Marilou's relatives call for help

I can't help but quote this news article at the Inquirer entitled "Kin send out call to save OFW on death row in Kuwait". I hope more and more people will know about Marilou's fate in Kuwait and feel the urgency of saving her from death. To quote:

She wanted to lift her family from poverty and decided to work in Kuwait as a domestic helper, leaving a potential teaching career in the Philippines.

But the dreams of Marilou Ranario, 35, may no longer find fulfillment after she ended up on death row in Kuwait for allegedly stabbing her employer to death in 2005.

Ranario’s relatives, her neighbors in the village of Holy Spirit, Quezon City and members of Migrante International are now racing against time to try to save her from being executed.

“Our campaign to save her life is about raising public awareness about the greatest heights of exploitation and injustice Marilou and other OFWs on death row suffer,” Migrante International secretary general Maita Santiago told a press conference on Friday.

Ranario has been scheduled for execution in January or February next year.

Another Flor Contemplacion in the making

I think many of us still remember the tragic execution of Filipina domestic worker Flor Contemplacion in Singapore. It is sad to note that, unless we are able to do our acts together, we may be having a similar tragedy in just a few months from now.

Marilou Ranario, a 33-year old Filipina domestic helper, was sentenced to death by a Kuwaiti court for stabbing her employer, Najat Mahmoud Faraja Mobarack, to death. She is a teacher from Tubod, Surigao del Sur. According to her sister, she complained of abuse and maltreatment by her employer before the tragic incident.

Marilou was sentenced to death on September 28, 2005. The Kuwaiti appeals court rejected her appeal and upheld the death sentence in February 17, 2007. Her case is now pending with the Kuwaiti supreme court.

The latest news is that there are hopes that her sentence could be reduced after the Philippine Embassy convinced the victim's mother and two siblings to forgive her. The embassy is also now convincing the victim's estranged husband and another sibling to forgive our kababayan.

Of course, nothing is certain until there is an official decision to spare Marilou from the death sentence. Already, OFW groups are now campaigning to avert such a disaster. I therefore urge the multitude of Filipino bloggers to join in the effort to save the life of our kababayan.