MANILA (UCAN): As of August 20, more than 100 Filipinos were still waiting to be evacuated from Kabul, Afganistan, following a call from Philppine president, Rodrigo Duterte, for a mandatory evacuation.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs is working non-stop to explore all options to ensure the safety and welfare of our people in Afghanistan in the face of challenging conditions,” foreign affairs assistant secretary, Eduardo Menez, had told reporters on August 17.
Thirty-five Filipino workers had earlier been flown back to Manila by their employers on a charter flight, a few hours after the Taliban entered Kabul on August 16.
Menez said many of the stranded Filipinos are Catholics and are afraid of the Taliban’s extreme treatment of those who do not adhere to their strict interpretation of Islam’s Sharia law.
“The Taliban’s return to power has also triggered many fears … which could lead to human rights violations like the rights of women and girls, including those who are non-Muslims,” Menez added.
“Imagine [that] our generation witnessed a pandemic and the fall of the Afghanistan government. We really need to continue praying for peace in the world and for those [Filipinos] who are in Kabul. We live in a very scary world,” said John De Guzma, who is from Manila.
De Guzman said persecution is happening not only in Afghanistan. “There is also persecution here in the Philippines. People are being killed by a tyrant without due process of law. We should also pray for them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Duterte assured Filipinos in Kabul that he would do all in his power to bring them home.
“The Philippine embassy in Pakistan, which has jurisdiction over Afghanistan, will oversee the repatriation of Filipinos in the area. I urge Filipinos in distress to get in touch with the embassy through its details,” Duterte said on national television.
