Pinoys still sneak into strife-torn Syria
Posted at 02/09/2012 5:42 PM | Updated as of 02/09/2012 8:56 PM
DAMASCUS, Syria –Filipinos continue to arrive in Syria to work as household service workers despite the deployment ban being implemented by the Philippine government.
“Elsa”, not her real name, is one of them. She arrived in Syria with three other Filipinas on December 10, 2011.
“Mismong amo ko na ang sumalubong sa akin. Ako ho wala akong binayaran, wala akong binitawan na pera,” said Elsa.
Elsa said her employer paid US$6,000 to the agency in Syria which has a counterpart in the Philippines. The counterpart in the Philippines arranged all her documents, she said.
Meanwhile, Filipinos who are caught in the conflict in Homs, Idlib, Hama and Daraa, have sought the help of the Philippine Embassy in Syria.
“Halos araw-araw talaga putukan, bomba, pasabog,” recounted Geraldine Salas, who came from Homs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has raised alert level 4 in Syria, which means mandatory repatriation of all Filipinos.
The Philippine government said 809 Filipinos have availed of the mandatory repatriation from Syria. However, there are still an estimated 140 staying in a halfway house in Damascus.
Even with the conflict, there are other Filipinos who try to live normal lives in Damascus.
ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau saw several Filipinos in a mall, while a group of Pinoys were seen in a restaurant holding a send-off party for one their friends. Maxxy Santiago, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau
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