Missing Hillary and helping Angelica

THERE’S AN interesting sidelight to the US claim of having killed Osama bin Laden in his safe house in Pakistan.

One of the most compelling photos to come from the White House is that of US President Barack Obama and his national security team huddled together in a “situation room” while viewing real-time videos of the raid (it made the Inquirer front page). Most observers credit the expression on the face of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton— eyes wide in astonishment, right hand clasped over her mouth—for making the shot “destined to be one for the history books.” Polled by Women’s Wear Daily on the impact of the photo, photo editors and designers agreed it was Clinton’s pose that, as Time magazine’s photo editor conceded, “is the one that holds the photograph fully.”

But not everyone was convinced, it seems. One odd development is that one US newspaper, the Ultra-Orthodox Hasidic broadsheet “Der Tzitung,” chose to photo-shop Clinton and another woman in the original photo, Audrey Tomason, national director on anti-terrorism, out of the photo. This, despite the condition imposed by the White House that media outlets using the photo would not manipulate it in any way.

The decision to leave out Clinton and Tomason, the paper’s editors explained, is based on a long-time policy not to publish photos of women in obedience to “laws of modesty.” This, they added, was not meant to “relegate [women] to a lower status” saying they regret if “this gives an impression of disparaging women, which is certainly never our intention.”

One of the odder and more amusing sidelights of this explosive incident.

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FAR FROM amusing is the plight of Angelica, 23, an OFW who has been in jail since December 2010 in Dubai.

The circumstances of Angelica’s imprisonment are strange, if not bizarre. Last December, she complained to Dubai police that she had been held up by an Iranian who fled with her money and cell phone. But instead of going after the thief, the police chose to throw Angelica in jail, where she has languished for the past five months.

But this rampant injustice wasn’t all that befell Angelica. As she told an aunt in Manila, since she ended up in the Dubai jail, Angelica has been taken out of her cell almost every night and her Iranian and Pakistani jail guards take turns raping her. Worse, her jailers have also reportedly “sold” her to other men in the detention facility.

Angelica has not been allowed to communicate with her family in Manila save for a very brief phone call to an aunt in Manila, the only time her family learned of her plight.

Angelica’s “backstory” is just as heartbreaking as her present circumstances. She was a scholar and first-year nursing student in the City College of Manila when she dropped out to give her family, including her 4-year-old son, a better future. Leaving the boy in the care of her mother Gloria, a laundrywoman, Angelica initially worked as a house help in Dubai for one year, but returned to the Philippines in 2009 and spent most of her savings for a lung tumor operation on her mother. She then returned to Dubai in July last year and worked as an entertainer until the hold-up and robbery that resulted in her present hellish situation.

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I FIRST heard of Angelica’s story when it was broadcast on “TV Patrol” by ABS-CBN reporter Sol Aragones. The airing of the story resulted in a visit to Angelica by representatives of the Philippine Consulate in Dubai but there have been no further updates on the case.

After hearing of the response of our Consulate in Dubai, I myself thought the news cycle had resulted in something concrete being done about Angelica, at the very least, her release from her patently illegal detention.

Meanwhile, it is up to Angelica’s mother Gloria to pursue justice for her daughter. Despite the distance and the transportation costs, Gloria, who lives in San Pablo, Laguna, has made the rounds of various government agencies who could—and should—come to Angelica’s aid. These include the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Office of Vice President Jejomar Binay, who was appointed the President’s “trouble-shooter” on matters regarding OFWs.

Despite the publicity and the efforts of Angelica’s mother, little has been done to help Angelica. Up till last April 15, when she last spoke to a former government official who offered his help, Gloria has yet to hear any encouraging news about Angelica. I for one feel a sense of mounting urgency, since every day Angelica remains in jail, is one more day added to her unjust imprisonment, her sexual exploitation and violation of her human rights.

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THIS afternoon, there will be a gathering of “leaders, artists and public figures” supportive of reproductive health in general and of the pending RH Bill in particular.

Dubbed the “Day of the Purple Ribbon,” the gathering is meant to gather support from so-called “influentials” in the run-up to what is expected to be a blistering battle between supporters and opponents of the measure.

To be held starting 1:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza ballroom, “Day of the Purple Ribbon” features a special performance by the outspoken and feisty Lea Salonga.

What’s interesting for me is that attendees have been asked to come in “semi-formal” wear, certainly a challenge for many in the RH community who are more used to T-shirts, jeans and rubber shoes in their many marches and protest actions. But there are many arenas of struggle, and donning unfamiliar clothing is just one of many challenges the RH groupies must overcome.