Thursday, November 24, 2011
By Mu Sochua

Yesterday I met with one of my constituents from Battambang, an incredibly brave woman Tuy Poeb.

She was the mother of Pov Nich, a young woman who was illegally recruited at the age of 18 to be sent to Malaysia as a maid by the agency Human Power. On the 25th October 2011, just three months after her departure, Human Power confirmed that she would not be returning home. Pov Nich, despite no existent health problems, had now been declared dead.

Human Power vaguely described to Tuy Poeb that the household-employer discovered her daughter on the floor after having taken “the wrong tablet”. She was taken to hospital, but deceased due to consent issues surrounding a necessary operation. Human Power subsequently attempted to intimidate Tuy Poeb and buy her off for $500. They warned if she made any public appeal about her daughter’s case she would not receive a cent.

Tuy Poeb is not a rich woman economically. Her decision to face the injustice publically despite the threats of the recruitment agency is one of the most admirable gestures I can think of. Especially considering the rawness of the grief she feels in the face of such a tragic and unexpected loss.

Her story is a reminder to us that abuse does not simply cease because of the embargo. There remain thousands of women still in Malaysia at risk of human rights violations, all of who have their own concerned family members praying that they do not have to collect their ashes as Tuy Poeb did. The battle for their protection continues.