Filipino Domestic Worker’s Death in Casablanca Sparks Controversy and Calls for Investigation

There is consternation within the Solidarity Instance with Asian Immigrants (ISIA). They protested following the death of a Filipino domestic worker in Casablanca, reports the Arabic daily, Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

According to the facts reported by the Casablanca daily, "the 40-year-old woman is said to have committed suicide last Friday by jumping from the third floor of a building in the Bourgogne neighborhood in Casablanca". The suspicious circumstances of this death, which raises questions and indignation within the ISIA, quickly led the organization to "join the civil party" in this case. Through a press release, the ISIA leaders seized the competent authorities, demanding "an investigation into the circumstances of this tragedy", the daily reports.

Recalling the "catastrophic conditions bordering on slavery" in which "Filipino domestic workers work" in Morocco, Hayat Baraho, President of the Solidarity Instance with Asian Immigrants, said she hopes for "total transparency in the investigation", reports Le 360 citing Al Ahdath. This media notes that "these women are recruited through illegal agencies with fake contracts, and once in Morocco, their employers confiscate their passports to prevent them from returning home".

According to Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, according to the preliminary findings of the investigation, conducted by the Judicial Police of the Anfa Security District in Casablanca, under the supervision of the competent prosecutor’s office, to elucidate the circumstances of this death, "the victim had an altercation with the owner of the house, before trying to leave the apartment through the window using a fabric rope, which caused her to fall".