The 26 September was another hot and humid day in the mountainous region of Lake Sebu, the Philippines, when Jerson Kues received an unexpected video call from an unknown number. On the line was a woman from Dubai, with news that would tear the father of four’s world apart. His wife, Vergie Tamfungan, was dead. The woman on the call stared back at him, expressionless. Kues had a thousand questions, but she refused to reveal any more information, not even her phone number. Just wait to be contacted for updates, she said, before abruptly ending the call.
Shock set in. Tamfungan had been planning to return to Lake Sebu in December after four years as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia. But in August she received a Facebook message from a Filipina recruitment agent she knew, asking if she wanted a domestic worker job in Dubai. The salary offered was much higher than she was currently earning, and she would also get a signing bonus, the recruiter said. It was too good to refuse.
