Pinay injured in suicide bombing in Afghanistan
A Filipino spa supervisor in Kabul was in critical condition after sustaining injuries from a suicide bombing that killed at least six people at the five-star Serena Hotel Monday evening, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
Claro Cristobal, DFA spokesman, said the Philippine embassy in Islamabad has reported that the Filipina is confined at a military hospital.
Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo promptly instructed the embassy in Islamabad to send a consular team to facilitate the repatriation of the Filipino woman's remains to Manila.
Wire reports said the bombing killed at least six people, including a US citizen and 38-year-old Norwegian newspaper reporter Carsten Thomassen.
The Associated Press said militants with suicide-bomb vests, grenades and AK-47 rifles attacked Serena Hotel as Norwegian embassy personnel were holding a meeting there.
The hardline Islamist Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, in which police said up to four attackers threw hand grenades at the luxury hotel's gates, shot their way into the high-walled compound and at some point set off a suicide bomb.
The incident happened in the wake of appeals from Filipino workers in Afghanistan for the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban to that country in Central Asia so they could go back to their workplace after visiting their families in the Philippines.
The OFWs consider the travel restriction to Afghanistan as "unfair" and "cruel" because it deprived them the opportunity to be with their families during important celebrations, such as the Christmas holidays.
The Philippine government declared a total ban in the deployment of workers to Afghanistan last December although the country was classified since 2004 as a "restricted market" because of unstable peace there.
A similar ban has been observed on workers going to Iraq, Nigeria and Lebanon.
The OFWs who banded together as Filipinos in Afghanistan said there were 1, 181 Filipinos working in 71 companies in Afghanistan.
“It is true that Afghanistan, being a post-conflict country, has residual security problems but the conditions here are not as bad as the situation in countries like Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Israel where there is no ban on deployment of OFWs," the OFWs said in a letter of appeal addressed to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro.
“We would rather choose to live and work in a dangerous country where we have employment and be able to put food on our table, provide shelter and clothing and send our children to school. The Philippine government does not have the right to take away our jobs from us if it is not able to provide these for us," continued the letter, a copy of which was furnished to GMANews.TV.
Afghanistan is a landlocked country located in the heart of Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and, China in the far northeast.
“Many of the Filipinos in Afghanistan are currently occupying senior positions in international development (World Bank, United Nations Development Fund, United States Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank, Adam Smith), humanitarian (international non-governmental organizations), reconstruction (engineering, architectural design and telecommunications firms), and office/camp management (security office/camp supplies and catering services) organizations," the FIA said.
The Filipinos said many of them have experiences in post-conflict countries such as Iraq, Angola, Bosnia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
“We chose to work here in our search for better job opportunities that are not available in our country," the letter continued.
“We do not understand the rhyme or reason for this deployment ban to Afghanistan," the letter said. “We feel like we are being played at and sacrificed for our Philippine government’s deficiencies somewhere."
“We thought we are being hailed by the nation as modern-day heroes, but are we really?" they asked.
Keeping the deployment ban for long, they said, would mean losing “good paying jobs" being held by over a thousand Filipinos in Afghanistan.
“From an economically productive life, we and our families become an addition to the statistics of an already high poverty rate in the Philippines," they said.
The FIA considers it strange that the Philippines is the only country that bans the sending of its citizens to work in Afghanistan. “The ban is a simplistic solution to the problem of security. The Philippine government should seek to work closely with the Filipino communities in other countries and strengthen these communities instead of making unilateral decisions that have adverse effects on the economic independence of these Filipinos," the group suggested.
The Associated Press lists some attacks targeting nonmilitary foreigners in Kabul, Afghanistan:
Jan. 14, 2008: Militants with suicide-bomb vests, grenades and AK-47 rifles attack Serena Hotel as Norwegian embassy holds meeting. At least six people killed.
Aug. 18, 2007: Gunmen abduct German woman who works for Ora International, nonaffiliated Christian group, as she eats at restaurant. Afghan police rescue her two days later.
July 28, 2007: Suicide car bomber attacks convoy of security contractors, killing American and Nepalese and wounding three Afghan civilians.
June 16, 2007: Suicide car bomber strikes convoy of U.S. contract workers and military personnel, killing at least four Afghan civilians and wounding four others and foreigner.
May 16, 2005: Four armed men drag Italian employee of CARE International from her car in city center. She is released three weeks later.
May 9, 2005: Explosion rocks Park Net Cafe in upscale Shahr-e-Naw district, hangout popular with foreigners, killing two Afghans and U.N. engineer from Myanmar and injuring five.
March 8, 2005: Gunmen kill Briton who works with Afghanistan's rural development ministry in nighttime attack outside main guest house for U.N. workers.
Oct. 29, 2004: Gunmen kidnap three foreign election workers from U.N. vehicle. The women _ Philippine diplomat, British-Irish citizen and Kosovo resident _ are let go four weeks later.
Oct. 23, 2004: Suicide attacker detonates grenades on bustling commercial street, killing American translator and Afghan girl and injuring three Icelandic peacekeepers.
Aug. 30, 2004: Car bomb explodes outside office of Dyncorp Inc., U.S. security company that provides bodyguards for President Hamid Karzai and works for U.S. government. Ten people die.
Dec. 4, 2003: Rocket explodes in field near U.S. Embassy about two hours after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld meets with Afghan president elsewhere in capital. No one injured.
Nov. 23, 2003: Rocket explodes near Intercontinental Hotel, favorite of visiting businessmen and journalists. Blast shatters windows but causes no casualties. - GMANews.TV, with reports from AP
Claro Cristobal, DFA spokesman, said the Philippine embassy in Islamabad has reported that the Filipina is confined at a military hospital.
Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo promptly instructed the embassy in Islamabad to send a consular team to facilitate the repatriation of the Filipino woman's remains to Manila.
Wire reports said the bombing killed at least six people, including a US citizen and 38-year-old Norwegian newspaper reporter Carsten Thomassen.
The Associated Press said militants with suicide-bomb vests, grenades and AK-47 rifles attacked Serena Hotel as Norwegian embassy personnel were holding a meeting there.
The hardline Islamist Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, in which police said up to four attackers threw hand grenades at the luxury hotel's gates, shot their way into the high-walled compound and at some point set off a suicide bomb.
The incident happened in the wake of appeals from Filipino workers in Afghanistan for the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban to that country in Central Asia so they could go back to their workplace after visiting their families in the Philippines.
The OFWs consider the travel restriction to Afghanistan as "unfair" and "cruel" because it deprived them the opportunity to be with their families during important celebrations, such as the Christmas holidays.
The Philippine government declared a total ban in the deployment of workers to Afghanistan last December although the country was classified since 2004 as a "restricted market" because of unstable peace there.
A similar ban has been observed on workers going to Iraq, Nigeria and Lebanon.
The OFWs who banded together as Filipinos in Afghanistan said there were 1, 181 Filipinos working in 71 companies in Afghanistan.
“It is true that Afghanistan, being a post-conflict country, has residual security problems but the conditions here are not as bad as the situation in countries like Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Israel where there is no ban on deployment of OFWs," the OFWs said in a letter of appeal addressed to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro.
“We would rather choose to live and work in a dangerous country where we have employment and be able to put food on our table, provide shelter and clothing and send our children to school. The Philippine government does not have the right to take away our jobs from us if it is not able to provide these for us," continued the letter, a copy of which was furnished to GMANews.TV.
Afghanistan is a landlocked country located in the heart of Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and, China in the far northeast.
“Many of the Filipinos in Afghanistan are currently occupying senior positions in international development (World Bank, United Nations Development Fund, United States Agency for International Development, Asian Development Bank, Adam Smith), humanitarian (international non-governmental organizations), reconstruction (engineering, architectural design and telecommunications firms), and office/camp management (security office/camp supplies and catering services) organizations," the FIA said.
The Filipinos said many of them have experiences in post-conflict countries such as Iraq, Angola, Bosnia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
“We chose to work here in our search for better job opportunities that are not available in our country," the letter continued.
“We do not understand the rhyme or reason for this deployment ban to Afghanistan," the letter said. “We feel like we are being played at and sacrificed for our Philippine government’s deficiencies somewhere."
“We thought we are being hailed by the nation as modern-day heroes, but are we really?" they asked.
Keeping the deployment ban for long, they said, would mean losing “good paying jobs" being held by over a thousand Filipinos in Afghanistan.
“From an economically productive life, we and our families become an addition to the statistics of an already high poverty rate in the Philippines," they said.
The FIA considers it strange that the Philippines is the only country that bans the sending of its citizens to work in Afghanistan. “The ban is a simplistic solution to the problem of security. The Philippine government should seek to work closely with the Filipino communities in other countries and strengthen these communities instead of making unilateral decisions that have adverse effects on the economic independence of these Filipinos," the group suggested.
The Associated Press lists some attacks targeting nonmilitary foreigners in Kabul, Afghanistan:
Jan. 14, 2008: Militants with suicide-bomb vests, grenades and AK-47 rifles attack Serena Hotel as Norwegian embassy holds meeting. At least six people killed.
Aug. 18, 2007: Gunmen abduct German woman who works for Ora International, nonaffiliated Christian group, as she eats at restaurant. Afghan police rescue her two days later.
July 28, 2007: Suicide car bomber attacks convoy of security contractors, killing American and Nepalese and wounding three Afghan civilians.
June 16, 2007: Suicide car bomber strikes convoy of U.S. contract workers and military personnel, killing at least four Afghan civilians and wounding four others and foreigner.
May 16, 2005: Four armed men drag Italian employee of CARE International from her car in city center. She is released three weeks later.
May 9, 2005: Explosion rocks Park Net Cafe in upscale Shahr-e-Naw district, hangout popular with foreigners, killing two Afghans and U.N. engineer from Myanmar and injuring five.
March 8, 2005: Gunmen kill Briton who works with Afghanistan's rural development ministry in nighttime attack outside main guest house for U.N. workers.
Oct. 29, 2004: Gunmen kidnap three foreign election workers from U.N. vehicle. The women _ Philippine diplomat, British-Irish citizen and Kosovo resident _ are let go four weeks later.
Oct. 23, 2004: Suicide attacker detonates grenades on bustling commercial street, killing American translator and Afghan girl and injuring three Icelandic peacekeepers.
Aug. 30, 2004: Car bomb explodes outside office of Dyncorp Inc., U.S. security company that provides bodyguards for President Hamid Karzai and works for U.S. government. Ten people die.
Dec. 4, 2003: Rocket explodes in field near U.S. Embassy about two hours after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld meets with Afghan president elsewhere in capital. No one injured.
Nov. 23, 2003: Rocket explodes near Intercontinental Hotel, favorite of visiting businessmen and journalists. Blast shatters windows but causes no casualties. - GMANews.TV, with reports from AP
Comments