MANILA, 23 January 2007 — Six overseas Filipino workers arrested after a bloody riot in Rashidiya district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates have been released from detention, ABS-CBN Middle East Bureau reported yesterday.
Rafael Diaz, Filipino office administrator of the Arabian Aluminum Company, said in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Middle East Bureau that the Filipinos were released at around noon in Dubai (4 p.m. in Manila) after the company posted bail.
Diaz said company officials urged Egyptian workers involved in the brawl not to press charges against the Filipinos. He said that it was not the Filipino workers who started the riot.
Some of the affected workers interviewed said the Egyptians hit them upon entering their quarters. Lito, a worker with the Arabian Aluminum Company, said “Tatlo kami sa kwarto, yung dalawa, sila yung unang napagpapalo sa kwarto (There were three of us in the room and the two were the first to be hit),” he said.
“Ginagamit po nila eh tubo, kahoy...natakot talaga parang papatay talaga sila eh kasi yung hampas sa akin talagang masaakit (They were hitting us with pipes and sticks. We were scared because they seemed intent on killing us and their blows were really painful),” another worker said.
He said the Philippine Consulate is poised to file countercharges against the Egyptians if they will not withdraw their complaints.
Consul Antonio Curameng immediately negotiated with the Arabian Aluminum Company to forestall formal charges, and the six Filipino workers arrested after a six-hour riot inside the labor camp in Rashidiya district were immediately released.
The riot was sparked by a brawl between Filipino and Egyptian workers inside the labor camp. Two hours after the fight, about 300 Egyptian workers armed with steel pipes and wooden clubs entered the barracks of the Filipino workers, locked the gates and forcibly entered each room.
At least nine Filipinos and one Egyptian were injured in the riot. Most of the injured Filipinos sustained bruises on the face and body.
“The first time sila ang agad ang nanakit sa mga Pilipino, the second time after about an hour or two, in-attack na naman nila ang accommodation ng mga Pilipino,” Curameng said.
He added that the Filipino workers were transported to a separate labor camp Sunday night to avoid more confrontations with the Egyptian workers.
Labor Attaché Virginia Galvez said “the workers will return to work, with management assurance of security and safety, with full medical attention to those who are injured.”
