A Filipino domestic worker who was missing in Saudi Arabia has been found in a hospital in Kuwait – in a coma.
Norisa Manambit, 36, went last year to Dammam, a port in eastern Saudi Arabia, to be a domestic worker. But she was reported missing last month after her family could not contact her, Tempo reported.
Manambit’s family learned of her whereabouts when a Filipino nurse in Kuwait posted a video on Facebook on February 12 of a woman lying in a hospital bed in a coma. A woman shared the video and identified the maid.
But Manambit’s niece Lady Mae Besa could not understand how her aunt, who was working in Saudi Arabia, ended up in Kuwait.
Besa said last month that her aunt had an argument with her employer after she was caught using a mobile phone. The row led to an alleged fight, which made the employer call police to have Manambit arrested.
Besa said Manambit’s friends could not find her, after she was detained by the police. Besa sought the help of Manambit’s employment agency in the Philippines to track down her aunt’s whereabouts.
However, an employee of the agency told Besa not to report the incident to the media or the government while they were following up on the case.
Besa said the agency promised to provide an update on Manambit’s situation but she has not received any information.
She is reportedly from Maguindanao in the far south of the Philippines.