RIYADH, 18 April 2005 — A nurse who died of illness here late last year was honored as an epitomé of the Filipino mother who has to face risks in working abroad just to give her children a decent living.

Community leaders, together with representatives of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and the employers of the late Lailah Deragun Lucman took turns in recalling her memory in an emotional ceremony at the Philippine Embassy over the weekend.

Lailah is gone, said case officer and interpreter Salem L. Moner, but “she will remain an example of the hardworking Filipino who died far away from her parents and home while trying to decently earn a living.”

Lailah, a native of the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Sur, died of cancer on Nov. 24 last year while undergoing treatment at the hospital where she was working, Al-Mubarak Hospital in Riyadh.

Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan, head of the POLO in Riyadh, hosted the official ceremony in which Al-Mubarak administrative officer Fahad Al-Hakami, finance manager Ragab Abdulhalim, and medical manager Dr. Mustafa Hamdi presented certificates and documentations in appreciation of Lailah’s excellent performance as a nurse in the same hospital since 1997.

Al-Mubarak officials also gave to Lailah’s family representatives cash money of up to SR10,580 in what remained of what it owed Lailah.

The late nurse's elder sister, Rahmah Deragun Lucman, accompanied by her husband Palao Edres, broke down in tears as she received certificates and letters of appreciation for Lailah on behalf of their elder brother, Col. Macacna Lucman.

Rahmah said she was touched by the gratefulness and sincerity shown by hospital officials and staff in her sister’s case, which was closely followed by the Philippine Embassy, as it is mandated to do in case of problems concerning Filipino workers in the Kingdom.

It was learned that Al-Mubarak visited the Lucman family immediately after Lailah died at their residence and had extended all possible help and supports.

Al-Mubarak officials said the hospital had been very flexible to its staff and members, noting that it had accorded in Lailah’s case such privileges as the performance of Umrah with her family even without her completing one year of her service yet.

Hospital owner Abdul Aziz Al-Mubarak, along with some doctors, were also present in a gathering organized by the Lucman family last December just after Laila’s passing away.

Saidali Malic, secretary-general of the Council of Unified Muslim Organizations in Riyadh, said Lailah, along with other Filipino mothers and parents who have died abroad, are “real heroes” and they deserve the highest of admiration not only from employers but from the Philippine government and community.

“They have merely left home to support their family and contribute in alleviating the ill-fated economy of the country” Malic said in an interview.