The Real Story - 42 Pinoys repatriated from Maldives
The past few weeks, the Filipinos in the Maldives especially the ones in Male were all busy with our own version of the “Bayanihan Spirit”. Everyone pitched in, some people (even from resorts – salamat po kuya nestor!) gave money for the meals, others opened their houses so they can give temporary accommodations to these people for a few nights (as they don’t have money to pay for a hotel room).
You see, the incident that I had earlier loudly debated in the Inquirer we belatedly found out was indeed true and correct but with a slightly embarrassing twist --- the employer of the 300 Pinoys reported is also a Filipino company.
On a Thursday morning barely two weeks back, I got a call from Ate Marivic asking me whether I know someone from the Labor Ministry because a group of Pinoys from Vilingili Island arrived in Male last Tuesday night hoping to get repatriated back to the Philippines. When I was able to talk to Axel (one of the guys in the group), I told him they were lucky that Ate Marivic saw them in the street when she was on her way back to work. She is one of the Pinoys I know who will really stop when you ask her whether “Pinoy po kayo?”
We immediately used up previous connections with people we know at the Labour Ministry (of course, we will know some people there coz we always go there to ask for help whenever we need to repatriate assistance for Pinoys before! And they always help!) and called them up to help the 42 Pinoys who are there (although there were 50 of them, the 8 guys who were from Dumaguete was provided tickets by their provincial governor and they flew on Thursday via Malaysian Airlines). We asked for help around 11am, and guess what, by 2:30pm the Labour Relations case officer told the group that they will be repatriated that same night depending on the availability of seats. What made me feel really good was when the officer even tried to get them seats on Singapore Airlines (way way expensive!!) coz the other cheaper flights are full. And so the first batch of 32pax was able to go home that same night and the next 10pax the following day on Friday. The officer even went with them to the airport to assist them in checking in so they would not get a blacklisted stamp on their passports! I mean, that’s the public service I want and would like our government to do for our countrymen and this we are getting from foreign government!
That is why, we told the group that when you go back home to Manila please inform the media (as they said they are going to GMA News) that it was the Maldives Government who helped you to go home, that they really take care of expatriate workers like us.
And then, just barely 2 days that the 2nd batch left, Ate Marivic once again received a call that another group of 37 Pinoys are in Male (we gave out our numbers so that the remaining Pinoys in the island can call us anytime if they need help) and they want to go home. And so the same routine of calling people for donations and accommodations was done, and now they are all safely home.
Whenever I go visit my sister in Singapore, I always tell her friends that you know what “di ko maipagpapalit ang mga Pinoys sa Maldives kasi nagtutulungan talaga kami doon!” and yes its really true, the Bayanihan spirit of Pinoys is really alive here in the Maldives. During that week, I cannot help but cry, not only for what happened to the Pinoys in Vilingili but also cry for happiness --- I was so proud of how Pinoys mobilized and helped to make sure that they can all go home.
I am speaking for the entire Pinoy community in the Maldives when I say, we don’t need the praises for what we have done or the media attention kasi mga simpleng tao lang naman kami dito lahat and we all did it because we wanted to help our kapwa Pinoy. But what bugs me is in this article was it was Villar and Migrante International who were busy having press conferences (with placards pa yan ha) since late August-September when they did not lift a single finger to ensure that these Pinoys get repatriation back home.
I want a headline that says, “Maldives Government assists in repatriating dozens of Pinoys back home”. I mean, isn’t it fair that we give the credit to them?
Do you think the Pinoys here will still gladly help the remaining 200-odd Pinoys left in that island if the outcome will mean, babango ang imahe ng mga pulitiko at mga asosasyong me vested interest? I sincerely doubt it, pero ika nga "it is better to give than to receive" kaya of course knowing the Pinoys here, they will still help each other.
You see, the incident that I had earlier loudly debated in the Inquirer we belatedly found out was indeed true and correct but with a slightly embarrassing twist --- the employer of the 300 Pinoys reported is also a Filipino company.
On a Thursday morning barely two weeks back, I got a call from Ate Marivic asking me whether I know someone from the Labor Ministry because a group of Pinoys from Vilingili Island arrived in Male last Tuesday night hoping to get repatriated back to the Philippines. When I was able to talk to Axel (one of the guys in the group), I told him they were lucky that Ate Marivic saw them in the street when she was on her way back to work. She is one of the Pinoys I know who will really stop when you ask her whether “Pinoy po kayo?”
We immediately used up previous connections with people we know at the Labour Ministry (of course, we will know some people there coz we always go there to ask for help whenever we need to repatriate assistance for Pinoys before! And they always help!) and called them up to help the 42 Pinoys who are there (although there were 50 of them, the 8 guys who were from Dumaguete was provided tickets by their provincial governor and they flew on Thursday via Malaysian Airlines). We asked for help around 11am, and guess what, by 2:30pm the Labour Relations case officer told the group that they will be repatriated that same night depending on the availability of seats. What made me feel really good was when the officer even tried to get them seats on Singapore Airlines (way way expensive!!) coz the other cheaper flights are full. And so the first batch of 32pax was able to go home that same night and the next 10pax the following day on Friday. The officer even went with them to the airport to assist them in checking in so they would not get a blacklisted stamp on their passports! I mean, that’s the public service I want and would like our government to do for our countrymen and this we are getting from foreign government!
That is why, we told the group that when you go back home to Manila please inform the media (as they said they are going to GMA News) that it was the Maldives Government who helped you to go home, that they really take care of expatriate workers like us.
And then, just barely 2 days that the 2nd batch left, Ate Marivic once again received a call that another group of 37 Pinoys are in Male (we gave out our numbers so that the remaining Pinoys in the island can call us anytime if they need help) and they want to go home. And so the same routine of calling people for donations and accommodations was done, and now they are all safely home.
Whenever I go visit my sister in Singapore, I always tell her friends that you know what “di ko maipagpapalit ang mga Pinoys sa Maldives kasi nagtutulungan talaga kami doon!” and yes its really true, the Bayanihan spirit of Pinoys is really alive here in the Maldives. During that week, I cannot help but cry, not only for what happened to the Pinoys in Vilingili but also cry for happiness --- I was so proud of how Pinoys mobilized and helped to make sure that they can all go home.
I am speaking for the entire Pinoy community in the Maldives when I say, we don’t need the praises for what we have done or the media attention kasi mga simpleng tao lang naman kami dito lahat and we all did it because we wanted to help our kapwa Pinoy. But what bugs me is in this article was it was Villar and Migrante International who were busy having press conferences (with placards pa yan ha) since late August-September when they did not lift a single finger to ensure that these Pinoys get repatriation back home.
I want a headline that says, “Maldives Government assists in repatriating dozens of Pinoys back home”. I mean, isn’t it fair that we give the credit to them?
Do you think the Pinoys here will still gladly help the remaining 200-odd Pinoys left in that island if the outcome will mean, babango ang imahe ng mga pulitiko at mga asosasyong me vested interest? I sincerely doubt it, pero ika nga "it is better to give than to receive" kaya of course knowing the Pinoys here, they will still help each other.
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