Delhi asks distressed Indians to return by September 25; Filipinos want to go home

Indian workers queue next to an ATM in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, in this August 4, 2016 photo. Right: Philippine Secretary of Labour Silvestre Bello speaks to the media in Riyadh

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday appealed to the Indian workers, who have lost their jobs, to return to India by Sept. 25 failing which they have to make their own arrangements for boarding, lodging and return journey.
“My advice to all such Indian workers is that they should file their claims and return home by Sept. 25, 2016. We will bring them back free of charge. Those who do not return by Sept. 25 will have to make their own arrangements for boarding, lodging and return journey,” Swaraj said in a series of tweets.
The Philippine Embassy said most of the distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Kingdom want to return home. “Of the 2,500 distressed OFWs, the claims of 1,137 or 61 percent have been processed. They want to go home to be with their respective families,” said Iric C. Arribas, charge d’affaires at the embassy.
Many of the distressed OFWs are living in company camp sites in different parts of Riyadh. As of Aug. 20, the Philippine Embassy had processed 1,879 claims.
In Alkhobar, Sittie Jaafar, officer in charge of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO-Alkhobar), said that the claims of 379 distressed OFWs had been processed.
“We’re waiting for the second tranche with which to settle other claims,” Jaafar said.
This will be from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to be remitted to the Philippine Embassy’s account after negotiations with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In Jeddah, Consul Rodney Jonas Sumague said that 1,800 claims of distressed OFWs from Saudi Oger are expected to be processed soon.
He said that the consulate is currently going over the claims to be filed with the appointed lawyer of the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
Earlier, a local online publication reported that most distressed OFWs assisted by the government don’t want to return to the Philippines.
The report quoted an official of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), citing a government delegation which visited the Kingdom recently. 
The delegation met with officials from the Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development to discuss ways and means to help the distressed OFWs.

Source: Arab News