9 eulogies for Filipina domestic workers
in the lineage of Nina Simone
Saudi Arabia
i kissed my children goodbye, vowing
to provide for them & return home. twice
a week i called to check in, mothering
from afar. the royal family respected me,
i sent my kids to school, paid hospital bills.
my husband was told that royal factions
kidnapped me, a pawn in murderous games.
later, he was called in to id my body.
they call me Marilyn Restor.
Kuwait
i was only allowed to speak
to my family three times a year.
remaining silent: i traded humiliation
for food, shelter, money. for over two
years i was missing, a saltwater pearl
locked away, dehydrated & cracked.
after i was found, Duterte offered free
flights home & instituted a ban— which lasted 5 months.
my name is Joanna Demafelis.
Kuwait: 5 years later
i was scared. calling my family,
confessing my fears. my employer’s
teenage son—he’s violent & brutal.
pregnant, i was nourishing a seedling
who would join my garden back home.
i became, instead, a wilted & crushed
sampaguita buried underneath hot sand.
visas for Filipinos suspended indefinitely.
they call me Jullebee Ranara.
Cyprus
we worked 12-14 hours a day, sexually
assaulted—our employment contracts,
failed armor against abuse. one by one
we disappeared. our remains scattered
in the crimson depths of Kokkinopezoula;
we became the rainbow colors of Memi
Mine Lake. justice masked & scapegoated.
we are Mary Rose Tiburcio, Arian Palanas Lozano,
Maricar Valtez Arquiola & Livia; Elena & Sierra, our children.
Mongolia
both employed: i, a dental assistant; my husband,
an electrician. money stretched doesn’t cover a
family of 6. through an agency, i secured a tourist
visa & worked as a domestic for a diplomat’s son.
possibilities seemed endless—a dream fulfilled.
reality, a nightmare. after 3 months without pay,
i informed my oldest i'm returning home. died by suicide,
they claim. bruises, burns, & rags stuffed inside tell otherwise.
my name is Terril Atienza.
Singapore
an OFW to provide for my children, i was accused
of murdering a kaibigan & her employer’s young
child. sentenced to death by hanging, President Ramos
tried to intercede. i was the walking dead, haunting our
country’s migrant exports. on that day, just before dawn,
Amazing Grace filled the air as the final grain of sand
fell to the bottom of my hourglass. afterward, anger flooded
the streets. Republic Act No. 8042, written in my blood.
they call me Flor Contemplacion.
United Arab Emirates
in two months, i was set to return home
to my children. refusing to leave early,
for safety, i sent videos: locked inside
my room, denied food, & beaten.
they stopped paying me. bamboo shoots
stuffed inside a diesel tank. avoid illegal
recruitment, my government urged others,
as remittances fill the state’s & private coffers.
i’m known as Grace Santos.
Lebanon
two months after COVID shutdowns,
our embassy provided shelter for those
whose employers stopped paying. a Reuters
article & Lebanon’s National Human Rights
Commission’s visit revealed our conditions:
overcrowding, no access to the outside. they
say i jumped—but like the kagwang, i glide,
not fall. unprotected & exploited by our own.
my name is Jenalyn Banares.
Saudi Arabia
brought to the Saudi Welfare
Agency by my employer.
weak, but gathering all my strength,
i tell them of the violences endured
& how i began working here at 17.
five days later: no longer able to speak,
nor walk, frozen in stillness. they say
i fell & slipped into a coma.
they call me Rina Bayan.
mother-shaped absence
& blood-drenched remittances
national heroes for whom?
performative solidarity
Boycott the American Sociological Association’s 2026 Conference!
included excluded
skip registration fees resigning
don’t stay at the block of ASA hotels not attending the conference
organize with section(s) for events offsite / remote joining an organization committed to BDS
permissable
attend panels & events without registering
borrowing nametags to go into the book exhibit
staying in a hotel not in the ASA block
traveling to NYC to tsismis with friends
solidarity without sacrifice
& allyship without risk
serves only those in power
Sources
“9 eulogies for Filipina domestic workers”
“Family of Slain Filipina Domestic Helper in Sharjah Pleads for Justice” Dubai OFW, https://dubaiofw.com/deep-dive-dubai/#Family_of_Slain_Filipina_Domestic_Helper_in_Sharjah_Pleads_for_Justice
“JUSTICE TO GRACE SANTOS! Prosecute the Killer Employer!” July 16, 2021. Migrante International, https://migranteinternational.org/justice-to-grace-santos-prosecute-the-killer-employer/
Aning, Jerome. May 25, 2012. “Probe of Filipina’s death in Mongolia sought” Philippine Daily Inquirer, https://globalnation.inquirer.net/37813/probe-of-filipina’s-death-in-mongolia-sought
Barkawi, Ban. May 27, 2020. “Plight of Lebanon’s migrant maids spurs coronavirus repatriation push” Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/article/world/plight-of-lebanon-s-migrant-maids-spurs-coronavirus-repatriation-push-idUSKBN23407A/
Blunt, Rosie. May 2, 2019. “Cyprus serial killer case exposes abuse of migrant women” BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48132702
Chew, Valerie. July 2023. “Flor Contemplacion” National Library Board, https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=4e7e82e8-a0e1-481c-9605-12a516702a40
Ewe, Koh. Februrary 1, 2023. “She left home to work 5,000 miles away, but was killed and abandoned in a desert” Vice, https://www.vice.com/en/article/she-left-home-to-work-5000-miles-away-but-was-killed-and-abandoned-in-a-desert/
Kelly, Annie and Hazel Thompson. October 24, 2015. “The vanished: The Filipino domestic workers who disappear behind closed doors” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/oct/24/the-vanished-filipino-domestic-workers-working-abroad
May 2, 2019. “Cyprus serial killer: Justice minister resigns over case” BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48132702
October 24, 2015. “‘Abused’ OFW in Saudi Arabia dies – migrants’ group” Rappler, https://www.rappler.com/moveph/110485-ofw-rina-saudi-arabia-dies/
September 30, 2015. “Migrants’ rights group: ‘Sanction recruiter of abused OFW’” Rappler, https://www.rappler.com/moveph/107615-filipina-worker-abused-saudi-arabia/
Staff report. July 17, 2021. “Family of Filipina killed in UAE seeks Justice” Expat Media, https://www.expatmedia.net/filipina-housemaid-killed-sharjah-uae/2021/07/
Staff. May 25, 2020. “Filipina domestic worker dies suspiciously at ‘overcrowded’ shelter in Lebanon” The New Arab, https://www.newarab.com/news/filipina-domestic-worker-dies-overcrowded-shelter-lebanon
Umil, Anne Marxze. May 12, 2012. “Probe mysterious death of Pinay domestic helper in Mongolia, relatives urge govt” Bulatlat, https://www.bulatlat.com/2012/03/12/probe-mysterious-death-of-pinay-domestic-helper-in-mongolia-relatives-urge-govt/
Wang, Amy B and Brian Murphy. April 3, 2018. “How a maid found dead in a freezer set off a diplomatic clash between the Philippines and Kuwait” The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/04/03/how-a-maid-found-dead-in-a-freezer-set-off-a-diplomatic-clash-between-the-philippines-and-kuwait/
