Joanna Demafelis: An OFW dream cut short

Her house in Sara, Iloilo, may still be half-finished — part of the roof is still covered with a tarp, and one door has yet to be installed. But this is already far better than the house that was destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.

This is Joanna Demafelis’ home, one of the main reasons why she decided to work overseas.

The family owns a small agricultural field growing palay and sugarcane. But this was not enough to lift the family out of poverty.

Against the wishes of her parents and siblings, Joanna left for a two-year contract as a domestic helper to Kuwait in May 2014.

Joanna Demafelis' high school photo

In Kuwait, she would call her family only every three months and would always sound cheerful, according to her youngest sister Joyce.

But knowing her sister too well, she started to doubt if she was okay. That early, her family already had a hunch that she was being abused and maltreated by her employers.

"Pag tumatawag siya lagi niyang sinasabing okay siya. Pero ako kinukutuban na 'ko kasi lagi lang kaming saglit mag-usap, mga 7-10 minutes lang tapos lagi siyang atat patayin ang cellphone," Joyce said.

"Sabi ko day off mo naman bakit ka nagmamadali? Okay ka ba jan? Sabi niya okay lang naman ako bunso huwag mo kong alalahanin."

Later on they would find out that Joanna's call time was limited because her cellphone was being confiscated or hidden by her employers, a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife.

Last phone call

Joanna's last phone call was in September 2016. Her older sister Criselda recalled the last time she talked with her: "Humingi siya ng load sa asawa ko, sabi niya babawi na lang siya pagbalik niya. Pagkatapos namin siyang makausap, hindi na namin siya makita sa Facebook, yung dalawang accounts niya sarado na. Pati 'yung roaming number niya, di na rin nagri-ring, di na ma-contact."

"Kinabahan na kami nung di na maopen yung Facebook niya," Criselda added.

At this point, her mother, Eva, started having trouble sleeping at night. "Kinakabahan na kami. Di ako makatulog, di makatrabaho sa palayan at tubo. Sa gabi, ang isip ko nasa kanya."

Joanna's siblings immediately reported this and sought assistance from Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). According to them, they were just asked to come back as the agencies were also looking after several other complaints.

OWWA and POEA denied brushing off their complaint. They said they tried to look for Joanna but just couldn’t locate her because her recruitment agency already closed down in 2015.

For more than a year, Joanna’s family continued to look for ways to reach her, but to no avail.

Until last Friday, February 9, 2018.

Bad news

While Eva was attended to their small piece of mortgaged land, OWWA representatives from Iloilo arrived with news about Joanna. After almost two years of not knowing what happened to her daughter, any update would have been welcomed. But the news was heart-wrenching:  Joanna was found dead in a freezer in an abandoned apartment in Kuwait.

An autopsy report said Joanna died from severe beating, with broken ribs and internal bleeding.

At first Eva was at a loss at what the OWWA representatives were saying. It was the very thing she feared most when her daughter left, but only a lot worse.

"Siyempre isang ina, siyempre worry, kinakabahan na ako tsaka di 'ko matanggap ganyan nangyari sa anak ko na [dalawang) taong nasa freezer. Nakabaluktot daw siya. Payat na raw tsaka maikli buhok niya, eh pag-alis niya mahaba buhok niya. Minaltrato ng amo niya," Eva said.

This was how I met them — a grieving family who was crying for justice.

"Masakit na masakit sa 'kin. Dito, di 'ko siya sinasaktan. Iyak ako ng iyak, oras-oras. Nanghihina na ako, ako na lang sana kinuha," Eva said.

"Pinipigilan sana namin siya pero sabi niya para sa inyo itong pagpunta ko, papa. Ayaw papigil," Joanna's father, Crisanto, said.

"Sobrang sakit kasi matagal na namin siyang hinahanap eh hindi namin siya pinapabayaan," Joanna's eldest brother, Joejet, for his part, said.

Joanna's other brother, Joie, recalled how sweet she was as a sister.  "Palagi niya ako niyayakap pag nagkikita kami."

"'Di 'ko matanggap, sana 'di na lang siya umalis," Joie said. "'Di ako makatulog. Parang ginawang isda kapatid ko. Kung ano ginawa sa kapatid ko ganun din dapat sa kanila. Masakit na nilagay siya sa freezer."

Joanna's dream

Eva showed me around the unfinished house, her eyes filled with tears but beaming with pride as she recalled how Joanna was able to save enough to start their house's renovation.

She even showed me the place where they were planning to put Joanna’s room when she comes back from Kuwait. While planning for their new home, the family have decided, they will not allow her to leave again.

And sadly, she never will.

"'Di 'ko matanggap. Pangarap niya maayos yung bahay. Di 'ko matanggap na 'di na niya ito mauuwian, 'di na niya makikita, 'di na niya matitirhan. Sabi niya papatayuan niya ako ng tindahan para di nako mainitan at maulanan. Yun pala siya ang hirap dun," Eva said.

Joanna's contract supposedly ended in May 2016 but she chose to stay a little bit longer to continue to earn and save up for her family.

"Gusto niyang tubusin 'yung palayan at tubuhan, di pa tapos 'tong bahay. Tapos gusto rin niyang mapagtapos 'yung bunsong kapatid na si Joyce," Eva said.

Appeal to President

Even as President Rodrigo Duterte ordered a total deployment ban on OFWs to Kuwait because of what happened to Joanna, her family is appealing to the President to help them get justice for her brutal death.

"Bilang isang ina, 'di ko na makikita anak ko. Hiling ko lang po mabigyan siya ng hustisya, matulungan kami ni Presidente Duterte na mapanagot ang may sala. Mahirap na mahirap lang kami," Eva said.

Joanna's remains arrived in the Philippines on Friday morning and will be brought to her hometown the following day.

It's not the homecoming her family had wished for since she left almost four years ago. —KBK, GMA News