SARAH'S STORY IS NOT SO DIFFERENT FROM OTHER OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS THAT FOUND EMPLOYMENT AND SERVITUDE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
What happened during her young life and times is something to talk about because the same thing is happening now.
Sarah Balabagan was born on August 16, 1979 in the Muslim town of Sultan Kudarat, province of Maguindanao, in the island of Mindanao. She was the fourth of a family of 14 children, half of whom died in childhood. She left the Philippines with the help of a recruiting agency to become a domestic worker (lying about her age which was 14) and obtained a post in the town of Al Ain in the UAE . On July 19, 1994, she killed her Arab employer Almas Mohammed al- Baloushi by stabbing him 34 times. Her defense was he tried to rape her. On June 26, 1995, the court ruled she was guilty of manslaughter as well as a victim of rape. She was sentenced to 7 years in prison and had to pay blood money of $40,000 and compensated $27,000 for being raped. However, the prosecution appealed the verdict, was overturned and the islamic court ruled it was a premeditated murder and sentenced her the death penalty. There was an international outcry, her case being a symbol of ill-treatment of domestic workers in the Gulf region. Sheikh Zayed, UAE President, personally appealed for mercy to the victim's family. The family agreed, Sarah's sentence was reduced to one year imprisonment and 100 strokes of cane and payment of blood money.
After her released in 1996, she embarked on a career as a singer/entertainer back home in the Philippines. She converted from being a Muslim to a Christian. In 1998, she became a single parent after a brief relationship with a journalist. In August 2003, she got engaged with Russell Vergara, had 2 children and they divorced in 2010. She is also active in Filipino talk shows - talking about her terrible and painful experience and how she recovered after her imprisonment.
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December 20, 2008
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Published 2/26/09 altgroup multiply
Web Page: Marissa & Michael Wedding Reception-Sears Tower 66
I WAS SO AFRAID OF MY RELATIVES IN THE PHILIPPINES -- ONE JUST CAME BACK FROM SAUDI ARABIA LAST YEAR. THEY SEEMED TO HAVE A GOOD EXPERIENCE. THERE ARE MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION FILIPINOS WORKING IN SAUDI ARABIA ALONE.
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