Israeli cops rescue Pinay maid—report

Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: September 16, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—After nearly two years, a Filipino domestic helper who was reportedly held as a virtual slave and prisoner at her employers’ house for nearly two years in east Jerusalem was recently rescued by the Israeli police.

According to the police quoted by Israeli media reports monitored by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a migrant organization named Kav L’oved provided information to the police about the condition of the Filipino, who was said to have been forced to work without pay and vacation.

The Filipino woman, whose name was withheld, said her passport was taken from her by the couple who employed her. She recounted how her employers had accused her of stealing jewelry and how she, fearing imprisonment, agreed to work for them without pay.

She said that for the past one year and 10 months, she was usually locked up in the bathroom when not working.

The media reports did not identify the nationality of the Filipino’s employers, whose house is located in Shuafat, an Arabic-speaking neighborhood in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian territory annexed by Israel in 1967.

The couple has been summoned for investigation at the local court house while the Filipino was taken to a shelter for victims of human trafficking, according to the media reports.