Refugees from Sudan who crossed into Ethiopia talk with IOM (International Organization for Migration) worker in Metema, on May 5, 2023. More than 15,000 people have fled Sudan via Metema since fighting broke out in Khartoum in mid-April, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, with around a thousand arrivals registered per day on average. (AFP)
MANILA, Philippines —Flight booking difficulties and lack of travel documents are hindering the repatriation of 29 Filipinos from conflict-stricken Sudan, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday.
During the Laging Handa Public Briefing, DFA Assistant Secretary Paul Cortes said booking flights was difficult due to the ongoing Hajj pilgrimage in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Medyo nahihirapan po tayong kumuha ng flights para sa kanila kasi ang alam niyo naman Hajj pilgrimage ngayon po sa Saudi, lalong-lalo na sa Jeddah kung saan malapit ang Mecca,” Cortes said.
(It is hard for us to book flights for them because of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi, especially in Jeddah, near Mecca.)
Cortes said that since there is no Philippine embassy in Port Sudan, the honorary consul is extending assistance to the Filipinos.
He also stated that one of the challenges, other than booking flights, was the lack of documents due to the displacement of the Filipinos.
“Meron din ho sa mga kababayan ay hindi ho dala yung passport nila dahil nga ho nung umalis at lumikas sila mula sa kanilang mga bahay sa Khartoum ay wala ho silang naidala,” Cortes said.
(Some of our countrymen forgot or left their passports behind after evacuating from Khartoum.)
He, however, emphasized that the DFA, the honorary consul, and the Philippine embassy in Cairo are doing everything possible to assist Filipinos returning to the Philippines.
The power struggle between opposing military factions continues in Sudan, displacing millions of people. (Bea Alicia Delariarte, INQUIRER.net trainee)