The Middle East is on fire
War is raging in the Middle East. The United States is currently conducting air strikes in Iraq, defending helpless civilians from the cruelties of the ISIS forces, and Libya is at war. Israel and Hamas are in a shooting war in Gaza. Before we know it, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and even Bahrain, Qatar and Oman and the United Arab Emirates may soon catch fire. And, heaven forbids, there shall be a big, big regional conflagration, of a magnitude that is unprecedented with far-reaching consequences. And that is beyond the USA and any nation can do something about. In the midst of all these, hundreds of thousands of our Filipino migrant workers are caught in the middle.
Our rescue and evacuation teams are facing a gargantuan challenge. How to save OFWs, how to get them from their work places or boarding houses and move them safely in the dark of the night or under scorching desert sun in vast Sahara-like territories which are controlled by either rebel or loyal warriors. The major obstacle is how to get a safe passage or bypass check points guarded zealously by armed partisans, who are forced to rob and kidnap victims because they too are hungry, and sleepless, trying to fight a war which they neither understand nor ever could comprehend. Our men and women from DOLE, DFA, OWWA and from our many embassies and overseas labor offices in the Middle East are by themselves beleaguered and are in grave and imminent danger.
But our people should not and are expected never to waver in their mission to save as many Filipinos and their families, whether or not they have Arab husbands or Iraqi wives. Our rescue teams are having their hands full in Libya and in Israel. And now comes Iraq. We neither have that big budget, nor that numerous manpower to cover all the areas that are raging in wars. But we have millions of Filipinos on the ground who need to be evacuated, and, of course, to be provided transport, shelter and food, and even clothing. The weather can be punishing. If our people do not die of being hit by bombs, they may perish in extreme heat or extreme cold, or by sheer hunger in the middle of the desert.
Where shall our rescue teams bring the OFWs in distress? How shall they transport them? How shall the people be fed, and sheltered? Those who are sick, aged or wounded, how shall the emergency rescue forces provide them with basic needs of food, water, medicines, transportation and communication facilities? If we may suggest, quite urgently and with a sense of utmost humanitarian concern, our President should now convene a high level emergency meeting among the officials of our Departments of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employment and our Civil and Military organizations, and rush to devise a quick strategic and tactical plan, to save millions of our migrant workers.
In Saudi Arabia alone, we have more than one million Filipinos. Many of the families of our OFWs have joined them in Riyadh and in almost all nooks and crannies of that kingdom. In all the other countries combined, we have an approximate of two million. Many of them are undocumented but have converted to Islam, embracing the religion, culture, language and way of life of the Middle East. In Kuwait where I was assigned as a Labor Diplomat for almost three years, we have hundreds of engineers and thousands of nurses, store clerks, hotel and restaurant employees, drivers, construction workers and tens of thousands of household service workers. Plus all the thousands in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and in all Middle Eastern countries.
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