Israel placed under Alert Level 2
Israel placed under Alert Level 2
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Strangely enough, Filipinos in the Middle East or in any part of the planet are more
00:04 wary and fearful of surely losing their livelihoods here at home than getting killed in a crazy,
00:10 fanatical war between mortal enemies in a faraway land.
00:14 Such is in the internecine war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas in the Holy
00:18 Land in Gaza, where 30,000 Filipinos make home and a living, and whom 9 of 10 Filipinos
00:24 there would rather stay than leave, as our Bea Bernardo reports.
00:29 On the fourth day of the Israel vs. Hamas war, the exchange of missiles continues.
00:36 Overseas Filipino workers rosely said that although they are far from ground zero, they
00:41 can still feel the impact of the bombs.
00:44 "Yesterday, while we were on duty, while we were doing our rooms, our windows were really
00:52 shaking.
00:53 The impact of the bomb, the explosion, our walls were really shaking."
01:00 Daly continues to work in a hotel in Tel Aviv.
01:03 But instead of going home, she stays in the hotel first for her safety.
01:08 Then a close friend of hers dies in the crossfire of the raging war.
01:12 "We are emotional because we have a friend here in the hotel.
01:18 He was with the hostage.
01:21 Our receptionist was with him.
01:24 Then we heard that he was killed."
01:32 Despite the fear and difficulty our countrymen face in Israel, many of them absolutely don't
01:37 want to go home to the Philippines, where survival is much harder, and instead just
01:42 want to move to a safer place.
01:44 "The families of our other colleagues here are just here in this job, hoping.
01:51 So if ever there is a repatriation, I hope we can talk about the assurance that we can
01:57 return here to Israel."
01:58 Israel is now on alert level two.
02:00 This means the non-essential movement of Filipinos is limited, and the new deployment of overseas
02:05 workers is on pause for a while.
02:08 But the situation is different in Gaza, where 70 Filipinos had expressed desire to go back
02:13 to the Philippines.
02:14 "The Department of Foreign Affairs admitted that the repatriation is now a challenge.
02:19 Israel and Egypt are the possible exit points for Filipinos in Gaza, which both are facing
02:24 tension.
02:25 Therefore, it is not safe for Filipinos."
02:28 "So now it's a diplomatic approach.
02:31 We are using diplomacy along with other countries in order to have the borders open so that
02:39 we could have our fellow Filipinos."
02:41 The Philippine Embassy in Amman, Jordan, said they're in contact with the two countries
02:45 to arrange the clearance of the Filipinos to leave.
02:48 For now, as the embassy plans for a safer route, this is their reminder.
02:52 "We told them to stay in their own homes, but I think the Israelis have identified shelters
02:59 for them to go.
03:00 I think they're being warned if there is an impending attack."
03:04 Bea Bernardo for The Nation.