6 Pinoy nurses repatriated from Saudi Arabia

Six Filipino nurses were repatriated from Saudi Arabia over the weekend, after six months of being "stranded' in the Kingdom after their work contracts ended.

The six nurses thanked Saudi Labor Minister Hail Director General Saleh Al-Ahmari for his assistance in resolving their case, Saudi-based Arab News reported Monday.

“We, the six nurses of Ibn Seena Clinic, would like to thank you for the support and help you provided us in our case,” Arab News quoted the nurses as saying in a letter to Al-Ahmari.

Repatriated were:
 
  1. Andrian Marie del Mundo
  1. Mei-Lin Gunio
  1. Patrice Anne Garcia
  1. Norina Magsilang
  1. Lourdes Molina
  1. Melanie Maurine Masakayan.

Arab News reported the six arrived in Saudi Arabia in October 2013 for a monthly salary of SR2,500.

“We did not even receive our last salary,” the nurses said.

The six stopped working at Ibn Seena Clinic after their contracts expired in October 2014. They experienced problems such as non-issuance of iqama (official identity card saying that the holder is a resident of Saudi Arabia) and delayed wages.

Also, they said they could not even go out during their days off since they did not have iqamas.

Relied on fellow Pinoys
During the six months they were without work, the six relied on the generosity of the Filipino community for food and other needs, though they still stayed at their company's accommodation.

Filipino community members also helped bring their case to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Riyadh (POLO-Riyadh), and seek help from the Ministry of Labor in Hail.

“It makes you feel good deep inside that fellow Filipinos are willing to help compatriots in need. They are many and we are really indebted to them,” the nurses said in their letter.

But since their employer could not afford the cost of their exit visas and one-way air tickets, their recruitment agency in Manila paid for their repatriation. —Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News

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