16 September 2009

DUBAI — Marilyn Vinluan has been overwhelmed with offers for help and medical treatment after she suffered injuries, allegedly at the hands of her employer, which left her with scars and blurred vision.

Among those offering care is a Palestinian eye specialist, Dr Ali Dabbagh of Oyoomi, a mobile eye clinic that cares for 14 per cent of over three million people in the West Bank suffering from diabetes and glaucoma.

Dr Dabbagh, who examined and treated her eyes for free, told Khaleej Times that Marilyn is a sweet and wonderful person. “It is a privilege to be able to help her in a small way,” he said.

Marilyn, who has been complaining of blurred vision and occasionally a black spot in her field of vision, was brought to Dr Dabbagh last Tuesday upon his invitation. “I examined her and found something wrong with her eyes,” he said.

“I am now carrying a medical investigation and have started (interim) treatment. I will examine her in two week’s time again, during which she will undergo a blood test to determine whether anemia has affected her vision.”

Marilyn said that she is very happy for the help.

“I want to thank all who have helped me and who sympathize with me,” she said. Consul General Benito Valeriano at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai told Khaleej Times that Dr. Mohan Rangaswamy, a cosmetic surgeon of repute at Dubai Welfare Hospital, volunteered to treat Vinluan’s deep scars after viewing her pictures.

“We will take her to Dr Rangaswamy by Sunday, September 20, for physical examination.

He has (sounded his) intention to treat her for free,” 
Valeriano said.

Marilyn has told the police her employer hit her face. The alleged abuse continued for more than a year. On one occasion, he is said to have struck her with electrical extension wires until bits of them came to be embedded in her body.

With a bleeding face and broken rib, she ran away in August and filed a complaint with police and underwent initial treatment at Sheikh Khalifa Hospital 
in Ajman.

She was released on August 24 after 12 days of hospitalisation for a broken rib and wounds all over.

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