those juicy-sounding earthen places in the world, the young Filipina who was reportedly mysteriously burned to death could not even be helped by the representatives of the Philippine government assigned to come to their aid in this particular country for "unknown" reasons.

Now the aggrieved family of the OFW who are based here in Davao are in a quandary as to what particular branch of government could assist them as they are trying to retrieve their kin's body from that particular country where she is now, lying cold and unattended. The family is so bereaved, especially the three children left behind by the lady such that most of them are in a state of confusion and distress.

One of the members of the family confided that grieving over the loss without the body of the loved one is such a heavy load on their psyche. It is something that cannot be explained or even expressed in words. It is something that's 'there,' but not really tangible, a weight that bears on them mentally, psychologically and spiritually.

With adults, undergoing such stress is already a depressing reality. But for the school children who lost their mother, it can be unbearable and devastating.

Reportedly, the lady was a newly-hired domestic helper in this part of the Middle East. The family said hers was not another case of illegal recruitment as she had the proper conditions of employment and legal papers to show. One of the relatives said that the family was informed that the victim allegedly figured in an 'accident' involving electricity, although this has yet to be verified by them.

Up to this time, their main problem is the inaccessibility of information from government agencies tasked to assist OFWs, including the OWWA and the Philippine Embassy or consulate assigned in this particular country in the Middle East. All that the family wanted to know as of the present time is the possibility of repatriation of the body, which they said can only be answered by the responsible government agencies tasked to do their jobs but are not actually doing it.

Woe to our so-called modern heroes who are fed to the 'lions' in the name of economic gain for the country. Is it worth all the anguish of the family? When the OFW responded to the needs of his/her family, the idea that brought them to an uncertain journey was for the benefit of the family and country. It is only right perhaps to return the favor for all the sacrifices that they have willingly given.

To give one's life in the altar of the country's prosperity is a valiant sacrifice that only deserves to be adequately returned even if only with a gesture of kindness and compassion. It is only right that government service be available when and where it is needed by the citizens of this country by the present dispensation that touted itself to be the 'servant' that it should be.