Pinoys camping outside consulate in KSA agree to return to shelter

Some 300 Filipinos camping outside the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for the last three weeks have agreed to return the Haj Terminal, following appeals by Philippine authorities.

Most had already returned but around 50 stayed on as of Friday, news site Arab News reported Saturday.

“The consulate and the government's unfulfilled promises led us to decide to set up a camp outside the consulate building as a manifestation of our disgust and peaceful collective action," some of the stranded Filipinos said, according to a report on news site Arab News.

Figures from the Philippine consulate showed there are 1,160 stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Haj Terminal admitted since January 2011.

In 2009, 815 OFWs were repatriated through the Haj Terminal operations, while 1,429 in 2010, according to a statement issued by the consulate.

The Filipinos camped outside the consulate had hoped to force Philippine officials into speeding up procedures to get them home.

But militant OFW advocacy group Migrante Middle East said some of the Filipinos want to see their travel documents and tickets first before going back to the shelter.

“I have asked Migrante officials in Jeddah to meet the leaders of the stranded along with consulate officials this Saturday or Sunday to end their repatriation concerns once and for all," Migrante Middle East coordinator John Monterona said.

Monterona said his group estimates some 4,000 stranded and undocumented Filipinos are staying at the Haj Terminal, Bahay Kalinga and Filipino Workers Resource centers in Alkhobar and Dammam since January.

He said these do not include those who are seeking refuge from their friends and fellow OFWs who managed to get work despite their being undocumented.

“Counting the number of stranded people seeking repatriation will be a never-ending process unless the... government gets serious enough to address the root cause which is forced migration and the push to the intensified labor export program," he said.

Monterona said many of the Filipinos who ran away from their jobs did so because of inadequate protection against labor abuses, most notably delayed or nonpayment of salaries.

“If something isn't done by the Philippine government to provide better protection against labor abuses, physical and sexual, the problem with the stranded and undocumented will continue," he said. — LBG, GMA News

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