A general view of the audience.

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait along with its attached agencies, namely the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, held an event yesterday to celebrate Christmas with the Filipino community in Kuwait at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Farwaniya.

There are around 230,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait, the majority of whom are domestic helpers. Many of those domestic workers are allowed one day off a month by their employers, although a tripartite agreement signed between Kuwait and Philippines early this year states they are entitled to one day off per week.

Loida, a domestic helper who has been working with her employer for the past 15 years in South Surra, was among the crowd at Crowne Plaza. “I took a day off today to celebrate Christmas with the Filipino community. I am only permitted to take a day off once a month. I hear about this party on Pinoy Arabia ME and asked permission from my boss last month,” she said.

The event was attended by a special guest from the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development, Deputy Administrator Arnel Ignacio, who presented two songs for the Filipino workers. The event was also attended by Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Noordin Pendosina Lomondot. This was the first big event and gathering of Filipinos in Kuwait after an almost two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the event, Philippines Labor Attache to Kuwait Nasser Mustafa said he was grateful for the community’s support and assistance given to the Philippine Embassy for the success of the daylong event. “This is the happiest moment for Filipinos after two years. We need to cherish the holidays and the fact that we are still alive after the pandemic. There are some of us who didn’t make it, but we remember them today too. We pray for the Filipinos who didn’t survive COVID-19,” said Mustafa.

“We want to share the happiness with our kababayans. We want to make our people happy and celebrate Christmas with them. Although we are Muslims, together with our dear Ambassador Lomondot, we celebrate this occasion because Filipinos are celebrating this big time,” he added. The highlight of yesterday’s event was a singing contest and presentations by solo and choral groups, plus generous gift-giving and raffle draws.