The over-exploitation of immigrant workers has long since ceased to be the exclusive preserve of Western countries. Many people will have heard of the harsh, sometimes slave-like working conditions endured by thousands of young women from Asia in certain Gulf monarchies. In recent years, the phenomenon has become so "professional" that veritable schools, both private and public, are training young Filipinas in domestic work who are ready to emigrate to Saudi Arabia or Hong Kong to find work there. Every year, more than 150,000 of them leave their country with a state diploma, ready to work overseas.