Friday, October 29, 2010

Jobless OFW in Saudi wants to come home

DAMMAN, Saudi Arabia – A Filipino migrant worker in Damman has been relying on his friends for food and shelter.

"Binibigyan nila ako para makakain man lang. Pero sa pamilya ko, hindi na ako nakapagpadala ng pera,” said Aladino Rebalde.

Rebalde had been a car electrician for more than 20 years. However, he was not lucky in the past four years.

Rebalde ran away from his employer because he was not being paid right. In 2008, the OFW was arrested and detained for 2 weeks in Riyadh.

The Philippine embassy helped him settle his case but he no longer has a job to return to because the shop had closed and his employer abandoned him.

Since then, he has been wandering and looking for extra income for himself and his family back in the Philippines.

Without a job and money to send back home, the education of his 3 children suffered. They were forced to stop going school.

“May anim na taon pa akong anak na hindi din makakapasok dahil syempre, alam mo naman ang kahirapan sa Pilipinas. Ako naman dito, walang naibibigay na sapat sa kanila dahil pahinto-hinto at palipat-lipat,” said Rebalde.

Rebalde wants nothing more than to go back home to his family. “Ilang taon ako ritong hindi nakikita ang mga anak ko, pamilya ko,” he said.

He appealed to the government to help him reunite with his family.

“Humihingi ako kay Vice President (Jejomar) Binay, Sir, tulungan ninyo naman po ako,” he appealed

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