SARAH BALABAGAN: Saved from facing a Death
REMEMBER Sarah Balabagan? Let’s have a flash back of her past. From a Muslim community in Sultan Kudarat , Mindanao, Philippines, she left her 13 siblings and parents to work as domestic helper in the town of Al Ain, UAE. Sarah who was then 14 lied about her real age so she could get work. August 16, 1979 is her birth date. On July 19, 1994, Sarah stabbed to death 34 times her 85 year-old employer ALMAS MOHAMMED AL-BALOUSHI, alleging he tried to rape her.
Complaints unheeded
Sarah attended household work not only for her elderly employer who was a widower or a divorcee, but also for his 4 sons. Just a month and a half before the incident, Sarah went to the work agency that had brought her there to complain about her employer’s abuses and sexual harassment. But her plea fell on deep ears. She was, instead, advised to give in to her employer’s wishes. “Nobody takes my side. This is hell”, Sarah lamented.
Guilty of manslaughter and a victim of rape.
What’s surprising is that any of the 4 sons didn’t show hatred to Sarah. They were convinced that their father was to blame and that he was capable of doing the act.
The court ruled a verdict on June 26, 1995 that she was guilty of manslaughter as well as a victim of rape. For manslaughter she was meted 7 years imprisonment and was ordered to pay $40,000 blood money to the heirs of her victim. At the same time, she was awarded $27,000 as compensation for the rape.
Death by firing squad
The prosecution appealed the verdict, calling for the death penalty. A 2nd Islamic court on September 6, 1995 favored the prosecution. It found no evidence of rape and convicted her of premeditated murder. She was sentenced to die by firing squad. Meanwhile Sarah languished in the Al Ain Central Jail for 2 years while both Philippine and Arab authorities examined her case.
The case set fire to international outcry. Defense rallies were carried in several countries, calling for her freedom. The Sarah Balabagan’s case symbolized the inhuman treatment given to domestic workers in the Middle East.
Vina Morales acted as Balabagan in the film
Sarah’s life was set into a film entitled, “The Sarah Balabagan Story” in 1997. It was directed by Joel Lamangan with Vina Morales in the lead role. The release of the said film for showing was delayed for months because of several blocks made by the Philippine government because of its fear that it might damage relations with United Arab Emirates. This film earned for Sarah some $92,000 as payment for granting the film outfit her life story, according to GOLDSEA Asian-American News.
Her sentence was greatly reduced
The succeeding events smiled at Sarah. UAE President SHEIKH ZAYED himself appealed for mercy, resulting in the victim’s family agreeing to drop their execution demand in exchange for blood money. On October 30, at her third trial, her sentence was reduced to one-year imprisonment,100 lashes, along with payment of one million Philippine pesos blood money, which was donated by a Filipino businessman William Gatchalian.
She returned to the Philippines on July 31, 1996 and honored as a heroine.
UPDATE:
You may have asked whatever happened to OFW Sarah Balabagan more than two decades after she had been saved from death row in the UAE.
2017: Balabagan iS in Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband, worship director Jun Sereno, and their five children.
In pursuit of helping other aspiring migrant workers, Balabagan set up the Angat Bagong Bayani Angat! (ABBA) foundation which offers counseling and orientation to OFWs prior to their deployment abroad.
LATEST UPDATE:
Sarah Balabagan ibinunyag na si GMA News Anchor Arnold Clavio ang Ama ng kanyang panganay na Anak
Photo credit: AP Archive, Youtube
Credit: AP Archive, Balita America