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Filipinos in Kuwait

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Filipinos in Kuwait
Total population
180,000[1]
(2012)
Languages
Languages of the Philippines, English and Arabic
Religion
Roman Catholicism or other Christian denominations, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Filipino people, Overseas Filipinos

Filipinos in Kuwait are either migrants from or descendants of the Philippines living in Kuwait. As of 2012, there are roughly 180,000 of these Filipinos in Kuwait.[1] Most people in the Filipino community are migrant workers,[2] and approximately 60% of Filipinos in Kuwait are employed as domestic workers.[1]

Overseas employment

In 2016, Kuwait was the sixth-largest destination of Overseas Filipino workers, with 90,000 hired or rehired in the nation in 2011, and accordingly Kuwait has been an important source of remittances back to the Philippines, with over $105 million USD being remitted in 2009.[3][4] Nine Filipino banks have correspondent accounts with banks in Kuwait to allow for remittance transfers.[5]

There is a Filipino Worker's Resource Center (FWRC) located in Jabriya, and it provides refuge for Filipino workers in Kuwait who have "[experienced] various forms of maltreatment from their employers such as fatigue, non-payment of salaries,"[6] as well as "lack of food [and] physical, verbal and sexual abuse".[7] Through assistance from the FWRC, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration, hundreds of Filipinos in Kuwait have been repatriated to the Philippines due to these issues.[7][8]

Filipino domestic servants in Kuwait are the most expensive overseas servants that can be hired, due to a minimum wage requirement by the Filipino government as well as high costs from recruitment agencies.[9] Minimum monthly wage of a Filipino maid is KWD 110 per month (US$365), with an initial recruitment cost of KWD 850 (US$2825), with the price varying based on previous experience.[9]

Society and culture

Kuwait had the largest number of voters registered under the Overseas Absentee Voting Act eligible to vote in the 2013 Philippine general election.[1] Philippine holidays such as Independence Day, commemorating the Philippine Declaration of Independence, are celebrated in Kuwait.[10] Religious events, such as the Catholic festivities honoring Our Lady of Peñafrancia as well as the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha are celebrated by their respective Filipino Catholic and Filipino Muslim communities.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Kuwait Filipinos Top OAV Globally". Arab Times. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  2. ^ Kuwait grants amnesty to illegal aliens Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Overseas Filipino Workers At A Glance" (PDF). Senate of the Philippines. May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  4. ^ Zhang, Thomas (2010). "Philippine Remittances Rising Despite Declines from Kuwait and Hong Kong" (PDF). Kuwait China Investment Company. Retrieved 6 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Philippine Banks With Remittance Networks Abroad" (PDF). Scalabrini Migration Center. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Seventy Distressed HSWs Repatriated To Philippines". Arab Times. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b "131 Distressed Pinoys Fly Home To Philippines". Arab Times. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. ^ "DFA: 31 OFWs repatriated from Kuwait, 400 more to come home soon". GMA News. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. ^ a b Fattahova, Nawara (7 September 2011). "Cost of hiring maids rises sharply". Kuwait Times. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  10. ^ Santiago, Maxxy (12 June 2012). "Pinoys celebrate Independence Day in Kuwait". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  11. ^ Acuña, Melo (10 October 2009). "Filipinos in Kuwait to Celebrate Peñafrancia". Bikol News. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Filipino Muslim community in Kuwait celebrates Eid'l Adha and the signing of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement". Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
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