'Abused' maid in Ras Al Khaimah rescued after Facebook plea

A housemaid has been spared the threat of further abuse at the hands of her employer after her plea for help went viral on facebook.
 
Cristine Dumo was rescued from the house in Ras Al Khaimah by welfare workers on Tuesday night and is now in the care of the Philippines Consulate in Dubai.
 
An officer from the consulate told 7DAYS: “We received her at our centre for migrant workers last night. She is traumatised but stable. She is relieved to be safe and will not have to go back to her employer.”
 
The 23-year-old Filipina, who had been working for her employer for eight months, described how her boss tried to sexually assault her many times but she fought back. The officer said: “She said that he slapped her and tried to rape her. She managed to resist. She said she was scared to cry out for help because he threatened to send her to prison if she ever told anyone anything.”
 
However, Dumo messaged her family and said that her boss had attempted to rape her. The family contacted the Overseas Filipino Workers facebook group. On Monday, Eliese Pua Palilio, creator of community group Tropang Walang Iwanan, posted a picture of Dumo on facebook with an appeal for help.
 
The plea was shared 5,207 times on the social network and sparked calls to the consulate in Dubai. The notice read: “She’s helpless. Her employer attempted to rape her. Her employer threatened to abuse her even more if she fights.
 
“He threatened to kill her. She’s scared to use her cellphone to ask for help.” The notice finished with the plea: “To all OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) in the UAE, please help us notify the embassy.” After receiving calls, welfare workers decided to act. They messaged the maid by phone when they were outside her boss’s home and she fled to them. Representatives are currently working to process paperwork to help Dumo return home after she told them
she doesn’t want to press charges against her employer and just wants to go back to the Philippines.
 
The officer said: “We cannot file a report against her employer. It is up to her to press charges. We asked her if she wanted to go to the police, but she said no, she just wants to go home.” The consulate representative added that Dumo was one of the lucky ones that escaped just in time.
 
“We have seen much graver cases,” the official said. “Victims come in with bruises and marks after they have been raped or physically abused. The number of cases we see varies, but there have been times where we have even received five calls a day.”
 
Filipinos in the UAE who need help can call the consulate’s helpline on 056 273 2611.
 
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