Rey Torres dreamed of a better life for his wife and five children when he left a neighborhood of wooden shacks and burning trash piles to drive a bus on a US military base near Baghdad.
He hoped to send his children to college and build a new home with the $16,000 a year he earned in Iraq — four times what he could make in the Philippines.
Then, in April 2005, Torres, 31, was killed in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents. His widow and children were supposed to be protected by a war zone insurance system overseen by the US government. They were eligible for about $300,000 in compensation.
But Gorgonia Torres knew nothing about the death benefit and did not apply. When she did learn about the insurance, two years later, it was from a reporter. She has since turned down an insurance company's $22,000 settlement offer. Her only hope of receiving full compensation is a legal fight that could drag on for years.
AGATHONISSI, Greece—The azure waters of Agathonissi are as inviting as Greece's other Aegean Sea islands, but here a coast guard flotilla, not tourist yachts, takes up most of the picturesque harbor.
The island off Turkey's west coast has a permanent population of around 100 and welcomes at least double that number of tourists in the summer.
But it is also a magnet for thousands of illegal immigrants from Asia and Africa crossing these smuggler-infested waters that constitute the European Union's southeastern border.
MANILA, Philippines—The organization of Filipino migrants Kanlungan has spoken at the Houses of Parliament to highlight the plight of undocumented migrants in the United Kingdom.
The public discussion at the Westminster Palace in London on June 2 focused on recent researches detailing ways to irregular status as against the impact of regularization programs amidst the worldwide recession that’s also gripping UK.
Noong 1991 unang naranasan ni Garry Martinez ang mangibang-bayan.
Una pa lang, hindi na agad maganda ang kanyang karanasan. Naging biktima siya ng illegal recruiter. “Tourist lang ang nakalagay sa ginamit kong pasaporte,” kuwento niya. Pagdating sa Korea, ibinenta si Garry ng rekruter sa isang sweat shop, sa halagang US$300.00. Isang pabrika iyon na gumagawa ng mga bed sheet. Walang anumang paghahanda, isinabak siya sa trabaho. May karanasan siya sa pananahi noong nasa Pilipinas siya, pero hindi kinaya ni Garry ang bigat ng gawain sa sweat shop.
MANILA, Philippines—The Italian Senate should reject legislative proposals that would impose criminal penalties on undocumented migrants and provide a national framework for vigilante groups, Human Rights Watch said in a statement released from Milan.
The Italian Senate is expected to vote on the legislation (known as the "security package") this week.
Philippine government estimates put the number of undocumented Filipinos in Italy at 13,000. Of the 120,000 Filipinos in the European country, 25,000 are permanent residents while 83,000 are temporary residents.
A human rights group warned Friday in their annual report that the year 2006 is the 'worst' for human rights in the country. The group Karapatan said that 185 activists have been killed in the last 11 months, a record since the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown in 1986. (Philippine Star, Dec. 1, 2006)
