CRETE, Greece- Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) safely evacuated in the Island of Crete aboard the Philippine chartered vessel are temporarily hold up on the Greek Island while Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) officials in charge of the repatriation facilitate and process their documents and flights back to Manila.
Here, some nurses are still in direct communication with their friends in Libya, using their local mobile phone lines to call and send message by text. One of them is Sandra Anne Lavinia Cortez.
Cortez sought the assistance of ABS-CBN news to call on DFA officials and President Benigno Aquino III to help the remaining stranded OFWs in Benghazi, particularly the Filipino nurses at Hawari General Hospital. Cortez, who broke down in tears, fear for the lives of her friends and co-workers. She said they were not allowed to leave the hospital when MV Ionian Queen, the chartered ship sent by the government to evacuate stranded OFWs, docked in Benghazi to fetch Pinoys.
An estimated 500 OFWs, most of them medical workers, decided to stay in Benghazi because they wanted to keep their jobs. They were also enticed to stay with the promise of a trebled salary. But a significant number were left behind because they were barred by their employers from leaving the vicinity of the hospital.
Minister and Consul General Constancio Vingno Jr of the Philippine Embassy in Greece told ABS-CBN News that with the help of community leaders in Tripoli and nearby cities, they are hoping to evacuate more Filipinos via the second trip of the government’s chartered ship. The ship is expected to arrive in Crete on Sunday morning. He could not say for sure if there will be a third trip to Libya.
DFA Undersecretary and spokesman Ed Malaya announced over radio dzMM that the ship's trip to the seaport of Tripoli maybe the last trip.
A group of Filipino nurses working for Rasco Oil Company in Raslanuf, the biggest oil refinery in Libya said some of their friends and co-workers decided to stay put because they did not want to forfeit the benefits and unpaid salaries that they have yet to collect from their employer.
On Friday, it was reported that Libyan rebels had seized the town of Raslanuf. It is 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Sirte, Qaddafy’s hometown.
Watching this development in the news, the nurses felt despondent for the lost lives and the devastation in the city.
Rosemarie Magat said Libya will always be in her heart and she is coming back when the situation gets better.
Gina Valenzuela said she has formed great friendships with the locals and it was sad to see on television the scenes of carnage in Raslanuf.
Veteran nurses Rosemarie Magat, Adoracion Galang and Trifina Laoisla appeal to Pinoy in this video. They are hoping that when the tension and conflict die down, they will be able to collect their back pay and gratuity, an entitlement for the likes of them who have worked in Libya for two decades.
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