IN a press conference on Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. provided an update on the plight of Filipino citizens in the war-torn Middle East, disclosing that as of that time, a total of 1,416 Filipinos had requested repatriation from the government. As there are nearly 3 million Filipinos — most of them overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) — across the Middle East, it is likely that the number who would like to be brought out of harm’s way is much higher. While the government’s concern is appropriately focused on the well-being of our own people, we should not forget that they are among the tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of foreigners who are, for all intents and purposes, trapped in a war zone.
A report by Singapore-based Channel News Asia (CNA) on Wednesday morning provided some insight into how many people from Southeast Asian countries are currently stranded. The Malaysian government said it was currently monitoring the well-being of about 29,000 of its citizens, most of them in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Indonesia has hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Middle East, and the situation for its government has become even more complicated as an additional 60,000 Indonesians are in the midst of performing umrah, a minor pilgrimage to Mecca during Ramadan. Thailand has about 110,000 citizens in the region and, like the Philippines, is currently attempting to find means to evacuate about 1,000 Thais who have sought government assistance. Although the CNA report did not provide details, it did note that Vietnamese authorities are on high alert to monitor the safety of its citizens, particularly those in Iran. All are safe for now, the Vietnamese government said, but contingency plans are being prepared in case the situation worsens.
In addition to the people from these countries, there are also significant numbers of Cambodian, Lao and Myanmar citizens working in the Middle East. The statements from the governments of every affected country are almost exactly the same as those from our own government: They are making every effort to ensure their citizens are safe, and to evacuate those who wish to leave, but the situation is extremely challenging due to airspace closures and the physical danger from the ongoing exchange of missile, drone and air strikes. Even when escape routes have briefly opened, such as the overland route from the UAE to Oman, where airports have remained operational for now, there are so many foreign citizens trying to leave the region that transit facilities are completely overwhelmed.
Combine resources
As chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this year, our government should, if it has not done so already, urgently meet with our regional neighbors to explore ways in which repatriation efforts can be coordinated. If every Asean member, or nearly all of them, is facing a similar challenge, it simply makes sense to combine their resources and efforts. Individually, Asean members may not have enough influence to convince the warring parties — which, at this point, includes to some degree every country in the region except for Oman and Jordan, apart from the United States — to guarantee safe passage for their evacuating citizens, and they may not individually have the logistical resources to do so swiftly even if safety is assured. If the situation escalates to the point where a complete compulsory evacuation becomes necessary, which is something everyone hopes will not happen but seems very likely to at this point, the affected Southeast Asian countries certainly do not have the capabilities to manage that on their own.
If Asean members work together now, they can better prepare for a more serious situation, if it arises. The Philippines is in a position to lead the organization of a coordinated effort, and it should do so at once.
As a final observation, there has been a growing debate over the past couple of days over just how far the government should go to protect our people in the war zone, up to declaring the highest level of emergency and ordering a mandatory evacuation of everyone. That is a difficult call to make, because of the serious negative consequences to our OFW families, the broader economy and our relations with countries in the region. Nevertheless, it would be reassuring to know that the government has a plan for that contingency, and can act quickly if the need arises.
