Selasa, 27 Mei 2014
Selasa, 20 Mei 2014
Filipino maid in Riyadh
http://www.arabnews.com/news/573131
The Filipino maid is partly shown being treated at a clinic in Riyadh for burns. (AN photo)
Images of a young female OFW with severe burns to her back after allegedly having boiling water poured on her by her employer has shocked the Filipino community in the Kingdom.
Her case was brought to the attention of both the Philippine Embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with a request to report the incident to police authorities and the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
One of her relatives, who introduced himself as “Talib,” told Arab News that the victim arrived in Riyadh only two months ago to work as a domestic helper, but apparently faced communication problems with her employer since she can neither understand Arabic nor English.
He said her employer began beating her and eventually attacked her with boiling water.
Talib said the victim was not immediately brought to a clinic by her employer. It was at the clinic where she managed to contact her relatives.
A message from the victim’s cousin in Riyadh provided details into the incident in Tagalog on Facebook.
“This is my cousin, who works as domestic helper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her female Saudi employer poured boiling water on her. She has only been in Riyadh for two months. She was beaten up within five days of her arrival by her male employer and was sometimes deprived of food.”
“She was only taken to the hospital six hours after boiling water was poured on her. She was then taken home to continue working despite her extensive injuries,” she said.
The same images were posted on social media network on Saturday.
Within a few minutes, the news had gone viral on social media sites with sympathetic comments.
“Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah would not allow this to happen in his country,” said an OFW based in the US.
She is now under the embassy’s custody, according to officials.
“We will request immediate police and medical intervention,” said an embassy official.
RIYADH: Abdul Hannan Tago
Published — Monday 19 May 2014
Last update 20 May 2014 8:08 pm
Last update 20 May 2014 8:08 pm
The Filipino maid is partly shown being treated at a clinic in Riyadh for burns. (AN photo)
Images of a young female OFW with severe burns to her back after allegedly having boiling water poured on her by her employer has shocked the Filipino community in the Kingdom.
Her case was brought to the attention of both the Philippine Embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with a request to report the incident to police authorities and the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
One of her relatives, who introduced himself as “Talib,” told Arab News that the victim arrived in Riyadh only two months ago to work as a domestic helper, but apparently faced communication problems with her employer since she can neither understand Arabic nor English.
He said her employer began beating her and eventually attacked her with boiling water.
Talib said the victim was not immediately brought to a clinic by her employer. It was at the clinic where she managed to contact her relatives.
A message from the victim’s cousin in Riyadh provided details into the incident in Tagalog on Facebook.
“This is my cousin, who works as domestic helper in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her female Saudi employer poured boiling water on her. She has only been in Riyadh for two months. She was beaten up within five days of her arrival by her male employer and was sometimes deprived of food.”
“She was only taken to the hospital six hours after boiling water was poured on her. She was then taken home to continue working despite her extensive injuries,” she said.
The same images were posted on social media network on Saturday.
Within a few minutes, the news had gone viral on social media sites with sympathetic comments.
“Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah would not allow this to happen in his country,” said an OFW based in the US.
She is now under the embassy’s custody, according to officials.
“We will request immediate police and medical intervention,” said an embassy official.
Jumat, 02 Mei 2014
Kamis, 01 Mei 2014
CRAZY ABOUT GUNS
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EA23Ae03.html
Philippines: Crazy about guns
By Marco Garrido
MANILA - As the so-called "second front" in the war against terrorism, the Philippines has received a massive amount of military aid from the United States. The administration of US President George W Bush has pledged the Philippine government more than US$100 million in military equipment alone; this includes transport vehicles, high-tech gadgets, and a whole lot of weapons - some 30,000 M-16 rifles, to be exact.
While these weapons are intended to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines eradicate the nettlesome Abu Sayyaf bandits, their light weight and high value make them especially prone to ending up in the country's thriving small arms black market. As it is, small arms run rampant in the Philippines. There are well over a million firearms loose in society. Registered firearms account for 706,148, while those that are unregistered number some 349,782. In Mindanao, more than 70 percent of the population owns one or more guns. Machine-guns can be bought for as little as $375 and revolvers for a mere $15.
Gun-crazyThe demand for small arms is great, and the sources of this demand are various and complex. Insurgent groups obviously demand arms in order to wage their causes. In the same way, criminal groups such as the Abu Sayyaf require arms to carry out their criminal activities. The patent lawlessness of these groups, however, sets them apart. But the demand for or, more accurately, the fascination with arms and being armed does not alleviate in the mainstream. More ingrained and insidious justifications take hold, whether for protection, power, or prestige, or to accord with supposed tradition.
In cultural terms, being armed becomes a proxy for manifesting personal prowess (although in truth all that a gun bestows is power). Likewise, family prowess, measured in a family's ability to dominate or win elections, is greatly enhanced by its "show of force", which roughly equates to its show of arms. In this manner, many a clan dispute is settled, law evaded, and election decided.
Gun-running
Three sources largely account for the abundant availability of small arms in Philippine society: local manufacture, smuggling, and diversions from government stocks. Forty-five or so local manufacturers of firearms, or paltik, provide an easy and affordable supply of guns not only domestically but throughout the region. Japanese yakuza regularly import paltik from Mandaue or Danao in Cebu, and even smuggle in Filipino gunsmiths; in fact, the Philippines ranks third among countries in the production of seized handguns in Japan, and third again in the number of gun shipments foiled by the Japanese.
Small arms are also commonly smuggled into the country through a number of "back doors". Smuggled guns can be cheaper than their local counterparts and need not be licensed. Moreover, shipments made in connivance with foreign governments or organizations often go to arm domestic insurgency groups. China once shipped arms to the New People's Army, as did both Libya and Malaysia to Muslim secessionist groups in Mindanao. More recently, arms shipments to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front from Afghanistan have allegedly emanated from al-Qaeda and been financed by Osama bin Laden. Some of the money that goes to purchasing these arms may even be pilfered from aid allocated for developmental purposes.
Finally, through loss, thievery, or sale, government munitions end up in the wrong hands. There is certainly no shortage of buyers, and the lucrative black market for small arms can prove an irresistible temptation to underpaid and enterprising soldiers. The influx of new small arms from the US can only augment that temptation.
Bullet-riddled security
The toll small arms take on state and human security is enormous. Their unchecked availability makes them highly susceptible to misuse. Small arms enable armed conflict, crime, and general lawlessness, and generally foster a climate of insecurity and fear. In terms of armed conflict, the free flow of these weapons not only arm insurgents but also the communities near where insurgents operate. Reactionary and vigilante groups, assembled for defense, retribution, or offense, escalate the level of violence. The conflict thoroughly permeates communities as each becomes another front in an enlarging civil war.
Small arms likewise enable crime. Not only do they endow crime with a more violent character - small arms are routine implements in homicide (82 percent) and murder (78 percent) in the Philippines - but are themselves a reason to engage in criminal activity, since their smuggling is lucrative business. Not to mention, of course, that troublesome criminal cum terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf would not be half as effective in sowing terror if they went about brandishing bolos rather than ArmaLites.
Compounding the rampancy of small arms is the Philippine government's inability (or perhaps unwillingness) to do very much about it. Smuggled guns, as I mentioned, escape government detection and often fall into criminal hands. Between 1993 and 1999, for example, 93 percent of the firearms involved in criminal cases were unlicensed. Meanwhile, the government can do little more than tout small victories, all but imperceptible given the scale of the problem. In observation of Small Arms Destruction Day in 2001, despite the hundreds of thousands of small arms available, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Joey Lina could only produce 300 for destruction.
The free flow of small arms conduces to a general disorder that undermines human security in a variety of sinister ways. Conflict results in displacement and deprivation, insurgency groups degenerate into criminal gangs that prey on communities, which arm themselves to the hilt in response; a climate of fear deepens. Developmental functions fail and further development is discouraged. Basic services such as health care cease being delivered into embattled communities; development projects cannot be implemented; schooling is interrupted as young people are conscripted to fight or simply because going to school has become too dangerous; democracy becomes a farce as candidates buy or bully votes through a show of arms; private armies allow rich families to evade or even break laws with impunity; a poison takes over people's minds, hate and fear seed further conflict; a climate of insecurity deepens insecurity.
While the rampancy of small arms is not the only factor deepening human insecurity in the Philippines, its agency is unmistakable. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EA23Ae03.html
Philippines: Crazy about guns
By Marco Garrido
MANILA - As the so-called "second front" in the war against terrorism, the Philippines has received a massive amount of military aid from the United States. The administration of US President George W Bush has pledged the Philippine government more than US$100 million in military equipment alone; this includes transport vehicles, high-tech gadgets, and a whole lot of weapons - some 30,000 M-16 rifles, to be exact.
While these weapons are intended to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines eradicate the nettlesome Abu Sayyaf bandits, their light weight and high value make them especially prone to ending up in the country's thriving small arms black market. As it is, small arms run rampant in the Philippines. There are well over a million firearms loose in society. Registered firearms account for 706,148, while those that are unregistered number some 349,782. In Mindanao, more than 70 percent of the population owns one or more guns. Machine-guns can be bought for as little as $375 and revolvers for a mere $15.
Gun-crazyThe demand for small arms is great, and the sources of this demand are various and complex. Insurgent groups obviously demand arms in order to wage their causes. In the same way, criminal groups such as the Abu Sayyaf require arms to carry out their criminal activities. The patent lawlessness of these groups, however, sets them apart. But the demand for or, more accurately, the fascination with arms and being armed does not alleviate in the mainstream. More ingrained and insidious justifications take hold, whether for protection, power, or prestige, or to accord with supposed tradition.
In cultural terms, being armed becomes a proxy for manifesting personal prowess (although in truth all that a gun bestows is power). Likewise, family prowess, measured in a family's ability to dominate or win elections, is greatly enhanced by its "show of force", which roughly equates to its show of arms. In this manner, many a clan dispute is settled, law evaded, and election decided.
Gun-running
Three sources largely account for the abundant availability of small arms in Philippine society: local manufacture, smuggling, and diversions from government stocks. Forty-five or so local manufacturers of firearms, or paltik, provide an easy and affordable supply of guns not only domestically but throughout the region. Japanese yakuza regularly import paltik from Mandaue or Danao in Cebu, and even smuggle in Filipino gunsmiths; in fact, the Philippines ranks third among countries in the production of seized handguns in Japan, and third again in the number of gun shipments foiled by the Japanese.
Small arms are also commonly smuggled into the country through a number of "back doors". Smuggled guns can be cheaper than their local counterparts and need not be licensed. Moreover, shipments made in connivance with foreign governments or organizations often go to arm domestic insurgency groups. China once shipped arms to the New People's Army, as did both Libya and Malaysia to Muslim secessionist groups in Mindanao. More recently, arms shipments to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front from Afghanistan have allegedly emanated from al-Qaeda and been financed by Osama bin Laden. Some of the money that goes to purchasing these arms may even be pilfered from aid allocated for developmental purposes.
Finally, through loss, thievery, or sale, government munitions end up in the wrong hands. There is certainly no shortage of buyers, and the lucrative black market for small arms can prove an irresistible temptation to underpaid and enterprising soldiers. The influx of new small arms from the US can only augment that temptation.
Bullet-riddled security
The toll small arms take on state and human security is enormous. Their unchecked availability makes them highly susceptible to misuse. Small arms enable armed conflict, crime, and general lawlessness, and generally foster a climate of insecurity and fear. In terms of armed conflict, the free flow of these weapons not only arm insurgents but also the communities near where insurgents operate. Reactionary and vigilante groups, assembled for defense, retribution, or offense, escalate the level of violence. The conflict thoroughly permeates communities as each becomes another front in an enlarging civil war.
Small arms likewise enable crime. Not only do they endow crime with a more violent character - small arms are routine implements in homicide (82 percent) and murder (78 percent) in the Philippines - but are themselves a reason to engage in criminal activity, since their smuggling is lucrative business. Not to mention, of course, that troublesome criminal cum terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf would not be half as effective in sowing terror if they went about brandishing bolos rather than ArmaLites.
Compounding the rampancy of small arms is the Philippine government's inability (or perhaps unwillingness) to do very much about it. Smuggled guns, as I mentioned, escape government detection and often fall into criminal hands. Between 1993 and 1999, for example, 93 percent of the firearms involved in criminal cases were unlicensed. Meanwhile, the government can do little more than tout small victories, all but imperceptible given the scale of the problem. In observation of Small Arms Destruction Day in 2001, despite the hundreds of thousands of small arms available, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Joey Lina could only produce 300 for destruction.
The free flow of small arms conduces to a general disorder that undermines human security in a variety of sinister ways. Conflict results in displacement and deprivation, insurgency groups degenerate into criminal gangs that prey on communities, which arm themselves to the hilt in response; a climate of fear deepens. Developmental functions fail and further development is discouraged. Basic services such as health care cease being delivered into embattled communities; development projects cannot be implemented; schooling is interrupted as young people are conscripted to fight or simply because going to school has become too dangerous; democracy becomes a farce as candidates buy or bully votes through a show of arms; private armies allow rich families to evade or even break laws with impunity; a poison takes over people's minds, hate and fear seed further conflict; a climate of insecurity deepens insecurity.
While the rampancy of small arms is not the only factor deepening human insecurity in the Philippines, its agency is unmistakable. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EA23Ae03.html
INTERNATIONAL CHILD 'CYBERSEX' RING IN THE PHILIPPINES BUSTED
International child ‘cybersex' ring in the Philippines busted
'Cybersex dens' in the Asian nation served virtual abusers around the world through chat rooms, authorities say, and 'every link in the chain' will be investigated. Many Flipino children are sold by relatives to the pedophile network.
BY Carol Kuruvilla
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, January 16, 2014, 4:58 PM
Desperate Filipino parents in the impoverished slum of Ibabao took their children to this cybersex den, where they were forced to engage in sexual acts in front of a webcam.
Authorities have uncovered “cybersex dens” in the Philippines that streamed live child sex abuse to paying pedophiles around the world.
The dens were part of an international pedophile ring that investigators in the U.K., U.S. and Australia have been trying to bust since 2012. Twenty-nine people have already been slapped with charges, according to Britain’s National Crime Agency, including 11 Filipinos who helped organize the abuse in impoverished communities.
But the investigation, code-named Operation Endeavor, casts a wide net, seeking to attack “every link in the chain” — from the parents who offer up their own children as virtual sex toys, to the abusers sitting in chatrooms and making skeevy requests.
"This investigation has identified some extremely dangerous child sexual offenders who believed paying for children to be abused ... was something they could get away with," said Andy Baker, deputy director of the NCA's Child Exploitation and Online Protection command. "Being thousands of miles away makes no difference to their guilt. In my mind, they are just as responsible for the abuse of these children as the contact abusers overseas.”
Fifteen Filipino children, ranging from age 6 to 15, have already been rescued. But authorities suspect there may be hundreds more.
Uncredited/ap British citizens Thomas Owen (left) Timothy Ford were members of an organized pedophilia group who are now behind bars. "Fathers and mothers would bring their children here to show, and would get paid by the owner of the house," local police officer Denis Comunay said.
The NCA estimates the pedophile network paid over $60,000 to abuse children.
The virtual abusers try to justify these cybersex sessions and the “cottage industry” they’ve created by insisting that they never have physical contact with the children, says Noemi Truya-Abarientos of the Children’s Legal Bureau. But she doesn’t see this as a valid excuse, since the psychological effects of the abuse are very real.
BBC Footage shows police raiding a 'cybersex den' house in the Philippines. Lani, a Filipino teen, said she was pushed into the cybersex industry by her aunt.
"Perhaps when people hear about cybersex they think it doesn't have any physical effect," she told the BBC. "But it can do things to your core. It can take things from you, your dignity and your purity."
Seventeen of the arrested suspects were British citizens. Five have already been convicted.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images The National Crime Agency says 17 British citizens have been arrested as a result of the bust. He had allegedly paid as little as $21 to watch children engaged in sex acts. Ford had plans to buy property in the Philippines. He wanted to set up an Internet cafe. The man is now serving eight-and-a-half years behind bars.
Three separate investigations into similar cases are also underway. In total, the NCA has identified 733 suspects in Australia, the U.S., France, Germany, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Taiwan, Denmark and Switzerland.http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/authorities-bust-international-child-cybersex-ring-article-1.1582268http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/authorities-bust-international-child-cybersex-ring-article-1.1582268
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