Stranded Workers Send SOS to Philippine Prez
HELP US: The stranded Filipinos want to return to their country. (AN photo)
RIYADH: A group of Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia have launched an online petition asking the philippines government, especially the president, to immediately get 130 stranded male workers repatriated to the Philippines.
Some of the workers have been staying in a shelter rented by their embassy in Riyadh for nearly two years.
The workers have apparently lost hope for any solution to their cases and seek assistance through the petition to gain attention of more than one million Filipinos working abroad. “Jobs at home, not outside,” says a placard posted along with their petition.
According to one of the stranded workers, Rodelio S. Ocampo, some of the workers have sustained injuries or have suffered strokes. The makeshift accommodation is without an air-conditioning system, he said.
Their temporary abode (Exit 8 stranded rest house) has become ‘permanent’ for at least 30 stranded (out of the 130) workers who have been living in the shelter since July 2013. The remaining have been staying in a shelter for at least three months to two years.
إعلان
In his e-mail to Arab News, John Leonard Monterona, a Filipino migrant rights group leader, said: “The main purpose of the online petition, through Change.Org, is to get support from the general public, specifically Filipino workers and their families, around the world.”
He said: “The host government under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has been very considerate, especially to Filipino workers who have been in the Kingdom contributing to the development of their nation.”
Filipino workers have been urged to sign on the petition posted at Change.Org to draw the attention of the Philippine government, especifically President Aquino to speed up a swift and repatriation of the stranded workers.