Philippines - 74 Filipino workers repatriated from Syria

A new batch of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who availed of the government’s mandatory repatriation program arrived from Syria Friday afternoon.

The 74 repatriates, all women who worked as household service workers, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on board a Qatar Airways flight around 3:30 p.m.

They were welcomed at the airport by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ricardo Andaya and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration administrator Carmelita Dimzon.

According to Raul Hernandez, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, at least 50 of these OFWs were sheltered at the Embassy’s halfway house before they were repatriated to the Philippines.

On Saturday, two more OFWs from Aleppo governorates will also be repatriated, Hernandez said, adding that by the end of the week, a total of 645 OFWs would have been repatriated from Syria since March 2011.

There are some 17,000 OFWs, mostly undocumented domestic workers, in Damascus and other Syrian cities, according to DFA estimates.

Some of the returning women vowed never to return to Syria because apart from chaos in the Middle East country, many of them have also suffered abuse in the hands of their employers.

"One of these women claimed she was nearly raped, that’s why she feels very relieved that she’s now home,” Dimzon said.

Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, Dimzon said about 1,098 are waiting to be flown home.

The OFWs were offered temporary shelter at the OWWA Halfway Home and will be assisted with their domestic transportation needs.

"A counseling expert will also conduct stress debriefing for the repatriates," Dimzon added. “They will be briefed on the reintegration options, including business entrepreneurship under the OFW Reintegration Program.”

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario flew to the Syrian capital to “help in the OFW repatriation” program.

The DFA has raised the crisis alert level in Syria from 3 to 4 in view of the escalating violence in the country. Under crisis alert level 4, a mandatory or forced evacuation of OFWs is called for.

Most of the OFWs in Syria, however, have ignored the government’s voluntary repatriation program, prompting the embassy there to intensify efforts to convince them to leave the country.

Tina G. Santos

Philippine Daily Inquirer

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