Sarah, a housemaid, escaped from her employer last Ramadan. She escaped because she could no longer endure the long hours of excessive work and verbal abuse by her employer. Working from dusk to dawn, the skin of her hands was peeling off; there were gaping wounds in between her fingers. She was not paid her meager monthly salary of $150 for the last three months. When she ran away, barefooted, the only possession she took with her was her cell phone. Weeks before the escape, she was already in contact through her cell phone with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, informing labor officials of her critical situation. By means of the cell phone, she was given instruction what exactly she should do if she chooses to escape. The basic instruction was to call the labor office and inform the officials there of her whereabouts. After her escape, Sarah called the labor office officials informing them of her location in Dammam. She was told not to move from where she sought shelter until she was fetched and finally turned over to the Saudi Social Welfare Center. Sarah was eventually repatriated back to her country through the intercession of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office after reaching settlement and arrangement with the employer and the Social Welfare Center, respectively. Household helpers are the most vulnerable foreign workers in this country. Confined literally to the four corners of their employers' home, with nobody to seek for help when faced with physical abuse and life-threatening situations, the use of cell phone to connect with the outside world is yet the best channel to seek help. Women who work in confined environments, including fashion and beauty establishments, who encounter problems with their employers, have effectively used cell phones to seek support from their embassies and friends in the community. Many tales of daring escapes by these women workers restrained in their workplaces have been reported. Their escapes were mostly made possible by the use of cell phones – the gadget that has made life easier and tolerable for the thousands of domestic workers in this country. “Years ago, we had the difficulty of advising our domestic workers what to do when faced with problems because there was no way to directly communicate with them. The advent of the cell phone has made life manageable for our domestic workers; the gadget has also enabled us to provide proper guidance to workers in distress,” said Resty de la Fuente, head of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. “The use of cell phone as the means of effective communications between embassies and their workers has brought about immediate solution to many labor problems affecting foreign workers in this country,” de la Fuente said. According to de la Fuente the use of cell phones has given hope and speedy solution to the otherwise critical situation of workers in distress. “We at the labor office are given the chance not only to provide the appropriate and right advice to callers; on top of this we are able to reach out to their personal feelings and impart the healing words for them to look forward for the sake of their families back home.” The use of cell phones is now the frontline step in supporting workers in need of help, according to de la Fuente. Philippine ambassador Antonio Villamor and de la Fuente have set the procedure among embassy and labor officials to keep their cell phones available 24/7 to receive calls from workers in distress, especially household workers. “At the labor office, I have emphasized the culture of courteousness and politeness in answering the calls of distress from our household workers; we want to assure them that their problems have solutions, and soothing words of hope and encouragement certainly can unburden their worries and problems,” de la Fuente said. According to de la Fuente, because distress calls are an expense on the part of the callers, advices from the labor office are made systematically and briefly. “The steps to be followed by distressed workers, particularly housemaids, are laid down and callers are urged to follow them.” Household service providers, like housemaids, have specific hours of calling embassy and labor officials for help. “Housemaids seeking help usually place their calls between 10 A.M. to 11A.M. in the morning when the employers are out for work and the children are in the school and usually after 2 A.M. in the morning when everybody in the household are asleep,” de la Fuente said. “This is the reason why embassy and labor officials' cell phones are open and available during these critical hours,” he added. Because cell phones are the only line of direct communications with their embassies and the outside world, most housemaids are secretly maintaining cell phones. There are already complaints of employers prohibiting possession of cell phones and even confiscating the gadgets. Through cell phones, housemaids are also able to contact their families back home. But for help and support, the cell phone is yet the best means of seeking the assistance from foreign embassies and labor offices and, to some extent, Saudi authorities, like the police and Saudi human rights organizations. “By means of the cell phones, there are yet many Sarahs who will be rescued from out of their serious and even life-threatening situations. The cell phone has become the mighty gadget during the hours of need for thousands of housemaid in this country,” de la Fuente said.
