Help sought for 37 OFWs in Jeddah ‘bridge’

MANILA, Philippines — A group appealed on Saturday for food and medicines to about 37 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have sought shelter under an overpass in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in hopes of getting repatriated to the Philippines. Migrante International’s chapter in Saudi Arabia said the Philippine government should provide the necessary assistance to help the stranded workers, five of whom are women. "The government has the responsibility to ensure that the needs of the OFWs are taken cared of," Migrante-KSA coordinator A.M. Ociones said. Ociones claimed that 37 lost their jobs due to the economic crisis. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to prepare a package of assistance for all OFWs who lose their jobs due to the economic crisis. Officials of the Philippine mission in Jeddah have been quoted as saying the 37 were mostly workers who have fled their employers and are hoping to return for the Philippines via the so-called “backdoor." In an interview with Vice President Noli de Castro’s radio program last week, a welfare officer at the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah said most of the 37 were from various parts of Saudi Arabia. The officer said the number of repatriation-seekers swell to over a hundred during daytime when they are hoping that police and immigration officials would round them up to be taken to the deportation center. The Jeddah overpass, known to many as the Khandara Bridge, became a magnet for many overstaying foreigners in Saudi Arabia seeking repatriation after immigration authorities rounded up hundreds of South Asians who camped out there several years ago and deported them. As explained by officials of the Philippine mission as well as OFWs who are knowledgeable of what’s going on in Jeddah, many overstayers opt to be deported so that they don’t need to pay for their plane tickets and the Jawazat, or the Passport Department, won’t require exit visas. Contract workers, including OFWs, are required to produce an exit visa issued by their employer in order for one to be allowed to leave the Kingdom. Most of the Filipinos who go to the Khandarah Bridge do so as they are unable to get exit visas from their employers either because they ran away or have a labor dispute. News reports from Saudi newspapers have also said most of those who flock to Khandara Bridge are brought there by syndicates who promise them early deportation for a fee. In 2007, more than 70 OFWs who camped out under the overpass decided to proceed to the Philippine Consulate General after Saudi immigration officials repeatedly ignored their plea to be deported. To resolve the crisis, the consulate, under orders of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) home office in Manila, sought help from Saudi officials to expedite the repatriation of the stranded workers. When Saudi officials responded positively, the number swelled as other overstayers, including women and children, took advantage of the opportunity to go home. At the end of a two-month processing period, 925 Filipinos were repatriated, all at the expense of the Saudi government. Last year, more than 100 OFWs who were mostly “runaways" trooped the bridge again and later to the consulate, hoping that the mass repatriation of 2007 would be repeated. Those who came from Riyadh, however, were sent back to the capital city and were deported only after some time. Despite the ordeal, many runaways continue to go to Khandara because they are reportedly encouraged by syndicates that it is an easy way out. - D’Jay Lazaro, GMANews.TV