Saudi Women Pay for their Privelage to Work

For working Saudi women, sometimes money talks
Released on - Friday,18 February , 2011 -12:39 Paying money for the privilege of working is usually something foreigners do when they pay recruitment fees for jobs in Saudi Arabia, but in the Kingdom's southern region it's not unusual for Saudi women to pay their guardians (fathers, husbands or brothers) for the same right. 'We have resorted to this method in order to buy our freedom to work,' said a teacher from Asir province who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject. 'I am paying 2,000 riyals every month for my father's silence. He is happy with the money he receives every month and I am happy that I now work after eight years of unemployment. A working woman has a better social position than an unemployed one.' Some women object to this practice — not because they object to Saudi women having jobs but rather because they view this as bribery. 'By so doing these women are exploiting their guardians who do not want them to work or to travel to remote areas,' said one woman who requested anonymity. 'We do not object to women working in jobs that do not oblige them to mix with men. We only do not agree with them bribing their fathers or husbands in order to allow them to work.' Women who do resort to paying their guardians a portion of their salary agree with the cliché that 'money talks.' 'My father does not only approve of me working now but he also does not object to me traveling a long distance to reach my school,' said the teacher. 'The 2,000 riyals I am paying him every month have done wonders.' The teaching profession is one of the few jobs Saudi women have little problem obtaining. However, because they cannot legally drive or live alone they often travel long distances to and from their schools every day by bus. The busing of women teachers has led to the phenomenon of accidents involving the death or injury of numerous educators. Fatima, who was hired as a teacher at a public school for girls in Al-Buqaa, located far away from her home in Khamis Mushayat, Asir province, said she hired her brother to drive her to and from work every day for SR1,500 a month, an arrangement her family was happy with because her brother can act as her guardian, too. Nadia was hired as a school teacher in Makhwah, Baha province. She lived with her husband and children in Jeddah, too far away for her to take the job without relocating. She convinced her husband to allow her to pay her brother to live with her and act as her local guardian. 'My brother Abdullah just graduated from intermediate school and did not want to continue his education,' she said. 'I offered to pay him SR1,000 every month for just staying with me in my new place, and he readily agreed.' Nadia recently completed her third year on the job. Nura, who works as a nurse at a public clinic, said she convinced her father to allow her to go to nursing college on the condition she wouldn't seek work after graduation. She said she convinced her father that she only wanted to study and have a certificate of graduation. 'After the Civil Service Ministry decided to appoint me as a nurse at a health center, I began talking to my father to convince him to allow me to take up the job. I told him that unlike general hospitals, there is no gender mixing at health centers.' Nadia said her father initially looked at her 'like I was a criminal' for wanting to work. Then she offered him SR2,000 a month, which changed his attitude. 'He is now very keen about my work,' she said. 'He will not allow me to be absent for any reason. Not only that, he now allows me to travel for conferences inside the Kingdom.' One of the primary concerns voiced by men who are adverse to granting permission for their siblings, daughters or wives from working is their aversion to women mingling with unrelated men. Husbands often claim they want their wives to be completely devoted to domestic duties and child rearing. Muna, a professor at a local college, has another theory. 'They only fear that we may become financially independent,' she said. But when Muna's husband started seeing that her income was helping domestic expenses, 'he became very appreciative of my work.' Muna said she wasn't completely open about her salary; her husband doesn't know how much she really earns. 'I have to save money to be able to enjoy my financial freedom,' she said.

There's No Place Like Home

There comes a time when you just want to share what an OFW feels and this article says it all :-)

Editor's note: The following Philippine Daily Inquirer article is one of the most shared articles on OFW sites and blogs. Written in Filipino, it has been tossed around so much that many sites don't even know who wrote it anymore. Some have edited it and put in their own remarks. It goes by different titles like, "Iba pa rin sa Pinas," "Ang OFW ay Tao Rin" or "Pagpupugay sa OFW," among others. It often comes with an introduction, like the one posted on qatarliving.com that says, "Here's something for those with spouses, siblings, children, or relatives who are OFWs and especially those who hope to work abroad one day. This may help you better understand what it means to be an OFW."
This is a translation of the original piece, published with the permission of its author, Saudi Arabia-based Filipino, Frederick Montilla Arceo.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are not rich. We have this notion that when someone is an OFW or based abroad, he or she is loaded. Not true. An OFW might earn from P50K-P300K a month, depending on the location. Those in Saudi Arabia or the United States might earn in the high range. But to say that they're "rich" is a fallacy (amen!).

Many Filipinos seek work abroad because their needs are great. They have so many mouths to feed. Often, 3/4 or half of their earnings go to paying school tuition fees for their children and keeping up with the family's household expenses.

It's hard being an OFW. You need to scrimp and save as much as you can. Yes, food can be good abroad but often you stick to paksiw or adobo or eggs in order to save money. Come the 15th or end of the month, the first thing you look up is the conversion rate of the peso to the dollar, rial, or euro. It's okay to make do with what little is left than let the family go hungry. Come leave time, you also have to have some money left because many relatives will be waiting at the airport or at home. You know how it is among Pinoys, word gets around that you are an OFW and it attracts a lot of kin.
If you don't bring pasalubong (a traditional homecoming gift) they may feel slighted and say bad things about you. Well, not all. But I'm sure some OFWs here have had that experience. Abroad, OFWs are also looked at differently. Very many have experienced not getting their due or being discriminated against in workplaces. You just take it, keep going, cry it out alone, because you think how miserable your family would be if you packed up and went home.

Besides, you really can't count on a job waiting for you back home. And prices of rice, milk, sardines, and apartment rentals are high. So you suffer on--even though you have to work with a lot of jerks (kahit maraming kupal sa trabaho), even though you are sick and have no one to take care of you, even though the food sucks and working conditions bad, even dangerous, and the job difficult. Then when you have remitted money home, everything seems okay again; you call, "hello! kumusta na kayo(how are you all doing)?"

OFWs are not unfeeling (Hindi bato ang OFW). You are human--not money or cash machines. You get tired, lonely (yes, often); you get sick, hungry; you stop and think, too. You, too, need support, if not physically, at least emotionally or spiritually.

OFWs also grow old. Those I have met and spoken to, many have receding hairlines or are balding. Most of them have signs and symptoms of hypertension, coronary artery disease, and arthritis. Yet, they continue to work thinking about the family they left behind. There are many abroad, after 20-30 years, that still have not put away a savings stash. No matter how hard they work, they can't seem to save enough. It's painful when you know that the family you support back home still can't make ends meet, that a child is a drug addict, a daughter, pregnant; and one's spouse is in a relationship with someone else. It recalls that popular old song "Napakasakit Kuya Eddie."

OFWs are heroes. That's true. I, for one, realized this only now, that OFWs really are heroes in so many ways. Not icons or household names like Nora Aunor or Flor Contemplacion but heroes in the truest sense of the word. They could surpass even Rizal or Bonifacio: They have braved more wars and conflicts in order to give their families a better life; they have battled more political intrigues just to keep their jobs in hostile environments; they have exhibited more patience than your usual congressman or senator in the Philippines--all because of the fear of losing that precious pay check.

OFWs are survivors. Pinoys are survivors (Matindi ang Pinoy). They are more tenacious than rats or cockroaches which are said to be able to survive cataclysms. Yet for all their sacrifices, they have yet to see solutions or results.
OFWs are unlucky--unlike politicians. They don't sign autographs or give interviews to media (unless they were kidnapped); they stay on the sidelines. When they leave the country, they are sad and on the verge of tears. When they come home, the lucky ones are welcomed by relatives at the airport. But if they come home without money, relatives are hard to find.
If only OFWs had a voice in Congress like politicians who are financed by the Filipino people and don't have to work under the hot sun, or get scalded by hot oil, or shouted at by foreign employers, or eat paksiw day in and day out to save money, or live in a compound with conditions less than favorable, and be forced to live with people with strange ways if only to be able to live. Politicians are lucky, really lucky.

OFWs are steadfast. Stronger and more steadfast than soldiers or other groups you might know. They are masters of reverse psychology, negotiations, and counter-attacks. Will the OFWs last? Most likely because we still don't know when change and progress will come to the Philippines. Will it come? Is there a chance?

Happiness is imagining yourself in the company of your loved ones every day, watching your children grow in a healthy and loving home. Happiness is eating sitaw, bagoong, lechon, inihaw na isda, taba ng talangka.

Happiness is watching a Filipino movie, whether old reruns or new ones. There's still nothing like knowing your neighbors. There's still no place like the Philippines, being with other Pinoys (well, except those with crab mentalities). There's still nothing like being able to tell stories and know that others around you understand what you are saying. There's really nothing like the sound of "mahal kita!", "'day, ginahigugma tika," "Mingaw na ko nimo ba, kalagot!" "Inday, diin ka na subong haw? ganahan guid ko simo ba." There's really no place...like home.

Sige lang. Tiis lang. Saan ba't darating din ang pag-asa. So be it. just suck it in and keep going Somehow, you hope, things will work out.

First things I Bought in the Kingdom

Nice frying pans which will inspire you to want to cook :-)     

 Anyone care to eat from these nice blue plates....Made in Italy .....
Mura lang :-)

  My most precious cooking utensil is a very good knife...long lasting in sharpness :-)

 A red hot fiery colander for your pasta dishes and salads :-)

                   All the rest which I needed was already in my home provided for :-)
 
                   That included an internet and a TFC connection.                     

PRC Offers Two New E-Services for Filipino Professionals

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has two new services that would be of benefit to Filipino professionals who need to renew their professional ID registration and to employers who want to verify the license of Filipino professionals they want to hire.

Through the recently launched Online Renewal Application System (ORAS) of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), there is now an automated system that would make it possible for Filipino professionals to renew their licenses online. They do not need to go and fall in line at PRC offices in the Philippines and Filipinos who are currently working abroad need not go home for license registration.

The second new high-tech service of PRC is the Online Verification for Filipino Professionals (OVFP), which would allow the public and employers to verify the license of a Filipino professional. The new e-services is part of the DOLE and PRC’s effort to fight the proliferation of fake documents and swindlers who pretends to be professionals. 

The DOLE secretary, Baldoz said, “The new PRC services are part of the DOLE reform measures in pursuit of the overarching goal of President Benigno S. Aquino III set in the 22-point labor and employment agenda to strengthen the opportunities, development, and employment of our number one resource, our human resource, as well as to ensure the protection of both local and overseas Filipino workers,” said Baldoz.

The Labor Secretary praised the PRC for the launching of ORAS and OVFP systems and said that these would help professionals that are working abroad save time, money and effort in securing a new professional ID. It would also strengthen the campaign of the government to always guarantee the authenticity of the credentials of Filipino professionals.

Baldoz said, “This reflects, on the part of the PRC, the innovative and resourceful application  of information technology in pursuit of safeguards on professional authenticity that can only redound to the strengthening and continuing preference for highly skilled Filipino professionals engaged in various fields and disciplines in industries worldwide.

“The same credential as professionals will be of productive value as they reintegrate into the local economic mainstream on their return home and contribute to the upgrading of the skills of our workforce,” she added.

Click here to go to the PRC website and learn more about this new e-service.

thanks OFW Guide :-)

Computer and Desk Stretches

 

Sa mga kababayan nating madaals mag-computer......sana gawin nating  i-practice ang "stretchings" na ito.

Mag-break every 15 minutes of computer use Ok?

EMBASSY ON WHEELS (EOW) in Jubail and Al Khobar

OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  will be visited by the EMBASSY ON WHEELS for travel documents, and Passport processing on the following dates and venues:

1. JUBAIL, December 9-10, 2010

   Venue to be announced

2. AL KHOBAR, December 16-17, 2010
    International Phlippine School

The new passport willl cost SR240. The applicant has nothing to bring. Photos will be done on the venue. When claiming, bring the applicant's old passport and receipt. If a representative will claim the passport, please provide an authorization letter signed by the applicant.

For further details, read this.

Here is the latest Press Release about EOW activities in the past.
 

Saudi Arabian equivalence of some Philippine places

Miss ko Pilipinas. Kahit ano, kahit sino na makakapagpaalala sa akin ng "touch of home"....salamat.

Sa paglabas ko,

may National Bookstore rin sila = JARIR bookstore 

may Shangrila Mall for its "sosyal" atmosphere or perhaps Mall of Asia in  size = Hayat Mall

may SM Hypermarket din sila = Panda Supermarkets

may Quiapo rin sila = Batha ...no need to have a link....when you have gone to our Quiapo, you have seen Batha...so much like it talaga...with the addition of other South Asians like Sri lankans, Indians, Celonians, Indonesians, etc. The place where we all go for Pinoy foodies :-)

More equivalence coming........ 

Sending Money from Saudi Arabia to the Philippines

Bank to Bank transactions work best for me.

I bring my "Riyals" to a bank that has a remittance center (example: Al Rahji Bank Tawheel) together with my IQAMA card and apply for a Remittance (Tawheel) account. Fill up the form making sure that remitter and beneficiary details are correct, with the correct beneficiary bank and its branch address. Oh, and don't forget to indicate if your beneficiary account is a Peso or a Dollar account.

By the way, this is on a presumption that before you left the Philippines, you opened a savings account and that bank is recognized by this Saudi bank you have gone to. 

The money arrives in the Philippines in 15 minutes. But there are many factors that may delay the arrival in your account in the Philippines. Consider the time and day you sent the money. safe to say that it will be in your beneficiary's bank account in 2 days, 3 days if over the weekend or holiday either in KSA or the Philippines.

Important to understand the following. However much RIYALS you send, there is a standard service bank fee of  SR16-18 (P184 - 207 if sr1=P11.50).

example:

1. Sending SR 1,000.

2. 1000 - 18 (service fee can be deducted or you can give it separately so your beneficiary receives full SR1000 value) = SR982 = P11,293 (SR1=P11.50)  this is the amount that will leave KSA

3. P11,293 - P200 (This is the beneficiary Bank's service fee, actually ranging from P200-250) = P11,093 this is the amount which your beneficiary will FINALLY RECEIVE.

Important for us to note that whatever amount we send there is actually about P400 - 450 service fee we pay however much we send.

What? That's not clear?

I mean, if you send SR1,000 or SR10,000.....bank service fees remain P400-450.

So what?

Better for us to send a bigger amount, like allowance for the next 2 months to save on bank fees.

Ano na ba ang nabibili ng P400-450...aba 3 kilos na rin yan na manok di ba (at P150/kilo)? hehehe  

Happy sending :-)