Home - Filipinos in Kuwait

Trouble with Police

Stories January 22, 2015

“When my son’s wife first arrived in Kuwait, she had a hard time adjusting with the food. She had an upset stomach so we took her to the hospital early morning. My son wasn’t with us because he was working. While waiting for a taxi, a policeman came to us to check our Civil IDs, he gave it back to us with no questions asked. A few minutes later, another policeman came and did the same thing. This time he said he wanted to take us to the police station, he grabbed my arms trying to get me in the car. I was frantically looking for somebody to help us. Luckily the first policeman came back, I kept telling him ‘help me, help me! You checked our ID’s and they’re fine. “They talked but I couldn’t understand what they were saying then they let us go.”

Pretty

Stories January 18, 2015

She was only 9 years old when her father died of cancer. I sent her to Philippines because the school fees here are expensive. Her father’s pension will be more than enough to keep her going until she turns 21. She wants to take Bachelor of Science in Tourism and be a flight stewardess. She’s only 14 but she’s taller than me. She sent me this photo after she won the beauty pageant at school.”

Feisty

Stories January 18, 2015

“I once got into a fight with four women here at the shop. It was an older woman and her three daughters. They pulled my hair out, it was so bad I had a big bald patch on my head.

They bought some lingerie a few days before that because one of the daughters was getting married. they came back because they wanted to return it. I told them it’s not allowed to return or exchange them. I also noticed that they already removed the labels. She insisted and was hysterical, she hurled insults at me in Arabic. I shouted back, “I’m not your maid, you have no rights to talk to me like that. She got so upset then they attacked me. The guards couldn’t do anything because they were afraid they’ll get into trouble for touching women. The only person was able to help me was one of the staff. After the commotion demanded to the manager to get me fired. To keep the peace, they were allowed to return the items they bought.”

Storm

Stories December 17, 2014

“Seven years ago, we were caught in a very bad storm. We were having a barbecue at Messilah beach. The weather was fine that day then all of a sudden there was a thick dark cloud, the wind was blowing hard and it was icy cold. Then it started to rain, the next thing we saw was a whirlwind coming to us. We were hanging on to the trees, the tables were upside down, food flying everywhere. We were right in the eye of the storm. I was afraid that there will be a tidal wave or a tsunami. At that time my daughter was only two years old, my wife grabbed her and ran as fast as fast as she could in the toilet to hide. For a second, I thought we were not going to make it.”

Work party

Stories November 26, 2014

“One of my favourite memories in Kuwait was when our manager threw a big party for all the employees in a fancy hotel and they rented a DJ. They acknowledged all of us for hitting our target sale. I had a blast that day. It feels good to be appreciated for all our hard work and when they listen to our suggestions. I met one of the big bosses that day. I was a little intimidated because he’s very quiet. One time he called the store and it turned out he’s actually very nice.”