‘Scarred’ OFW returns home

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia returned to the Philippines after nearly three years, bearing severe scars from abuse by her employer.

Leslie Gey Diaz, a domestic worker from Isabela City, Basilan, initially believed she had found stable employment upon arriving in Saudi Arabia. Her first year was uneventful, but the abuse began in her second year.

“My employer’s treatment toward me changed when I entered my second year, that’s when the beatings started,” Diaz wrote in a letter shared by her sister, Liezel.

What began as slaps and pinches escalated into severe violence. Diaz said she was repeatedly beaten with objects including a glass, knife, broom and figurines. Her day began at 4 a.m. to prepare her employer’s children for school and often did not end until 2 a.m. the next day, leaving her with little rest.

Any sign of exhaustion, including falling asleep during work hours, resulted in punishment.

The abuse peaked when Diaz lost sight in her left eye after her female employer stabbed it with a stainless steel shisha, a pipe used for smoking tobacco. She narrowly escaped death when her employer attempted to force her into an oven.

In another incident, Diaz suffered severe burns on her arms, face and neck when her employer pressed a hot iron against her skin.

“The only mistake I made was taking too long to iron clothes and prepare their food,” she said.

Throughout her ordeal, Diaz remained in contact with her family but feared revealing the truth. Liezel said her sister’s messages were monitored, making it difficult to ask for help.

“She told us she was okay, but she wasn’t. Her employer was watching over her and translating my sister’s chats, so she was too scared to ask for help,” Liezel said in a 26 February interview.

Diaz returned to the Philippines in late January.

Last 24 February, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration visited Diaz at a Zamboanga hospital, where she is confined, and provided her with P100,000 in financial assistance. Diaz and her family are seeking justice.