DFA Helped 8 Filipino Victims of Human Trafficking in Syria to Return to Their Home
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has helped eight (8) Filipino victims of human trafficking from Syria to return to their homes.
The embassy shelter had previously housed eight Filipinos. The repatriates appreciate the DFA’s and the Philippine Embassy’s efforts to assist them in returning to the Philippines. Filipino repatriates in Syria are victims of violence perpetrated by their employers.
With the assistance of the Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration (POEA), the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, and the Blas Ople Policy Center, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus will assist them in pursuing and prosecuting their illegal recruiters in the Philippines, Malaysia, Dubai, and even Syria. POEA pointed out that the deployment restriction remains in place in Syria.
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However, some Filipinos are able to enter due to human traffickers exploiting “third-country” recruitment and tourism visas. Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) will intensify their anti-human trafficking collaboration.
They secured solid cooperation between the two countries against human trafficking at a recent meeting headed by Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto and Vice-Chair of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT) Deputy President Sarah Al-Tamimi at “Bahay Kalinga.”
Representatives from the HRC’s Anti-Trafficking Unit, the NCCHT’s Department of International Cooperation, and the International Organization for Migration were also present at the meeting. The topic of shelter administration and the associated costs for the shelter wards became the focal point of their discussion.
The shelter facilities were examined by Ambassador Alonto and Labor Attaché Fidel Macauyag. Deputy President of the Saudi Human Rights Council, Al-Tamimi, welcomed the embassy’s Assistance to Nationals Section’s efforts to assist victims of human trafficking.
They also aim to create shelters in Saudi Arabia for victims of human trafficking, according to Al-Tamimi. They also want to learn about the Philippine Embassy’s best practices for dealing with human trafficking cases in Riyadh.
The Philippine Embassy and POLO now operate eight shelters in Saudi Arabia. It encompasses over a thousand wards. Before returning to the Philippines, the majority of them are awaiting a final verdict on their cases.
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