Harrowing tales of their long days and dark nights amidst strife-torn Libya wafted through the room as 11 Overseas Filipino Workers share how they were finally able to flee the country that once brought them the promise of a good life.{{more}}
The OFWs shared their stories with the local media inside the Governor’s Office as they waited for Gov. Roel Degamo to turn over to them the P10,000 checks as cash aid to the displaced workers from the provincial government.
It took a while for the busy governor to arrive but the OFWs were already used to waiting, just like how they desperately waited to be rescued out of Libya.
For Deborah Barba, nurse from Dumaguete who sought greener pastures in Libya, it was a long, torturous wait. “We were waiting for a long time to be rescued because the chartered planes took so long to arrive,” she said.
That was the second time Deborah and her fellow Filipino friends endured a long wait. Earlier, back in when they were still in Tripolo, they waited while the Philippine government negotiated lengthily — almost two weeks – for ships that would take the displaced Filipino workers out of the area. “I was so desperate to go home already at that point,” she said.
Despite the uncertainty that rocked the country due to civil unrest, some of Deborah’s OFW friends still chose to stay in Libya. “You see, we were given a choice to go home or not. Many chose to stay because they were afraid that there will be no jobs here for them if they come back to the Philippines,” related Deborah.
Heavy equipment operator Ben Contes said he would still go back to Libya where he has worked for nearly 20 years, if given the chance. “I have grown fond of Libya. If given the chance, I’d still go back there, regardless of my age and also because I have three kids and life is hard here in the Philippines,” said the 59-year old whose family lives in Bacong town.
When the governor finally arrived, a hush fell over the room as Gov. Degamo went around to shake the hand of each OFW, patting them on the back and hugging some of them as he extended his sentiments on their plight. “I am deeply saddened by what happened to our OFWs, because you are our modern heroes due to the remittances you send back to the Philippines,” he said as he faced the group of OFWs.
The governor has decided to give each Libya repatriate the amount of P10,000 — the same amount handed by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to the displaced workers upon their arrival at the Manila airport — while promising that this is not the last aid the provincial government will extend to them.
As he sat down with the OFWs in his office, the governor asked them not to return to Libya. “Please don’t force yourselves to go back there. We will try to find ways to give you additional aid, and if possible, some livelihood assistance,” said Degamo.
When the governor started handing over the checks, the OFWs were all smiles. 38-year old Joel Latoy from Sibulan town, who returned to the country penniless after one year and two months of work in Libya, rubbed the check in his hands almost as if he was afraid it would disappear. “I was not paid for two months in Libya because of the chaos there,” he said.
Latoy has two kids studying at ABC Kiddie Center and the cash aid will go a long way in making sure there’s food on his family’s table while he plunges into job-seeking status once again. “I will use this, and the money I received from OWWA, to buy our daily needs for now, for the meantime that I don’t have a job yet. This is a big help to my family,” he said, as he thanked President Noynoy Aquino for the government’s efforts to bring them safely out of conflict-ridden Libya and the financial help.
With their cash aids from the provincial government and the OWWA, the OFWs say they now face chance to start over and beging a new chapter in their lives.
The single nurse Barba plans to open a small business in the city, while Latoy will use the money to feed his family as he goes around looking for a job. “I want to work here for now, but once I have saved up enough I’d like to work abroad again,” he said. (RMN/PIA)