Jocelyn Dulnuan: Twice a Victim

PRESS RELEASE
Migrante-Ontario
October 4, 2007

Jocelyn Dulnuan: Twice a Victim

TORONTO -- Jocelyn Dulnuan, Filipina housekeeper of a multi-million dollar mansion in Mississauga, was murdered on Monday October 1st.

Her sister in law Regina Kinnud said that “the police called and started asking questions about Jocelyn… When we asked why, they said that she was dead”. Shocked by the news, Regina remembered Jocelyn as a “quiet and happy person”.

Jocelyn Dulnuan, 27 years old.
(Photo taken from related article in the Toronto Star, October 5, 2007:
http://www.thestar.com/GTA/Crime/article/263912)

Jocelyn came to Canada under the Live-In Caregiver Program, a federal government program that allows Filipinas to come as caregivers. In this program, she was required to live in her employer’s residence. “That is the inherent problem in the program” said Sol Pajadura, coordinator of Migrante-Ontario, an advocacy group that supports caregivers and other migrant Filipinos in Ontario. “Live-in caregivers are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and to something like what happened to Jocelyn” she added.

Regina sought the assistance of the Philippine consulate. Consular officials claim that the consulate does not have funds to repatriate Jocelyn’s remains and Jocelyn was an unregistered worker.

“It is a shame that the Consulate of the Philippines is denying Jocelyn its services. The Consulate has the responsibility to look after the rights and welfare of its nationals, especially its overseas workers, who send billions of dollars to their home country every year, saving it from bankruptcy.” said Ms. Pajadura. A similar view was expressed by an Ifugao email sender who said “Her citizenship and the circumstances (behind) her death, not her status, should be considered by the Philippine Consulate.”

Imie Belanger, a relative of Jocelyn, in an appeal to the community earlier said, “I am asking for any assistance in making sure that this tragedy does not get put in the backburner. Already, the investigating officer we spoke to this morning has ‘passed it on to someone else’ as he has another matter to attend to.”

Jocelyn came from an indigenous farming community in Ifugao province north of Manila. She worked for a year in Hong Kong as a domestic before coming to Canada. She dreamt that one day her husband and 4 year-old daughter would join her. That will never happen anymore. “It’s really sad to hear what happened to Jocelyn, like me and many others she left the Philippines to get a better job” said Michelle Gose, a member of migrant organization Siklab. “Not only did she suffer a violent death, she was also a casualty of our government’s program that pushes us out of the country to work and be separated from our families” Michelle added.

While waiting for the Philippine Consulate to come forward and take its responsibility towards Jocelyn, Filipino migrant workers’ groups and concerned community organizations have started collecting information to send to Jocelyn’s mother in Hong Kong and to ensure that her body will be sent back to their hometown.

Spearheaded by Migrante-Ontario, a Jocelyn Dulnuan Support Committee will be formed to provide assistance to the repatriation of the Jocelyn’s remains and to support the family.

REFERENCE: Maria Sol Pajadura. Cell: 647-448-7030. Email: mail@siklab.org