MANILA, Aug. 30 (PNA) — Fifteen overseas Filipino workers arrived home on Friday to escape the civil disturbance in Egypt.
The 15 OFWs availed of the government’s mandatory repatriation program after Philippine authorities declared alert level 4 in Egypt, meaning all Filipinos there are forced to go home.
Salome Basamayor, 49, an employee of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and has been living for 12 years in Madi Ditrict, Cairo, Egypt, said she decided to go home for her daughter’s sake. Basamayor is married to an Egyptian.
“Umuwi ako alang-alang sa anak ko para makapag-aral ng maayos nang tuloy-tuloy at para hindi matigil kasi iba na doon (Egypt) ngayon, hindi na maintindihan ang situation doon,” Basamayor said upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
She said intermittent gun fires and explosions could be heard from their home which added up to her worries. She said she experienced civil disturbances even when she was on her way to work.
“Natatakot na kami. Hindi mo ma-describe. May nagpuputukan palagi. Hindi naman nila sinasaktan ang foreigners tulad natin. Yung mga taga doon ay madalas masugatan kasi tinatamaan ng ligaw na bala, “ she added.
She said she was still undecided whether to go back to Egypt once the situation there would normalize. For now, she will stay with her 10-year-old daughter with relatives in Pulilan, Bulacan.
Isabelita Carpio, 45, of Pampanga, brought home her two daughters with her from Egypt and decided that they would stay here for good. She said her Filipino husband is also scheduled to arrive next week with their son.
“Mas maganda na i-safety naming mag-asawa yung tatlong anak namin. Dahil sa gulo doon ay medyo ililihis na namin ang sarili namin. Hindi naman direkta sa amin ang gulo pero yung lugar namin ay nandoon ang mga Egyptians na nag-aaway,” she said.
She said they will stay here for good and rely on the savings they have for working in Egypt for 23 years.
“Nag-decide na kami na hindi na kami babalik kasi parang matatagalan pa yung kaguluhan doon eh,” she added.(PNA)
PDS/RTA