Press Release
November 13, 2007

SAVE THE LIFE OF MARILOU!
Filipinos in Tokyo Stage Appeal in Front of Kuwait Embassy

Filipinos belonging to the Kalipunan ng mga Filipinong Nagkakaisa (KAFIN), Philippine Women's League of Japan, the Filipina Circle for Advancement and Progress (FICAP), and Migrante – Japan troop in to the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Tokyo to appeal the case of Marilou Ranario, a Filipina domestic worker whose death sentence by hanging is on final appeal beginning today at the Kuwait's Court of Cassation.

With just a letter of appeal addressed to the Amir of Kuwait, the group requested a dialogue with embassy officials but were refused entry by embassy security. Instead, the they lined up in front of the embassy building and hoisted placards bearing calls to spare the life of Marilou Ranario and criticisms of the Arroyo government for its negligence and insensitivity to the plight of Marilou and other OFWs in death row. The action is part of a global initiative to save the life of Marilou Ranario initiated by Migrante International, an global alliance of organizations of Filipinos overseas.

“Marilou is also a victim here”, says Yuko Takei, spokesperson of the Philippine Women's League of Japan. An elementary teacher by profession, “poverty forced her to give up her profession and leave her family, especially her two young children to work as domestic helper in Kuwait”, added Takei.

Luck was not on Marilou Ranario's side. She has been in jail for more than two years now, but according to her family, Marilou was abused and severely maltreated by her employer. And on the night prior to the tragic incident, she told her family that she fears for her life.

“It could have been a case of self defense”, Rossana Tapiru of Migrante – Japan, said. No one knew exactly what happened in that fateful day. “But one thing is sure, Marilou Ranario is not a murderer. She was a victim of circumstances like many other OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who suffer various forms of abuse and exploitation in the hands of their employer and in the hands of their own government”, Tapiru, laments.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, right now there are about 35 OFWs in death row, mostly in the Middle East. It could be recalled that in 1995 another Filipina domestic worker, Flor Contemplacion, was hanged in Singapore for the death of another Filipina domestic worker. Her death created an uproar for it exposed government's criminal neglect of the plight of OFWs in extreme conditions .

“We hope and pray that the Amir of Kuwait will listen to our appeal and give back Marilou her freedom so she can be reunited with her family in the Philippines”, says Tapiru. “The Philippine government needs to learn its lessons. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cannot treat OFWs like commodities that she can sell at bargain prices and leave them defenseless in times of needs”, Tapiru further said.

The group vows to continue their appeal to save Marilou Ranario from the death penalty and encourages other Filipinos overseas to do the same by sending a barrage of letter to the Kuwaiti Embassy in their respective countries and letters of condemnation to the Arroyo government.