KOTA KINABALU – Abandoned and with no one to turn to for help, a group of undocumented migrant women are forced to take whatever food nature has to offer after waiting months for aid that never arrived.
Diana Mus, 28, Majira Abdula, 28, a 53-year-old woman who only wanted to be known as Mari, as well as Siti Halija and Fatma Hapis, both 25, are neighbours in a small migrant village near a popular mall here.
All the women are from the second- and third-generation families of Filipinos born and raised in Sabah. Their problems began after their husbands lost their construction jobs due to the lockdown first implemented last year.
With children and jobless husbands, the women shouldered the duty of putting food on their tables, despite the risks they face as undocumented migrants.
“We went out chasing aid wherever it may be. Our handphones were our only hope.
“But with money running out, we can no longer afford data, so we can only send SMSes,” said Diana, adding that she has walked more than 30km from her house to get food aid distributed by NGOs and political groups.
But aid does not come around too often, they said, while some, such as those given by the Red Crescent Society, were not enough for all the villagers, leaving some empty-handed.
This has forced Diana, who has five children aged 10, 7, 4, 2 and 1, to venture out with her four friends to a nearby mangrove area to pluck water spinach.
“Although my husband (Asri) has no work, he goes out to the mangrove site to catch beach mollusc (polymesoda expansa), and I boil them to feed the family,” said Diana, adding that her infant has been surviving on condensed milk mixed with water.
Baby woes and con men
Another challenging situation Majira, the mother of a 2-month-old daughter, shared with The Vibes concerns a skin condition she suffers from.
Because of this, she is unable to breastfeed her child and has to buy baby formula – an item usually out of reach for the impoverished.
Whenever her husband is able to find work, the couple can afford baby formula.
“But these days, I am forced to give her water mixed with sugar,” she said.
Her family lives with her elderly in-laws inside a small wooden hut housing a total of 10 people.
She said that putting food on the table has become their top priority, and is extremely challenging.
To add insult to injury, the villagers are also being preyed on by unscrupulous con men.
“A number of times, individuals have come to our village promising to bring us aid. They took our details and pictures, claiming they will come back with food. But they never returned,” she said.
Majira later found out that their pictures had gone viral on social media.
“They (the pictures) were used to solicit donations. The pictures were also attached with an account number for banking transfers.
“We felt so used by these individuals,” she said.
According to the women, most of their neighbours are so desperate that they would swarm NGO workers for aid, even those who are by comparison financially secure.
Stealing aid and reselling them
Meanwhile, Fatma said that, after reaching out to groups and individuals for aid, they were left out when assistance finally arrived as there were too many people requesting for help.
Voicing her scepticism about some of her fellow villagers, she believes that some of them are taking advantage of the support given and selling the aid in their sundry shops.
“I’m not sure whether they really need it or not, because I saw some of the aid being resold in their makeshift sundry shops,” she said.
Fatma said there is also a Pakistani shop in their village, but its operator has refused to extend any credit to the villagers.
Fully aware of the risk for undocumented migrants if they opt for government assistance, Siti said they fear being separated from their families if they are arrested by the authorities and are repatriated.
“We don’t have proper papers. We can’t risk it.
“This is the reason why we cannot come out in the open; we will get hauled up by immigration,” said Siti, adding that what she fears the most is being separated from her 2-year-old son.
She added that the employers of their husbands have practically abandoned them, as there is no work to be done due to the MCO.
As for Mari, she had in May lost her job at an Indian-Muslim restaurant after the operator decided to close shop for good.
“I have a 70-year-old husband who can no longer work. So, I have to stick with Diana and the others, either chasing food aid, plucking spinach or heading to sea to catch fish,” she said.
She said she considers herself lucky that she has no young children to feed.
Her two sons are already married and have moved out, but they are also facing challenges.
“Even if I could approach them for help, they are also struggling to survive at the moment.” – The Vibes, July 3, 2021
