OFWs in Lebanon come home sans salaries

Filipino workers have opted to leave Lebanon despite the ceasefire because many employers were unable to pay the salaries of employees due to the hardship suffered by Lebanese families after the recent war between Israel and the Hezbollah militias.

Some 33 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) arrived yesterday from Lebanon on board a Gulf Air flight from Beirut via Bahrain.

Most of the OFWs who worked as domestic helpers, said despite the ceasefire brokered by the United Nations, life in Lebanon has become unbearable and many workers are not paid or just get partially paid by employers who are reeling from the devastation of the monthlong conflict that has left many Lebanese communities in ruins.

Lea Alperez, 40, a veteran housemaid in Beirut, said she was forced to leave after only working four months of her new one-year contract because she has not received her monthly salary.

Alperez had already worked for four years in Lebanon and she renewed her contract in April, but the uncertainty of the situation in Lebanon and her unpaid wages prompted her to leave her employer and go to the Philippine Embassy in Beirut to seek help.

"Hindi ako nasusuwelduhan ng employer ko simula pa ng magtrabaho ako noong April kaya nagdecide na ako na umuwi na lang," Alperez told The STAR.

Alperez had served different employers in the past four years in Lebanon and she received her wages regularly.

"Kung hindi rin naman ako susuwelduhan, naisip ko na huwag na lang makipagsapalaran doon at baka magkagiyera pa ulit," she said.

Nimshi Nator, 24, also a housemaid, decided to seek repatriation through the help of the International Organization for Migration because she had not received her salary.

Nator complained that she was supposed to get $200 a month from her employer who is a cook at a Lebanese hotel, but she only got $150 a month, sometimes the pay is even delayed.

"Mahirap na rin ang buhay ng mga Lebanese dahil sa giyera kaya hindi kami masuwelduhan kaya mas maganda pang umuwi na lang dito sa Pilipinas. At least dito wala kang giyera," she said. - Rainier Allan Ronda