Living in a War Zone is Preferable to Living in the Philippines

The war in Israel which began last October 7th has now expanded to Lebanon. OFWs in the country are being urged to avail of the government's repatriation plan but many are refusing to return. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/27/they-rather-die-in-war-than-in-hunger-ph-gov-t-faces-difficulty-convincing-filipinos-in-lebanon-to-go-home

The Philippine government is having difficulty convincing ​Filipinos in Lebanon to be repatriated ​despite start of Tel Aviv's continued bombard​ment on the country, stoking fear of a regional tension.

​It was not only with Palestine-based Hamas that Israel is in conflict.

​Currently, the Jewish state ​is fighting two more rebel groups: the Yemen-based Houthis and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, who are​ both sympathizers of the Palestinian people.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in Beirut have already advised the 11,000 Filipinos in Lebanon to avail of the repatriation being offered by the government; but only a handful wants to leave the country.

"They will only decide to leave when the situation is so bad, when the war is at their doorsteps, saka lang magpapa-repatriate (they will only ask for repatriation)," Philippine Ambassador in Lebanon Raymond Balatbat said in a press briefing.

From a thousand who initially applied for repatriation, only half want to push through after the remaining withdrew their application.

"The mentality is they (would) rather take their chances here than go home," Balatbat said.

According to him, most of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are refusing to go home are "the old timers," who have been through various wars.

They are saying that "they've seen it all and they survived. There's also an "element of loyalty to their employers," added Balatbat.

"They would always tell me that their employers are there for them. So they do not have any fear," Balatbat said.

For Filipinos abroad, they think that "it's better to die in war than to die in hunger in the Philippines," added DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega.

What more is there to say? These words speak for themselves. The Philippines is so awful these people would rather live in a war zone than return. It's doubtful the government will do a bit of self-reflection about the matter but that's life. That's life in the Philippines.