UNOFFICIAL TIP SHELTER OPTIONS IN UAE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000244

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, G/TIP, NEA/RA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KCRM ELAB KMPI KTIP AE
SUBJECT: UNOFFICIAL TIP SHELTER OPTIONS IN UAE

REFS: A) 07 ABU DHABI 1272, B) 07 DUBAI 629, C) 08 ABU DHABI 377, D)
08 ABU DHABI 135

ABU DHABI 00000244 001.2 OF 002


Classified by DCM Douglas Greene, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Abu Dhabi - Consulate General Dubai
cable.


2. (SBU) Summary: In both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the UAE's main urban
hubs, unofficial shelters have been established over time to
accommodate the immediate needs of vulnerable groups (one of the more
active being run by the Philippine Embassy). After speaking to
shelter managers, embassies and consulates, it is clear that while
there is some progress in official efforts to shelter victims of
domestic abuse and trafficking (septel),ad hoc shelters emerge to
fill a gap when official facilities are inadequate relative to the
scale and complexity of the problem. End summary.


3. (U) In preparation for the 2008 report on Trafficking in Persons
(TIP) and in an effort to assess the services available to victims of
domestic violence and trafficking, PolOffs talked to representatives
from labor-sending countries and visited select shelters run by
foreign missions. We also reviewed the status of the only
non-governmental shelter, City of Hope.

--------------
Foreign Government Facilities
--------------

Philippines


4. (SBU) The Consulate General of the Philippines in Dubai
administers its own Welfare shelter, as does the Philippine Embassy
in Abu Dhabi. Typical clients are Filipina domestic workers seeking
refuge from abusive employers. The shelter's goal is to help women
either find new employment or return to the Philippines. Filipina
women are reportedly informed of the Embassy and Consulate shelters
before leaving the Philippines during a mandatory one-day seminar.
When a woman contacts the shelter for assistance, she is taken to the
hospital for medical documentation in abuse cases. The shelter also
encourages the woman to file a police report as soon as possible.


5. (C) A villa with a capacity of about 50 currently shelters 90
women (and has accommodated up to 120) in Dubai. Women typically
stay at the shelter for a few days to a few weeks (two have been
there for more than a year because legal disputes with employers have
"dragged on" and they have not been permitted to work while awaiting
adjudication of their cases). There are more than 30 Filipino
community organizations that help the shelter financially; Filipino
community organizations would reportedly rather support the
Consulate's shelter than work with the "official" Dubai Foundation
for Women and Children (DFWC),which is perceived to be principally
for UAE nationals and women trafficked from Eastern Europe.
(Comment: The Filipino community is tight knit in supporting its
citizens -- particularly those in domestic jobs who are perceived to
be at a disadvantage in the local justice system -- in resolving
conflicts with Emirati employers. While Filipinas would likely be
welcome at DFWC, these ad hoc arrangements are currently more
comfortable and the DFWC has done no outreach to attract this
demographic. End comment.)


6. (C) The Philippines Embassy in Abu Dhabi also has a shelter in
which it currently houses 135 women in a space with a capacity to
accommodate 40 comfortably. The shelter offers similar services to
that offered by the Consulate General's Dubai facility. The Dubai
Consulate General claims to have recently recommended that the
Philippine government impose a ban on additional Filipinas traveling
legally to Dubai to work as domestics. The Consul recognizes this
may not stop workers from coming because the demand is high, but he
thought it was important to be "on the record" as flagging potential
victimization. The Consulate does as much as it can to ensure that
every contract is sound. All contracts are reportedly approved in
advance at the Embassy/Consulate and sent back to Manila to process
paperwork prior to travel to the UAE. Once the women are in Dubai,
unfortunately, the Consulate generally loses contact with them
unless/until they become a victim seeking help.

India


7. (SBU) The Consulate General of India in Dubai works closely with
a shelter run by the Indian Community Welfare Organization; like the
Philippines shelter, it has no relationship with DFWC. The Indian
community in Dubai is the single largest ethnic group in the city,
with estimates nearing a million people. The Indian Embassy in Abu
Dhabi also runs a small shelter that houses up to eight women at a
time before they are either repatriated or their disputes with their
employers resolved.

Sri Lanka

ABU DHABI 00000244 002.2 OF 002




8. (SBU) The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai has its own
shelter, and assists people for up to two weeks. The Consulate asked
EmbOff for the DFWC's contact information, expressing a preference to
send its nationals to the official shelter. (Comment: The Sri
Lankan Consulate would likely welcome the transfer of its sheltering
burden to the well-financed DFWC if it were aware of -- and confident
in -- the latter's capacity to assist its nationals. End comment.)

Indonesia


9. (SBU) Indonesia has a sizable facility next to its Embassy in Abu
Dhabi where domestic workers in limbo are housed temporarily, and
appears to operate on a similar basis to other shelters associated
with diplomatic missions (i.e., accepting only its own nationals and
coordinating their cases cautiously with the host government).


10. (SBU) Post was unable to clarify facilities run by all
governments of large labor-sending countries (including Bangladesh
and Nepal). Pakistan, as a rule, does not allow women to work in the
UAE as domestic servants and therefore has not identified a need for
those types of social services. (Pakistan did cooperate with a
temporary sheltering facility for child camel jockeys in the
repatriation process in past years.)

--------------
CITY OF HOPE
--------------


11. (C) The informal Dubai-based NGO City of Hope (CoH),run by
AmCit and naturalized Emirati Sharla Musabih, remains the only
privately run shelter option in the UAE (ref C). CoH has in the past
taken in a number of endangered AMCITS, as well as women under threat
(some referred by the Dubai Police). Musabih is a controversial and
outspoken figure who is, by what we can determine, engaged in a
bitter feud with the Director of the DFWC. The viability of CoH as a
shelter has subsequently been cast in doubt over the last year as it
faces funding problems, has been pilloried in the local press for
alleged mismanagement and corruption, and just escaped closure
(primarily due to non-payment of rent and utilities) on at least two
occasions. According to Musabih, who has been outside the UAE for
some months, the shelter currently houses 12 women and four children.
She fears imminent closure due to payment concerns and has expressed
interest in exploring options for relocating the facility to Abu
Dhabi where she assumes her disagreements with Dubai authorities will
not plague her as much.

Comment


12. (C) The various unofficial shelters in Dubai and Abu Dhabi would
be more successful if they coordinated efforts for greater
efficiency, drew synergies from one another's experience, established
common best practices, and sought economies of scale; however, the
single nationality structure of many of the shelters cuts against
such cooperation. Moreover, many of these shelters prefer to operate
quietly, trying to the extent possible to stay below the authorities'
radar. The local police and government know they are there, but
since they provide a useful service (and so long as they don't make
public waves) they are usually allowed to operate with unofficial
consent. The U.S. Mission has recommended to the UAEG's anti-TIP
committee that it expand awareness of the several shelters and deepen
coordination with diplomatic missions. Closer cooperation would also
expand understanding of TIP and domestic violence in a society where
such topics have traditionally been taboo in public (but are now
increasingly noted in the media). The anti-TIP committee is also
preparing an awareness campaign targeting airport travelers and the
general public to sensitize them to the hazards of TIP, which may
help alert vulnerable laborers to both the dangers and options for
assistance. End comment.
OLSON