Many cases go unreported
Not too long ago, I was interviewed by a local television reporter about domestic Pinoy workers who were practically enslaved by United Nations diplomats here in America. At that time, domestic workers had marched from the Philippine Consulate to the United Nations in an effort to call attention to their plight and demand justice.
The reporter noted that the United States Accountability Office had released a report identifying at least 42 cases of documented abuse against domestic workers by their diplomat employers. Apparently that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Many more workers are probably not coming forward due to fear, intimidation and the constraints that diplomatic immunity places on our local law enforcement.
Google search boggles the mind
I did a Google search for “Abused Pinoy Domestic Workers” and I was rather surprised at the plethora of workers and cases that are just now coming forth. I also learned that as recently as this past December more than 75 women workers and their allies had gathered at the Philippine consulate on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York to bring attention to the existence of modern-day slavery here in America. They were demanding enforcement of existing anti-trafficking laws to protect workers and punish foreign diplomats who had trafficked in domestic workers.
As I looked a flipped through the Google pages I was more than surprised to see the extent of the abuse of not only Pinoy workers but those from other nations such as Korea. Even more mind-boggling was the list of countries a group called The Damayan Migrant Workers Association has accused of trafficking in female domestic workers by diplomats: Kuwait, Tanzania, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, India, Peru and the Philippines. What was even more horrible was the naming of some of the countries that harbor these diplomats and their domestic slaves – the United States and Canada!
Physical, sexual, and psychological abuse
The abuse of these domestics often includes confiscation of their passports, payment far below the minimum wage, if at all, being forced to work long hours each week without overtime or vacation, and in the most severe cases, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. One protestor averred that she was brought to the US in January of 2006 by the former Amabassador Lauro Baja of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations. She says she was enslaved and still fears for her family at home in Philippines.
Threats of harming her family was part of the abuse she endured to keep her quietly enslaved. She worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week, without a single day off. She avers that the Baja family stole her passport, prohibited her from leaving the home without an escort and verbally and emotionally abused her. After three months she was paid $100. Her appeal for justice has been delayed by the Baja’s diplomatic immunity, though she does have a lawsuit pending against the family.
More on slavery in the United
The exploitation and abuse of Pinoy workers is an egregious crime, but often difficult to prosecute because of diplomatic immunity issues. In the future you can expect to hear more from me about this hidden slavery. I am deeply bothered that there are Pinoy workers enslaved here in this “land of the free” as I write this – as you read this.
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Lazaro Law Group, Professional Corporation represents immigrants all over the United States and the US Embassy in Manila. The firm’s offices are located in San Francisco, Fremont/Newark/Union City, and Sacramento, California. Attorney Johnson Lazaro can be reached at (415) 800-5775 or toll free at (855) 4-LAZARO. His email is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .a
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This article should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information is intended to be general and should not be relied upon for any specific situation. This is not meant to create a lawyer-client relationship.
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