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Kabalen recounts Libya experience

March 8, 2011

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Engineer Rafael Yaya, 39, had always been complacent of his safety while working for a construction company in Libya, but not until the political crisis rose in mid-February.
Yaya, a native of Sta. Rita, said the journey back to the Philippines was “the scariest experience.”

“Of course, we feared that something bad might happen to us throughout the bus ride since we had to stop at over 17 checkpoints,” Yaya said.

“Hindi kami natakot noong una kasi inisip naming hindi maaapektuhan ang aming lugar dahil malayo ang pinagmumulan ng gulo,” he said.
Yaya said when the tension in Libya first broke out in mid-February, he and other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were hardly disturbed as their work camp is located 1,000 kilometers away from Benghazi, while Tripoli is 45 minutes away.

Yaya worked for Hanil Engineering Construction Company in Al Zawiyah, Libya.

Yaya arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) via Qatar Airways last week. He visited the Pampanga Action Center for OFW Concerns (Pacoc) at the provincial Capitol compound a day after his arrival.

He was one of the 14 Filipinos who managed to leave the construction site on February 25. They traveled for almost two hours aboard a bus to the pick-up point in Tunisia.

“Our company was willing to let us go but did not want to shoulder our plane fare. We were only given 100 dinar each by our employers for the bus trip to Tunisia,” he said.

He said they hid their cell phones and laptops inside their luggage and denied owning any when questioned by the Libyans manning the checkpoints.

However, he said the next batch of 22 Filipinos were not as lucky since one passenger got his cell phone confiscated and had to pass through an additional checkpoint or a total of 18 checkpoints.
Prior to his arrival, Yaya’s wife Remedios sought the assistance of Pacoc to expedite his repatriation.

Maria Eliza Rey MuΓ±oz, head of the Pacoc, has coordinated with Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. for the immediate repatriation of Yaya and 12 other OFWs from Pampanga. (Charlene Cayabyab)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2011/03/07/kabalen-recounts-libya-experience-143619

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