Filipino migrants torn between safety and survival risks amid Middle East dangers
Analysts point to economic difficulties and insufficient assistance initiatives, as large numbers continue to remain abroad for work
“When the conflict with Iran happened, I started feeling like it wasn’t safe there any more because I was right there in Riyadh myself, so the bombing, the missiles, were closer to us,” Jacinto told This Week in Asia.
“I got worried, I got scared that maybe I wouldn’t be able to come home any more,” added the 29-year-old, whose six-year-old son lives in the Philippines under her parents’ care.
While Jacinto made it home, more than 2 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain across the Middle East, including at least 800,000 in Saudi Arabia, where the widening regional conflict has heightened concerns about their safety. Many face a difficult choice of whether to stay on or return home and lose the income their families depend on.
