Some OFWs in Libya fear land travel to repatriation pick-up points


Some Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) trapped in the conflict-torn Libya said they are willing to be repatriated, but fear traveling by land to the ports of Misrata and Benghazi where a 1,500-seater ship that the government hired is set to pick them up.
In an interview via Skype, Filipina nurse Iris Eileen Zape said she and 12 other Filipino nurses who are now trapped in Ghat General Hospital are afraid of the 12-hour travel to Misrata port, one of the pick-up points identified by the Philippine government,
“Delikado po on the way, kasi po 'yung mga checkpoint po doon po kami natatakot. Hindi po kasi namin alam kung mga checkpoint po talaga ng mga militar o nananamantala lang para mang-hold-up o magnakaw,” Zape said during the Skype interview aired on GMA News' “24 Oras” Tuesday evening.
She said their alternative is to go to Algeria, which is just four hours away from Ghat, Libya via land travel.
“Mas malapit po kasi po four hours lang po 'yung travel namin. Kung through Algeria, hindi po delikado kumpara sa Misrata na 12 hours po,” Zape said.
She however pointed out that the processing of their repatriation papers would be harder in Algeria.
Another Filipina nurse, Zhorina Tambuh said she and her fellow medical professionals in Tripoli also feared traveling by land to Tunisia, even though it is just a three-hour land trip.
“Ayaw ko pong mag-risk via land trip. Talagang meron daw pong cases ng harassment and talagang kinakapkapan sila and ayaw ko pong maranasan 'yun,” Tambuh said.
Fr. Amado Baranquel of the Order of Friars Minor, meanwhile, said he and some fellow Filipino priests opted to remain with the nurses in Benghazi to continue their humanitarian mission in the province.
“The last boat, I was really on the verge of going with it, but then the voice of the nurses telling us, 'Are you going to leave us, Father?' I decided to stay,” Baranquel said.
The 1,500-seater vessel from Malta hired by the Philippine government for $1.8 million or P80 million per travel, is set to pick up Filipinos from ports in Misrata, Benghazi and Tripoli. But since the Libya-Tunisia border is accessible again since late Sunday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosariosaid on Tuesday the vessel may no longer head to Tripoli.
The DFA, however, called on the OFWs in Libya keep in touch with the Embassy in Tripoli as the situation changes from time to time.
According to the DFA there are still about 12,000 Filipinos who opt to remain in Libya despite the mandatory repatriation imposed by the DFA last month after the beheading of a Filipino construction worker in Benghazi City.
Last week, the DFA had also confirmed that a Filipina nurse was abducted and raped in Tripoli. The Filipina nurse was released after being held captive by six Libyan youth for several hours.
Armed factions in Libya have been fighting for nearly three weeks to take control of the international airport in Tripoli.  — Elizabeth Marcelo/ELR/KG, GMA News

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