Hundreds of Filipinos still camping outside consulate

About 2,000 Filipino workers are still camped outside the Philippine Consulate here under difficult conditions as they wait for their emergency travel documents to go home or try to make use of the recent concessions announced by the Saudi government.
The workers include fathers, mothers, babies, young children and elderly people. They have been living on open land adjacent to the Philippine Consulate in Umm Al-Qura Road in Jeddah for more than a month.
They have been living without basic facilities and a shortage of food and medical care. At least 10 children have fallen ill at the makeshift camp and were taken to hospital by Saudi Red Crescent teams. The stifling heat has caused further problems for them.
It appeared that some were unwilling to go to the Passport Department's office in Sharafiya to try to speed up their applications. Others from Dammam and Riyadh do not know Jeddah and have chosen to stay at the camp.
A few workers had left the camp after the Saudi government announced its labor concessions on Friday, but their tents were still standing in an apparent attempt to put pressure on the Philippine consulate to speed up the processing of their paperwork. Most of the workers are not revealing details of their sponsors to avoid accountability, making it difficult for Philippine consulate officials to process their repatriation applications.
The Philippine consulate is avoiding direct dialogue with the workers and is communicating with them through a message board on the wall of the building.
Some workers were later accommodated inside the Philippine Consulate and then shifted to the deportation center in Jeddah for repatriation.
Speaking with Arab News, Philippine Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay said that 198 Filipinos were taken to the deportation center, of whom 43 have already traveled home. He said the consulate has received the passports of 12,000 workers for repatriation.
A stranded Filipino, Rapi Lilinita, told Arab News that they are running out of food and water. He said they are suffering in the camp.
Another stranded Filipino, Julios Ray Apozira, said: “I heard about the grace period but don’t know how to proceed. My original passport is with my employer. I have a travel document with me, but where should I go? I have no money to buy an air ticket.” A sick woman, Rosalina Jerara, told Arab News that she has been waiting for her travel document and wants to leave as soon as possible.