Can you hear the bombs?

MANILA, Philippines - When Maj. James Sababan, one of the Filipino peacekeepers deployed in the Golan Heights, called his wife Clety last Wednesday, there was an ongoing firefight.

“Can you hear the bombs?” Sababan was quoted by his wife as saying.

“Isn’t that risky?” she replied, worried about her husband’s safety.

“No. We are safe here inside our camp,” Sababan said.

The Army major and about 200 other Filipino soldiers were inside headquarters some three kilometers away from positions 68 and 69, where 75 of their colleagues were surrounded by Syrian rebels.

Because of the ongoing crisis – the latest to test the mettle of Filipino peacekeepers – their movements have been restricted.

“According to (James), they are OK. But they cannot get out (of their headquarters),” Clety told ANC yesterday.

“I asked about their food. He said it was okay. They are still working,” she added.

The Golan Heights standoff that started Thursday is not the first time Filipino peacekeepers have been exposed to life threatening situations.

Last year, 25 members of the 6th Philippine contingent were kidnapped in two separate incidents by Syrian rebels.

The first abduction happened in March, when 21 Filipino soldiers were captured in a ceasefire zone between Syria and Israel. Four peacekeepers were also kidnapped in the same area after two months.

The peacekeepers were eventually released by their captors but the abductions raised concerns among countries sending peacekeepers to the UN.

Last week, the Philippines decided to pull out the Philippine contingent in the Golan Heights because of the risks brought about by the civil war in Syria.

Despite the volatile situation in his area, Sababan, who has been in the Golan Heights for five months, managed to call his wife to give words of assurance.

The major talks to his wife and their four children everyday through Skype.

“He said they are busy with their duties and we should not be alarmed,” Clety said.

She has a message to loved ones of Filipino peacekeepers trapped in the crisis: “They should not worry. Their loved ones are okay.”