First Batch of Filipino Human Trafficking Victims from Syria Coming Home
06 February 2021 — The first batch of six (6) Filipina wards from the Philippine Embassy shelter in Damascus are finally coming home. The six Filipinas departed Syria Thursday evening (February 4) and are scheduled to arrive at the NAIA Saturday afternoon (February 6) after a layover in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
All repatriates are victims of human trafficking and were illegally hired to work in Syria from being tourists in Dubai. The first batch of repatriates is among the 38 Filipinas currently housed at the Philippine Embassy shelter in Damascus. They are all undocumented workers in Syria who ran away from their employers due to harsh working conditions.
The Department of Foreign Affairs through its Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Damascus coordinated with the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) led by the Department of Justice to assist the repatriates in the filing of criminal complaints against human traffickers who victimized them in their home provinces, in Dubai and in Syria. The victims have prepared their complaint-affidavits at the shelter in Damascus with the assistance of the Philippine Embassy.
The Department lobbied hard with the Syrian authorities and employers to secure exit clearances for the repatriates. DFA is using its Assistance to National Fund and the Legal Assistance Fund to continuously assist the remaining wards with their ongoing court cases including making representations with Syrian immigration for the grant of exit visas for their eventual repatriation to the Philippines.
The Department’s augmentation team is likewise departing Manila next week to reinforce its current measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Filipino victims of trafficking currently staying in the Embassy’s shelter. The augmentation team shall render humanitarian assistance and facilitate the repatriation of all the remaining distressed Filipino wards in the Embassy shelter and any other distressed Filipino national in Syria. END