A nanny caught in the middle

A nanny caught in the middle

The life of Filipino overseas workers is not exactly a bed of roses as many aspiring migrant workers from the Philippines would like to think. They have been called “new heroes” by then-Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo because of the remittances they send home which help the government pay its foreign debt and keep the national economy afloat.

But the most unfortunate among these workers would come home in boxes, repatriated from the countries where they worked by the Philippine Consulate or the Philippine Overseas Labour Office, which is more popularly known to overseas Filipino workers as POLO. Others would end up in foreign jails on cooked-up charges by their employers. Many would become victims of abuses and exploitation because the labour or employment laws of their host countries do not cover them for protection from abusive working conditions.

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