By ALYSSA MAE CLARIN
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — A group of Filipino migrant rights advocates is appealing for the immediate rescue and repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon amid the intensifying bombings by Israeli forces.
Last September 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before the assembly in the United Nations and vowed to continue and intensify Israel’s attacks against Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon.
In his speech Netanyahu said that Israel ‘seeks peace but enough is enough,’ inadvertently rejecting the 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon until they achieve “victory” over Hezbollah.
According to reports, Israeli forces intensified its bombing attacks on Beirut, capital city of Lebanon, killing Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah and hundred other people while thousands of citizens were forced to evacuate the city.
The Philippine government said OFWs in Lebanon are “relatively safe,” as per Foreign Affairs undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.
However, in a recent online press conference, Migrante International expressed its concerns for the safety of OFWs in Lebanon and asked the Philippine government for serious action for repatriation.
“These claims of our government officials are simply unacceptable,” said Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion, adding that the government always fails to mention the difficulties and the current struggles OFWs are going through, making them hesitant to repatriate.
According to Migrante International, more than 11,000 Filipinos currently residing in Lebanon. “In fact, a lot of OFWs are requesting for repatriation but there are certain circumstances that disable them from doing so.”
The reality that OFWs face in the Middle East
Migrante International highlighted that Filipinos working in the Middle East region are vulnerable amid the rising tension as they are often victims of “contract substitutions,” where they are deployed to a different job or get lower salaries as stipulated in their signed contracts in the Philippines, or worse, both.
Rachel Kioch, a nail technician in Dahie where majority of the attacks are happening, said her employers abandoned her and others in the middle of the attacks. Fortunately, she was taken in by another Lebanese family and was brought to an area away from the bombing.
“I am currently safe, but I do not know until when,” she said, worrying that the conflict will soon reach her current area after hearing news that a ground attack could possibly happen after the bombing in Beirut.
“I appeal to our government, and to our president, and our agencies…please rescue and help us,” Kioch said, adding that a lot of Filipinos have been wanting to go home for a while now, but unable to do so because of the difficult process, especially since Lebanese employers refuse to return their passports which is needed for their exit clearance.
Call for immediate repatriation continues
Arnel Sarcia, another OFW in Lebanon, asks the DFA to give them a ‘proper procedure’ on how they can expedite the repatriation process because most of the OFWs are clueless on the process.
According to Sarcia, the Philippine embassy still depends on the Lebanese government for the exit process and since the country is preoccupied with the ongoing conflict, thousands of requests from OFWs remain unprocessed while Filipinos continue to fear for their safety as they wait.
For so long, the Philippine government had always lacked a comprehensive plan on the repatriation of OFWs in the Middle East despite knowing that countries in the region have been at war against each other for years.
“Let’s not wait for the conflict to ‘escalate,’ because it has already escalated. Let’s not wait until the last moment, where a lot of us will get stuck here (in Lebanon),” he lamented.
Christina Lao has also been an OFW in Lebanon for years but this is the first time she had ever considered going home.
“It has become a matter of life and death for us,” she said, recalling how the walls of the buildings she resides in shook at the intensity of the bombings.
Lao added that they have been calling the embassy for help, only to get a response that they will send a link for the forms they need to fill out, or that their papers are still ‘under evaluation’ in the immigration office which had remained closed since the attacks happened. They were told to wait for 20 days for an update, and it has been over a month and they have yet to receive an update on the status of their papers.
“When will they (the Philippine government) act? Are they going to wait until some of us have already died here?” Lao asks, appealing once more for the government to give them attention.
“I appeal to our government: please do not wait until someone dies before you make an action to repatriate the Filipinos in Lebanon.”
Media reports say that at least 105 people were killed in Lebanon as per their health ministry as the bombings have hit buildings where civilians reside. (RTS)
