MANILA, Philippines — Kept for seven years in the toilet and “treated like an animal.”
This was how Philippine Embassy in Syria Charg d’ affaires Vida Soraya Verzosa described the abuse of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who stayed in the embassy shelter and was later brought home to the Philippines.
“Let me tell you the story of Lara. That’s not her really name but it’s just an alias for her. Lara really makes me very emotional,” Verzosa shared in an interview on INQside Look when asked about the plight of trafficked and abused OFWs in Syria.
“She was really treated like an animal. She was chained by her employer. She was kept for seven years in the toilet or thehammam….
Keep on reading: ‘Chained, kept in the toilet for 7 years’: Envoy shares plight of trafficked, abused OFWs in Syria