Kin wait in vain for remains of OFW killed in Kish Island

The family of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) killed in Kish Island in Iran last month waited in vain at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Friday, as his remains never arrived as scheduled. The wife, mother and two children of OFW Mark Lloyd Carmen waited for hours at the airport, saying they received confirmation of the repatriation from Gulf Air, the travel agency in Iran which arranged the repatriation and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) itself. “Tsinek pa namin sa manifesto ng Gulf Air, may dalawa ngang bangkay na darating ngayon at isa roon ay kay Mark," Perlita Carmen, mother of Mark Lloyd, told GMANews.TV over the phone. (We even checked with the manifesto of Gulf Air and there were indeed two bodies scheduled to arrive to day, one of which was Mark’s.) The plane, which was scheduled to arrive 11:15 pm Friday, was delayed and landed at 2 p.m. It had only one body, however, according to Perlita, and it was not her son’s. “Kung nakatutok lang ang Embassy, maayos sana kaming nasabihan. Parang hindi maayos ang komunikasyon ng Embassy at ng DFA," Perlita lamented. (If the Philippine Embassy in Iran had just focused on his case, we could have been properly informed. It seems communication between the Embassy and the DFA is not efficient.) DFA was informed, says Embassy In a separate interview, however, Consul General Rosario Lemque maintained they had informed the DFA as early as Wednesday that Mark Lloyd’s body will not be repatriated on Friday, as it still has to be checked by the local customs agency. Government offices are closed on Thursday and Friday, Lemque explained. “We will bring the body out of the morgue on Saturday to be checked by the customs, and it will most likely be repatriated on Sunday," Lemque said. For his part, DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs said in a text message that Mark Lloyd’s body is indeed not scheduled to arrive today. “Per Philippine post, it will arrive either Sunday or Monday. (The) post is still confirming (the) flight details," Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. said but declined to elaborate. Perlita said she was informed by the DFA that Mark Lloyd’s remains will arrive on Monday, 1:30 a.m., but is still subject to change. While admitting she is feeling frustrated at the delay, Perlita said she is looking past the “lapses" of both the DFA and the Embassy and will just wait until Monday. “Sapat na sa aking malamang abot-kamay ko na ang katawan ng anak ko, kaysa maghintay pa ng mas maraming buwan gaya ng narinig naming dati," she said. (It is enough for me to know that my son’s body will soon arrive, instead of having to wait for several more months which is what reached us earlier.) Mark Lloyd bled to death on July 1 after a Sudanese national stabbed him with a metal nail polisher. (See: Pinoy worker stabbed dead in Iran) According to migrants’ rights group Migrante International, his roommates were unable to immediately bring him to the hospital as, under Sudanese law, only local authorities were allowed to take him. He died ten minutes after he arrived at the hospital, two hours after the stabbing incident. He had earlier left for the nearest exit point in Kish Island on June 11 when his visa expired, to await the release of his working visa that was then still being processed by his employer. Family to shoulder repatriation costs In another statement, Migrante International scored the DFA for refusing to shoulder the cost of repatriation of Mark Lloyd’s remains, which may reach as much as P360,000. Migrante said Leila Gonzaga, Mark Lloyd’s relative, was told by embassy officials that it was the family’s responsibility to shoulder the cost of autopsy and airfare for the return of his remains The OUMWA meanwhile informed Perlita that they had to pay USD8,000, or approximately P360,000, for the repatriation of her son’s remains, according to Migrante. On her visit to the morgue, Gonzaga was also shocked to learn that, apart from Carmen’s, at least a dozen more bodies of OFWs remain unclaimed in Iran morgues. “This is cause for national outrage. The DFA was claiming that one of the main reasons for the delay in the repatriation of Carmen’s body was because many more bodies were being processed," said Migrante chairperson Garry Martinez said. He added, “The DFA should have no reason to justify failure to ship back the remains of OFWs when it has P100 million in repatriation funds. Saan na napunta ang pondong ito? Bakit ipinapabalikat sa mga pamilya ang expenses? (Where do these funds go? Why are the families being made to shoulder the expenses?) Consul General Lemque said while they have requested the DFA to shoulder the repatriation costs, the family will still have to pay back the expenses. “An affidavit of undertaking was signed by the mother, saying that DFA will fund the repatriation in the meantime but the mother will have to pay for the plane ticket in the future," she said. She added that should Perlita need a passport, she will first have to reimburse the DFA for the repatriation costs for her son before she is issued one. Lemque said they are likewise verifying reports that dozens of bodies of Filipinos are lying in morgues awaiting repatriation, and that they have already written the Iranian government to seek assistance for confirmation.—JV, GMANews.TV