37 Pinoys camp out in Jeddah in bid to get deported

MANILA, Philippines — At least 37 Filipinos, including five women, have been living under a “bridge" in Jeddah for weeks now in hopes of getting deported by Saudi authorities. This was learned from the chapter of Migrante International in Saudi Arabia, which recently called the attention of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah to look into the distressed Filipinos’ plight. In a letter dated January 27 to Consul General Ezzedin Tago, Migrante-KSA chairperson A. M. Ociones reported that while his group had documented 37 compatriots living under Khandara Bridge, the number swells to about 100 during daytime. Ociones said the others apparently are living with friends and they come to Khandara Bridge during daytime just in case Saudi immigration authorities round them up for repatriation. “What the bridge dwellers need right now is food and some medicines," said Ociones, who also notified welfare officer Nini Lanto of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) office in Jeddah about the stranded Pinoys. "In this light, may we request your good office to at least visit them and check on their plight. Most are wary that the Philippine Consulate might not be able to help them out but as the government entity mandated to address their plight, we believe it is in your responsibility to ensure that their needs are checked and taken care of," the group said. Bridge to freedom Khandara Bridge is actually just an overpass in one of Jeddah’s major thoroughfares but it has become a bridge to freedom for many distressed expatriates, not just Filipinos but also Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis and Indonesians. Based on previous reports of Saudi papers, stranded expatriates have made it a practice to camp out in large numbers under the “bridge" so that local authorities would round them up and take them to the deportation center. Those who resort to this trick are mostly overstayers but contract workers who cannot get exit visas from their employers also join act. Their plane tickets going home is also paid by the Saudi government. Early last year, a total of 62 Filipinos from different parts of Saudi Arabia managed to get themselves deported weeks after they camped out at Khandar Bridge. In 2007, the Saudi government shouldered the repatriation of 922 Filipino overstayers, runaway workers and others who were legally terminated but who could not afford plane tickets. It started with some 70 Filipino men and women from as far as Riyadh and Eastern Saudi Arabia coming to Jeddah in search of the popularly known “back door exit." They found out, however, that syndicates who promised them to exit via the backdoor for a fee did not really have the capacity to have the workers deported. The workers were told instead to proceed to Khandarah Bridge, only to be ignored by deportation police who reportedly told them to coordinate with their Consulate. Then Consul General Dino Lomondot sought help from local authorities, who then waived all exit visa requirements to hasten the victim’s deportation. - D'Jay Lazaro, GMANews.TV