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Strong faith stood her in good stead

A month ago, her efforts to benefit from the amnesty scheme received a jolt when she learned that her former employer had filed a theft case against her.

A native of Quezon province in Luzon, Philippines, Cadiz saw the housekeeping job overseas as a chance for greener pastures.

“I left three children back home with my parents, hoping to make a better living here in Dubai. I was hired legally from the Philippines,” she says.

Cadiz, however, had to run away from her sponsors after only six months of service due to alleged maltreatment.

Her story was a mere echo of the same ordeals experienced by some other Filipina household workers: long work hours, delayed wages, verbal and, sometimes, physical abuse.

“I ran away and went to some friends for help,” she confessed.

The amnesty programme of the UAE government was like a blessing for Cadiz. “I saw this as a chance to go home and see my family once again. But when I was filing my amnesty papers, I was told that there was a police case filed against me by my former employer,” she said.

A decision at the Dubai Courts’ Public Prosecution Office, however, went in her favour. Now heaving a sigh of relief, Cadiz, who is scheduled to leave for Manila soon, said the charges were dismissed on the ground that she had absconded nearly two years ago but her employers only filed a case when the amnesty programme was launched two months ago.

When asked how her experiences in Dubai had affected her, Cadiz said that they had made her faith much stronger. “God is truly good. I wasn’t scared to face the prosecutor and my employers because I had a clear conscience. I’ve always believed that our faith can save us in our most difficult time. Just like what it did to me,” she concluded.

• UAE