Migrant Workers sacrifice their lives

Few months ago, I looked after a funeral of a Filipina caregiver who just arrived in Toronto this year 2007. She was diagnosed of a disease which killed her in few weeks while employed in one of the homes in Ontario. I got the news from a priest in Hongkong, who received a call from one of her friends here in Toronto. I got a phone call that she died at the hospital. She has no coverage of insurance whatsoever. Friends gathered around. The grassroot organizations raised some amount and comforted her friends. They could not afford the cost of the visitation at the Funeral home. For few minutes, I conducted the funeral rites and tried to console the people there. There was no indication at that time the Philippine Consulate extended their support and help. We know that most of the Caregivers do pay some dues to Philippine government for some kind of insurance. However, many of them stay outside the Philippines and are not perhaps paying their dues because they do not frequent Philippines. It was a sad event, and I felt bad for the Agency who made her migration possible. We should be doing to protect these migrant workers.
Recently, we heard of Jocelyn Dulnuan, who was killed in rich owned mansion in Mississauga, Ontario. It has been more than a week, now and we never heard any development how she died and what happen to the investigation by the Police in Peel Region.

We feel that Justice is not speedily happening for this migrant worker who died outside of her country. There are hundreds of them today anywhere in the world who suffer the same fate because the countries who sent them out do not care.
I will be posting the development of what is happening in the community because of this situation.
Our government is somehow responsible for the plight of many migrant workers like us. Because of economic situation back home, Millions of Filipinos have to flee economic hardships backhome by working outside the country as caregivers, and other oversea workers leaving their loved ones most of the time for years. We have about more than 10 million people in diaspora, perhaps larger than Jewish people outside of Israel, wandering around in Europe, North America, Middle East looking for the Promise land, flowing with milk and with honey. I have been waiting for more news regarding Jocelyn Dulnuan who died violently in an affluent home in Mississauga. Her mother works in Hongkong, and she has only distant relatives here in Ontario. She is also from the Ifugao region of the indigenous areas in Northern Philippines. She came from a tribal roots in Ifugao. We would like to follow up the Newspapers, like Toronto Sun and others about what is happening to the investigation. We encourage organizations to send inquiries about her situation. We have created a Committee for her and there will be a Vigil this coming Sunday October 14 at 12:30 a Vigil Service for Jocelyn Dulnuan. We invite the Community to gather at San Lorenzo Ruiz c/o St. Simon's located at 525 Bloor Street East.
Please exit at Sherbourne and Bloor St. and walk thru Glen Road. The Parish is at Bloor St toward Danforth Ave. and it is also located near Howard Avenue and Ontario Street. Please call me at 416 456-7417 Fr. Ariel Dumaran for directions. We hope to rally organizations to pressure our Justice system to provide some answers about Jocelyn Dulnuan. We appreciate the response of the Philippine Consulate. We hope that we will more of these actions from them whenever any migrant experience oppressions, and human rights violations.