60-year old OFW back in PH amid Middle East conflict

Merlyn Agustin, a 60-year old Filipina domestic helper from Kuwait, recounted the worry and fear of her three children as she remained far from home amid the prevailing conflict in the Middle East. 

Her children’s wish over the past few weeks: “Mama, uwi ka nalang (Mama, just come home).” 

And on Monday morning—a day after Agustin’s 60th birthday, her children’s plea for their mother to come home was finally granted. 

Agustin was among the latest group of overseas Filipino workers who safely returned to the Philippines via a chartered flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

The fourth batch of government-sponsored repatriates, with 317 OFWs and some 26 of their dependents, came from Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. 

“Masaya po at makikita ko na ang pamilya ko…Mga anak, andito na ako sa Maynila,” Agustin said with tears brimming her eyes.

(I’m happy I’ll get to see my family. My children, I’m in Manila now, my children.) 

Agustin said the conflict in the Middle East pushed her to seek repatriation after more than three years of working in Kuwait. 

“Natatakot ako sa pasabog,” she shared. “Hindi po ako makatulog dahil kapag matulog ako, ang lakas ng pasabog. Talagang totoo iyan kaya sabi ko sa amo ko, uuwi nalang ako.”

(I was scared of the explosions. I couldn’t sleep because when I did, I would still hear the explosions. That’s true. So I told my employer that I wanted to go home.) 

Agustin will be assisted by the government as she returns to her family in Isabela.

She said she no longer has plans on returning to work in Kuwait even when the Middle East conflict subsides. 

Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac assured all repatriated OFWs like Agustin that they will receive post-repatriation services like financial assistance, employment facilitation and livelihood capital. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News