Pinoys in Libya willing to take part in rehab work

After weathering months of tension and uncertainty, Filipinos who stayed in Libya despite the armed conflict and destruction are willing to take part in the country's rebuilding efforts. Regilito Laurel from Manila and Almahdi Alonto from Mindanao, who were among those who decided to stay during month of chaos and uncertainty, also foresee a need for Filipinos, especially teachers, nurses and engineers in Libya. “Psychologically it will not be easy. So much of the city had been destroyed. Students will need therapy," Laurel, who along with Alonto is part of a group of 15 Filipino academicians at the University of Misrata, said in an interview with Arab News. Alonto, who was brought up in Saudi Arabia where his family worked, is a lecturer in English literature, while Laurel is a professor of English at the university. The uprising against the government of then leader Muammar Gaddafi that started last February caused the temporary closure of the university. Initially Alonto, Laurel and the other Filipino academics stayed on, thinking that the war would surely end soon. But they also wanted to stay to help address the injustices they saw. “We had witnessed many injustices in Libya and we wanted to be part of the change. We wanted to be part of the move to get rid of Qaddafi," Alonto said. "Libyans have been very kind to us. So we thought we should do something for them," he added. Before uprising Before the pro-democracy uprising against Muammar Qaddafi started, there were over 25,000 Filipinos in Libya. Most of them were nurses and medical staff, with most staying in Tripoli with 1,000 or more in Benghazi and a hundred or so in Misrata. When the Philippine government banned the deployment of Filipinos to Libya, a "significant minority" opted not to leave. The Arab News report said there are still between 300 and 500 Filipinos in Benghazi. “If we’d returned home, we wouldn’t have been able to get back and we’d have lost our jobs," Alonto said. Volunteer work The 15 Filipino academicians volunteered to work in the city’s Hikma Hospital, but it became very dangerous as Qaddafi’s forces pounded the city, with rocket attacks as daily occurrence. Later on, they volunteered to work at Benghazi’s Hawari hospital, doing various jobs including teaching English to nurses. Laurel and the chairwoman of the Filipino Workers Society in Benghazi, Doris Batai, also set up a school for the children of Filipinos who had stayed on. The 15 virtually worked for free even when were not paid since April, although there was some subsistence funding from one of the committees of the National Transitional Council. “Everyone’s in the same boat. We understand the situation. It’s not normal," Alonto said. Liberation With most of the country liberated, Alonto and Laurel said they see better times ahead and are glad they stayed. Alonto returned to Misrata three times to check out the situation but found it dire – some students had been killed while parts of the city are in ruins, including some of the Filipino teachers’ homes. While Alonto's house survived the conflict, his Libyan landlord needed it back since the landlord's house had been hit. Still, Libya’s universities are due to reopen this month, including Misrata University. Alonto and Laurel said they were looking forward to going back to work despite the destruction, despite the deaths of some of their students. Meanwhile, the Arab News report said Filipino community leaders believe it is now safe for Filipinos to return and have called for the lifting of Manila’s ban on travel to Libya. They warned that if the ban is not lifted, the jobs of those who returned to the Philippines will be given to others. — LBG, GMA News