JEDDAH, 6 February 2008 — An end may yet be in sight to the plight of Filipinos living under a bridge on Jeddah’s Kandarah district.
Yesterday, 17 of the stranded Filipinos were taken, along with other overstayers of different nationalities, to immigration centers, raising hopes that the rest would soon be “picked up” also for deportation.
They are among dozens of Filipinos from Riyadh and the Eastern Province who came to Jeddah in hopes of getting repatriated through the so-called “backdoor.”
“Five buses arrived at past 2 p.m. and we all fell into a line. However, immigration police said they were taking the women first and that they would come back for us tomorrow,” said Eric Jocson, one of the stranded men.
“I hope we can board the bus tomorrow,” he said.
Fernando Francisco, a spokesman for the group, said their colleagues who were taken to the deportation area included 16 women and a two-and-a-half-year-old girl.
On Sunday, Francisco and 61 of the bridge dwellers trooped to the Philippine Consulate General to seek help in getting deported. In their dialogue with Consul General Ezzedin Tago, the workers said all they wanted was immediate repatriation because they are tired waiting.
Many of the workers said they ran away from their employers because they were being made to work longer hours without being given overtime pay. Some said their salaries were delayed for months.
“We have suffered enough. Please help us go home,” an angry Francisco said.
Carlos Rebutar added: “For us the only solution is for the consul general to send us home even without ‘due process’ because we know that it is not possible. We have no other option but to camp out inside the consulate in case the result of the meeting is not good.”
The stranded workers returned to the bridge after Consul General Ezzedin Tago assured them that he would coordinate with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in getting them repatriated in a legal way.
Consulate officials yesterday would not say if the repatriation process has began with the transfer of the 17 to the deportation area. Francisco said 68 men, seven women and two baby boys are still awaiting transfer from the Khandara bridge.
Despite Tago’s insistence on solving the problem only through the legal way, the workers said they were still hoping that the consulate would seek special consideration from the host government for humanitarian reasons.
“The Saudi government has repatriated many of our stranded compatriots in the past. I don’t see any reason why they cannot do it again. They did it in 2001 and also last year when they sent more than 900 stranded Filipinos so I think that they can do it again,” said Francisco.
