Edna Valdez, 58, was elected as the President of Bannuar Ti La Union, an organization that works for migrant women’s rights in the La Union province of Philippines, shortly after she joined as a member in 2000. Ms. Valdez works at the Bannuar office at San Fernando City La Union, answering walk-in queries from migrant women and their families and referring them to relevant government agencies for support and services. She also conducts trainings about migrant workers’ rights, risks of illegal recruitment and trafficking, and access to services. She says about her early experience, "I went to Hong Kong as a domestic worker in 1996. I worked longer hours than my contract stipulated, I couldn’t take time off. When I complained, my employer said I could only get those benefits after two years. Into my third year of contract, when I could finally get benefits, they fired me because, they said, their child was becoming too close to me.” Shortly after she returned home to La Union province, she joined Bannuar Ti La Union (Heroes of La Union) and started working for migrant women’s rights. She was eventually elected as the President of Bannuar. “The main challenge for women migrant workers is that they don’t know what rights they have. Even when there are laws and services in place, they don’t know how to claim their rights or access support. As part of Bannuar, I helped a woman who was promised a job as a domestic worker in Hong Kong. When she reached Hong Kong, she was stripped off her clothes and put inside a cargo box—like a chicken in a box with air holes—and trafficked to Lebanon for sex. Somehow, she managed to escape and the Embassy facilitated her return. She received counseling and livelihood trainings from Bannuar and was able to rebuild her life. Women need correct information about their rights and the risks, before they migrate. The returnees, especially those who have been abused, need re-integration support to pick up the pieces, not only economic opportunities.”

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