Three years ago, Angelio Nayan, a young Filipino diplomat working for a United Nations agency, was kidnapped by a Taliban group in Afghanistan. The whole Filipino nation stormed heaven with prayers for his safe return.
Nayan is now safely doing his diplomatic work in a foreign posting.
Since Nayan’s kidnapping, the government has imposed a ban on the deployment of Filipinos in Afghanistan. Despite the ban, however, there are more than a thousand Filipinos there.
I got a letter from Catherine S. Sobrevega who introduced herself as representative of Filipinos in Afghanistan (FIA). She said the letter is also signed by 71 Filipinos representing 71 companies and 1,181 Filipinos working in Afghanistan.
They are lobbying for the lifting of the deployment ban of Filipinos in Afghanistan. Some of them want to come home for Christmas vacation but if they did and with the ban, they won’t be able to go back.
They said, “It is true that Afghanistan, being a post-conflict country, has residual security problems but the conditions here are not as bad as the situation in countries like Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Israel where there is no ban on deployment of OFW’s.”
Many of the Filipinos in Afghanistan are currently occupying senior positions in international development (World Bank, UNDP, USAID, ADB, Adam Smith), humanitarian (international NGOs), reconstruction (engineering, architectural design and telecommunications firms) and office/camp management (security, office/camp supplies and catering services) organizations. They have been to what is described as “ post-conflict countries” like Angola, Bosnia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Aceh (Indonesia), Timor Leste, Cambodia, Eritrea, Sri Lanka and Vietnam and even Iraq where bombings are an every day occurrence.
They find it hard to understand “the rhyme or reason” for the ban. “We feel like we are being played at and sacrificed for our Philippine Governments’ deficiencies somewhere,” they said..
They summarized their reasons for the lifting of the ban:
1. Our employers are reputable international organizations with projects worldwide and as such, working with these organizations in Afghanistan will be a door through which we will be able to get postings in other countries.
2. With the ban, the Philippine Government is making an assumption that our employers are irresponsible. There are other nationalities working with Filipinos – Americans, British, Canadians, Australians, Italians, New Zealanders, etc – and they trust the security measures of our employers.
3. Our employers provide physical security arrangements to Filipino employees (some are issued armoured vests and Kevlar helmets): secured housing, armed guards, vehicles (including armoured vehicles), security checks and monitoring through radios. We have a strict security regulation that non-compliance of which result to termination of employment.
4. Filipino employees of some organizations are automatically included in the evacuation plans of the embassies under which the organizations belong.
5. Many of the Filipinos in Afghanistan work for agencies involved in security work and are therefore aware of the daily security situation. Security information is also being shared by all international agencies.
6. There has not been any Filipino who died from suicide bombings or caught between the conflict of the US/NATO and the armed opposition groups.
7. Most of the Filipinos in Afghanistan have careers in international development, humanitarian and reconstruction work and this line of work is usually in post-conflict countries.
8. Loss of income by many of the over 1,000 Filipinos working in Afghanistan. The average income of the Filipinos working in Afghanistan is $3,000 per month. A lot of the Filipinos in Afghanistan are professionals and occupy very responsible positions.
9. Filipinos are provided with life, accident and medical evacuation insurance coverage by their employers.
10. Responsible positions occupied by Filipinos include Country Managers/Directors, Project Team Leaders, Lead Engineers, Project Managers, and Department Heads among others. An abrupt departure from these responsibilities as a result of the ban is not fair to our agencies. Projects will be adversely affected and funds already allocated for the projects will be wasted. Thus, this will not put us in the good light with these agencies for future employment.
11. The DFA has been working with the International Organization for the Migration (IOM) as its partner specifically in the evacuation of the Filipinos during the war in Lebanon. The IOM is on the ground Afghanistan and with Filipinos employees as well.
12. Lack of alternative employment provided for Filipinos who will lose their jobs at very short notice.
13. Many of Filipinos here have invested their earnings to housing and business ventures in the Philippines. We are still paying for these housing and business loans and losing our jobs will mean reneging on monthly amortizations and the consequential loss of relatively huge amounts already invested.
14.There is a cohesive association of Filipinos in Afghanistan (FIA), which other post-conflict countries may not have, that volunteers to provide some support to “kababayans”, in the physical absence of a Philippine Consulate and DOLE representatives in Afghanistan.
Sobrevega cited the bottomline for their being in Afghanistan: “We chose to work here in our search for better job opportunities that are not available in our country.”
ellen,
Those who are working in intl agencies in Afghanistan occupying positions of responsibility that you enumerated need not be included among the home-grown OFWs that we have in Pinas. From what I read, they are covered by the protection that goes with the posting.
However, your ordinary Filipino OFWs might not be as lucky, not because they cannot do the odd jobs but because when it comes to the crunch, they cannot count on Gloria’s govt to get them out or help them, i.e., just look at the poor girl in Canada who died and govt wouldn’t even lift a finger to bring back her remains. Never seen anything like it!
Why ban? ‘cant see any reason why. Those guys working in Afghanistan have some contracts to honor. The ban will only put those guys in bad light, besides, its their choice to be there. To them, Afhanistan is like being in purgatory, at least there’s hope for advancement. In our country, Hope means cigarette ng masa. Nakakalungkot kung bakit mas pinipili pa ng maraming Pinoy na makipagsapalaran sa mga bansang tagilid kesa manatili sa Pinas na puro kabwisitan lang ang mararanasan. Ang mas nakakalungkot, baka dumating ang araw na ang Pinas e maging bakasyunan na lang ng mga immigrants at OFW’s.
It should be the functions of the Foreign Affairs department with their Labor Attaches to make necessary assessment if countries with present conflict like Afghanistan is safe for deployment and what category of jobs Filipinos could fit in. But it seems nobody in the DFA and related government functionaries are seriously attending to this anymore. They are more on a day to day existence how to diffuse the conflict at home. They are more on strategizing how much cash to dole out to whom to outmaneuver the impeachment rap and other charges of corruption. Wala nang katinuan because at the moment, the name of the game is survival.
At least sa Afghanistan may mga insurance itong mga ito eh sa Pilipinas, walang trabaho, walang insurance at sa ano mang oras pwede din silang mamatay sa pagsabog ng bomba! I can’t blame these Pinoys to want to stay in Afghanistan. It is sheer hypocrisy when the Philippines is just as dangerous as Afghanistan!
There is one common thing between Afghanistan and the Philippines, both current leaders are hanging on to power like leeches using everything and everyone to survive! One more thing, the literacy level of Afghans and the Filipinos are almost at par-less than 50%.
Judging from the quantity and “quality” of the bull sh*it dished out by “your” money-filled-paper bag totting Congressmen, one cannot discount the likelihood that last night’s blast was nothing more than a bigger and deadlier “septic attack.”
Seriously, after reading today’s piece on Ellen Tordesilla’s column, that Filipinos do consider Afghanistan as far better alternative than “makipagsabayan sa Pilipinas,” I am reminded, woefully, that most Filipinos abhor physical violence as an instrument of change. And no one can argue with this. That is, if change for the better is attainable through simple logic – choosing to do the right and lawful thing.
Ironically, Filipinos who prefer the “constitutional” path for a saner society are the same people who would cheer-till-they are hoarse, to see Manny Pacquiao violently batters another human being, and for what? Entertainment.
I am even “absurdly amused” that the apparent suicide of that young girl seemed to be, all of a sudden, “news worthy.” As if, this is the first time poverty reared its ugly head to our collective psyche.
The perpetuations of moral and spiritual violence, ironically, by the very people who took the vow to spread spirituality and uphold the dignity of every human being, are the same creatures, who not only failed miserably on these tasks, but are the same one who indirectly and even directly – foisted a fake president on the suffering Filipinos.
“Blessed are the poor…” How true. The poor are “blessed” to have Erap. Why? Because Erap, “simply” betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the suffering mass of Filipinos. While the “middle” class had to deal with Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) , who not only stole everyone’s votes, but now they also will have to deal with the wrath of the poor they robbed of their right to be heard.
It was “okay” in 1986 for the people to storm Malacanang; but it was wrong for the poor for storming the same seat of power from a bogus president?
The point? We want a society of men ruled by the law. Fine. But how do we effect the changes when from top-to-bottom, Filipinos would rather gleefully bend the laws when it suits their personal interest?
Where in “hell” can we find 300 men who are willing to die in that narrow pass of courage, honor and honesty, to stop the hordes of GMA, Esperon, Abalos and Garci from annihilating that last shred of dignity our Lupang Hinirang still has?
Do we have the time, and the resolve, to push for a revolution from within?
As I see it, either we move NOW and be a part of the unstoppable tide of moral and spiritual “reawakening” that will transform our society to be suffocating for any form of cupidity and selfishness to survive;
Or, we step aside and let “a few good men and women” of Filipinos who are “obsessed” to simply do the right and honorable thing, lead the “surgical operation” to incise the “tumors strangling our society to its death.”
Then again, since either of the alternatives seems to a fantasy in the league of Beowulf, there is Afghanistan.
it is hard to understand that there is a ban when over a thousand pinoys are still there, unless they did not enforce the ban.this is just like blackmail, first they let them go and now will force them to go home unless they should pay more to the aparitchiks in manila.
Glad to know you’re still around, Mon. The way I see it is reconciliation is now with the former fans of Erap and supporters of Gloria Kulimbat being one in spirit to oust both of them!!!
I like your input. Iyan ang may sense!!!
afghanistan conflict is a UN sanctioned, that is why Canada willingly joined the mission. Tim Hortons, the biggest, best coffee, 64% to Strabucks 7% recently advertised for jobs over there and it was filled in matter of few days and so far not a single of its employee has been injured in Afghan. Remember Ms Arroyo jumped right on with George W. strating the Irag WAR, she should instead help out in Afghanistan, the people there need all kinds of help…
“she should instead help out in Afghanistan, the people there need all kinds of help…” — Vic
You gotta be kidding Vic, Gloria help out in Afghanistan? Whoa! And turn it into one big Philippines? Gosh, Afghanistan doesn’t need help from one who can’t even put order in her own backyard!
NATO member countries are doing a good job — nothing this moral midget can do better than what these countries are doing now.
(Good heavens, I almost died laughing at the suggestion there!)
The government should not ban anyone from going to other lands. The government should only warn them like what the Canadian and the UK are doing. Better the government put a large warning in every passport that says, THE GOVERMENT IS DANGEROUS, AVOID COMING BACK
Siyanga naman Vic, how can this “surot” help Afghanistan when she can not even help her dying citizens! Left and right people are dying from starvation and lawlessness. We are no different from the streets of Afghanistan and Iraq sa totoo lang!
Been working here in Afghanistan for 3 years now and I can say that walking in the streets of Metro Manila is more dangerous than in Afghanistan. Crimes and deaths in Metro Manila alone based from the news everyday is much higher compared to the entire Afghanistan. The only difference is that Afhanistan is covered by international media and broadcasted all over the world.
Since there is no Philippine consular office here, our group FIA (Filipinos in Afghanistan) group has already extended various assistance to other kababayans and initiated a full accounting of all the OFW’s in Afghanistan. information as to their current locations,companies and contact numbers are constantly updated. Unlike in Pakistan where POEA reported that there was no OFW when in fact, there are more than 3000 Pinoys there. This is the problem, iba-iba ang pronouncement ng mga government officials and agencies natin, hindi mo na alam kung sino paniniwalaan. Sabi ni VP de Castro ung mga may existing daw na kontrata ay pwedeng bumalik pero hindi naman nag iisyu ang POEA ng OEC sa mga nagbakasyon lang na pinoy sa Pinas dahil daw sa memo ni Usec. Cornejos na may travel ban dito. Ano ba talaga kuya??? Most OFW’s in Afghanistan are abiding by the government processes of working overseas via POEA & DOLE, paying all the charges and fees for which we never got anything in return. Sabi nga ng mga OFW dito, HINDI NA NGA NAKAKATULONG, NAMEMERWISYO PA….BUTI KUNG SILA ANG MAGPAPAKAIN SA MGA PAMILYA NAMIN…
I don’t see any reason why the government has imposed a ban on the deployment of Filipinos in Afghanistan.Afghanis are compassionate people too,even the Talibans.I am not defending the Talibans nor the Afgahi,it is just their political ideologies and ramadan.
The government’s handling OFW’s is almost a fairy tale, and one could never imagine that the fall of the rich and the mighty would ever happen — but to make it real the government must rethink its economic methods or lose it all.The market of OFW’s, unlike political organizations, is far more intricate — it is a combination of labor, wants, choices, and exchanges that no government or authority can control.
When we discuss the OFW’s diaspora, without getting into too much statistical breakdown, we can divide them into two main classes that will define as the must-sends vs the must send-nots. To the “must-sends” are those who regularly send money to their home base every month to keep their families surviving. They are mostly the migrant workers to Middle east and other developing economies and the biggest contributors to our monetary reserves. The Bagong Bayani from the must-send community are often too busy struggling their way through the foreign land. Being charitable or being involved in our country’s issues is not really an option for them even if the presence of strong passion is there.
Why should they not ban Filipino migrant workers to Afghanistan when the country is still in war? They should in fact be discouraged to work there, for it is risky. If they are working for international agencies, they should have guarantees of the agencies they work with that they would be exempted from such rule.
It is not a silly rule to ban Filipino workers like the ones they deploy for instance to work as menial laborers in other hot spots.
Over here, trip to Afghanistan is not banned like trip to North Korea, but we are cautioned to refrain from going there.
I, myself, had joined a peace mission to Afghanistan three or four years ago. We were supposed to go to Kabul to meet with some NGO caring for displaced Afghan women and children, but only the male members of our group were allowed to enter Afghanistan because the fighting there was resumed. The women were left behind in Islamabad.
I was disappointed not to be able to go as far as Kabul but as consuelo de bobo, we were allowed to visit some villages along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kinakalabit nga kami ng guide namin when a Taliban would come and talk to us. It was scary.
It was more, I guess, an influence of my childhood fear of people looking like those “bombays” with covered heads and “balbas.” Panakot kasi ng yaya namin when I was a kid when my siblings and I would refuse to go to bed and take a nap.
My heart bled for those Afghan children who have lost legs and limbs due to land mines and bombings of their villages.
Malapit nang maging parang Afghanistan ang Pilipinas. “Just you wait and see,” sabi nga sa “My Fair Lady”!
Land area of Afghanistan is more than doubled as that of the Philippines and to say that the place is in war is just like saying Philippines is also at war when the fighting is only happening in a small place in Mindanao. There may be some encounters but those are happening in remote areas since coalition forces are hunting the talibans forcing them to seek refuge in Pakistan-Afghanistan border where they still have sympathizers. As for the OFW’s, they are mostly based inside fully secured camps that has very strict security procedures. There has not been any incident in Afghanistan where an OFW died in a cross-fire nor in a suicide attack eversince. There was a filipina who died of crime-related incident and everything were facilitated by the FIA, with the help of other nationals from transporting the body to Kabul, embalming, coffin and monetary assistance. The only thing our government representative did was to stamp the coffin. Puro papogi lang naman kasi sila.
I agree with Yuko “It is not a silly rule to ban Filipino workers like the ones they deploy for instance to work as menial laborers in other hot spots.”
Govt responsibility to warn would be OFWs against working in hot spots. But if they still want to, then so be it but it is also govt duty to make sure that if and when its citizens get into trouble in those “hot spots”, govt should be there to lend a hand.
Thanks p.spy for lending us your insight in afghanistan. You can console yourself that “hindi na nga nakakatulong ay namemerhwisyo pa” is a normal comment among pinoys here in norway too and i suppose around the world where there are ofws.
yuko akala niyo lang yan ni mon na nakipagalyansa si erap kay gloria basta kami kailanman di mangyayari yon sa maniwala kayo o hindi ang iindorso ni erap para sa pangulo siguradong mananalo dahil kami ayaw namin talaga si gloria kayo ayaw niyo si gloria at erap ikaw na kaya yuko ang lumaban para sa presidente dahil sa mga salita mo ikaw lang ang may sense
You said it, Anna. What can the Midget do good in Afghanistan? This creep is only interested in sending OFWs to war zones without even guaranteeing their safety, and all. Aagawan pa ng trabaho iyong mga jobless university graduates and elites of Afghanistan! Magsasamantala lang ang ungas doon for sure.
If they have had the sense to create high-paying jobs in the Philippines, would Filipinos risk their lives, honor and dignity to work overseas? I don’t think so!
Just think of how this creep and her minions take advantage likewise of those desperate Philippine soldiers who have joined the UN peacekeeping battalions sent to war zones, but cannot say no to what their superiors do slashing their salaries because they can easily be recalled and replaced with those willing to be subjected to extortion, etc.
It’s what she is likely and capable of doing with those she is likely to deploy to Afghanistan if the Philippines join the foreign legions there now. Lahat ng klase ng extortion ginagawa ng mga ungas pero walang makareklamo! Ang tindi!
ubos na ang mga technical at medical people sa pilipinas pati sa afghanistan nandun na rin pala sila… wala nang naiwan sa pilipinas kong mahal, mga pulitiko na lang.. anu kaya kung ang mga pulitiko naman ang e labor export ng pinas baka sakaling may pag-asa pa ang bayan na umasenso…
wrong kurdapyo!
dapat malaman mo ang ibig sabihin ng E S P sa Pilipinas
∙ Exploiter
∙ Speculator
∙ Pinoyization
e kasi naman ang mga kurakot na pulitiko ang nagpapagulo sa bansa e kung pinalabas mo sila dito sa pinas at naubos yan mga pulitiko na yan e di uunlad ang bansa natin….
baka walang tumanggap sa kanila..kaya nga kapit tuko sa mga posisyon nila at dyan sila kumikita ng malaki…
Mahirap ng palabasin ng pinas ang mga politikong may dynasty na. Kung wala ng hininga ang mga iyan baka sakali pa.
“anu kaya kung ang mga pulitiko naman ang e labor export ng pinas baka sakaling may pag-asa pa ang bayan na umasenso…”
kurdapyo,
para kang nag-eksport ng SALOT!
ganda ng mga pahayag ng mga opisyales natin.. check this out..
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=99583
and then the next day, eto naman..
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=101786
Pinabili lang kami ng mga ticket pauwi tapos biglang binawi ang naunang pahayag…tsk..tsk..magulo talaga itong gobyerno natin….
Ano kaya kung ang mga institusyong tulad ng European Parliament, US Congress/Capitol Hill, United Nations, mga Financial Institution matamnan ng binhi ng isang Pinoy byurokrasi?
Ang oil cartel sa middle east ay kinokontrol ng mga Pinoy?
Ang Wall Street ay pinangungunahan ng Filipino Community?
Ang global gold reserve ay pinamumunuan ng grupo o ng mga institusyong Pilipino?
Ang Scotland Yard, Tokyo Metropolitan PD, NY Fire Department, NASA Mission Control System at iba pang Research & Development(R&D) Center ay pamugaran at pamunuan ng isang Pinoy BUREAUCRACY?
Ano kaya ang mangyayari?
Paki-imagine lang… please.