NEW YORK CITY, USA – A Filipina babysitter who was allegedly turned into a modern-day slave by her Filipino employers in the United States has found an ally in the New York state’s attorney general.
After 10 years of suffering in the hands of alleged human traffickers, Leticia Moratal is now smiling.
She is enjoying her new-found freedom and is thankful for all the support she is getting.
Moratal has met with the lawyers of the New York attorney general's labor office.
“There were 4 lawyers who met with us this....Of course they’re interested to find out if there is a criminal aspect to the allegations that were contained in the civil complaint we filed before the district court in Brooklyn,” said civil rights lawyer Felix Vinluan.
He said says the attorney general's office has vowed to assess if the government can file a criminal case against Moratal's former employers, the Nolasco family, who allegedly enslaved and abused her for 10 years.
Moratal claimed that employers Elsa and Augusto Nolasco and their daughters confiscated her passport, isolated her, and subjected her to years of "backbreaking labor and psychological abuse," without being paid since 2001.
Moratal also claimed that she was threatened with deportation if she did not follow their demands.
As a victim of human trafficking, Moratal can secure a visa to stay and work in the US.
Filipino-American nonprofit groups National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON) and the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines are standing behind the pursuit of justice for labor trafficking victims like Moratal.
“Historically, may mga nahawakan na rin tayo na campaigns before na naipanalo natin at nakuha yung mga demands nung mga naging victims. Sa ngayon, ang NAFCON ay handing tumulong at sumuporta,” group official Jonna Baldres said.
Moratal said she will tell her story in public events for her kababayans to learn from her experience.
“Ang kahilingan ko naman sa Aquino administration na magkaroon tayo ng public awareness seminar, na iyung bago umalis ng ating bansa as overseas worker, malaman nila ang karapatan nila bilang immigrants sa kung anumang bansa,” she said.
Moratal added that after experiencing what she calls “hell on earth,” she would never want other kababayans to go through what she went through.
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