The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday, May 6, that there were no more Filipinos trapped at the Egypt-Sudan border.
(Photo courtesy of DFA)
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega told DZMM’s TeleRadyo from Cairo that some 320 Filipinos from Sudan are currently in shelters and hotels in Egypt, and awaiting repatriation to the Philippines, while some 50 Filipinos from Port Sudan have reached Saudi Arabia.
“Wala nang Pilipinong naipit pa sa border ng Egypt at Sudan, nakapasok na lahat. It's only a matter of repatriating them unti-unti (There are no more Filipinos trapped in the border of Egypt and Sudan, everyone’s here already. It's only a matter of repatriating them little by little),” he said.
The official added that the department’s target was to repatriate all of them by next weekend.
De Vega also took the chance to thank the Saudi Arabia government for providing the military vessel to take foreign nationals from Port Sudan to Saudi Arabia.
“Pasalamat ulit tayo sa Saudi Arabia, sila 'yung nagpapadala ng military vessels para mag-evecuate ng mga nationals doon (We thank Saudi Arabia again, they sent military vessels to evacuate the nationals from there),” he said.
A total of 179 Filipinos from Sudan have so far been repatriated to the Philippines, but the DFA official lamented that there were still some 100 Filipinos there that they were making a “last call” to.
“We are pleading for them to contact us here. We have a last repatriation, there are two buses that will pick up Filipinos this week and bring them to Port Sudan,” he appealed in Filipino.
In an earlier advisory, the Philippine Embassy in Cairo said Filipinos, who would like to avail of the embassy-sponsored buses, must first send clear copies of their passports to [email protected], and provide the following information: full name (as indicated in the passport), phone number, is your passport and residence visa valid? (Yes/No); and name and contact details of the next-of-kin in the Philippines.
“Do not ride the bus without first notifying the Embassy. You must register in advance, or else there may be no seats for you,” the advisory warned.
The embassy added that evacuees must bring cash for the journey and wait in Port Sudan because it would take an average of five days for them to be ferried out of the country.
Filipinos also need a place to stay, though the embassy said there “are sufficient places in Port Sudan for this.”
Violence in Sudan started after fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum on April 15.
But the warring sides have agreed to a weeklong ceasefire starting last Thursday, in efforts to ease the deadly conflict that has so far killed some 550 people.