I am posting this in my blog because if I share the URL
/webpage; I will be sharing my e-mail. Some days ago; I shared another letter
that likewise praised Filipinos in the kingdom but one thing that most forgot
to mention was the length of time Filipinos has been in the Middle East. I came
to Saudi Arabia in 1980 but I knew people who were already in KSA long before
me. Filipinos were virtually the builder of the Cities and roads of the Arabian
Peninsula: the GCC countries. They are the backbone of the GCC’s (KSA, Kuwait,
Qatar, Oman, UAE and Bahrain) health services not to mention Libya and Iraq
before the war. It is true that if there is one place where Filipinos can’t get
lost outside of the Philippines; it is anywhere in the countries of the Persian
Gulf. It is one place where Filipinos can’t be a stranger. Except for KSA;
ladies of the Philippines have become the sales-ladies of the Gulf nations.
Walking into a mall is like walking into SM. Check into a hotel and you find Filipinos
at the reception or climb into a bus and you find Filipino drivers. If your car
broke down; a Filipino will come to tow it to a shop where Filipino mechanics
are waiting. Feeling hungry; try walking into KFC or McDo and if you get sick…Filipino
nurses will be there to take care of you or prick your buttocks :-) and more
often than not; you end up married legally or illegally…buwahaha!
With needles, pitchforks and bulldozers…Philippine have
truly invaded the Arabian Peninsula and consequently saved the Philippine
economy.
NLK
E-mail from a friend:
From: Ahmad Peradilla <ahmadperadilla@yahoo.com>
Subject: SHARINGe
To: “ahmad peradilla” <ahmadperadilla@yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 8:38 AM
This is the kind of email that we all want to receive and
thanks for almaghlooth@alwatan.com.sa from the Middle East for writing this
article.
After Obama’s praise to a Filipina Nurse,
this is what Arabs think about FILIPINOS.IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT FILIPINOS
by Abdullah Al-Maghlooth|AL-WATAN
Muhammad Al-Maghrabi became handicapped and shut down his flower and gifts
shop business in Jeddah after his Filipino workers insisted on leaving and
returning home. He says: “When they left, I felt as if I had lost my arms.
I was so sad that I lost my appetite.”
Al-Maghrabi then flew to Manila to look for two other Filipino workers to
replace the ones who had left. Previously, he had tried workers of
different nationalities but they did not impress him. “There is no
comparison between Filipinos and others,” he says. “Whenever I see
Filipinos working in the Kingdom, I wonder what life would be without them.”
Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers – 1.019,577 –
outside the Philippines and their numbers are still increasing. Filipinos
not only play an important and effective role in the Kingdom, they also
perform different jobs in countries across the world, including working as
sailors. The are known for their professionalism and quality of their work.
Nobody here can think of a life without Filipinos, who make up around 20
percent of the world’s seafarers. There are 1.2 million Filipino sailors.
So if Filipinos decide one day to stop working or go on strike for any
reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across the world?
We can only imagine the disaster that would happen.
What makes Filipinos unique is their ability to speak very good English and
the technical training they receive in the early stages of their education.
There are several specialized training institutes in the Philippines,
including those specializing in engineering and road maintenance.
This training background makes them highly competent in these vital areas.
When speaking about the Philippines, we should not forget Filipino nurses.
They are some 23 percent of the world’s total number of nurses. The
Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing colleges and institutions
from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each year. Many of them work abroad
in countries such as the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.
Cathy Ann, a 35-year old Filipino nurse who has been working in the Kingdom
for the last five years and before that in Singapore, said she does not
feel homesick abroad because “I am surrounded by my compatriots everywhere.”
Ann thinks that early training allow Filipinos to excel in nursing and
other vocations. She started learning this profession at the age four as
her aunt, a nurse, used to take her to hospital and ask her to watch the
work. “She used to kiss me whenever I learned a new thing. At the age of
11, I could do a lot. I began doing things like measuring my grandfather’s
blood pressure and giving my mother her insulin injections.” She said.
This type of early education system is lacking in the Kingdom. Many of our
children reach the university stage without learning anything except
boredom.
The Philippines, which you can barely see on the map, is a very effective
country thanks to its people. It has the ability to influence the entire
world economy.
We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but
also by learning from their valuable experiences.
We should learn and educate our children on how to operate and maintain
ships and oil tankers, as well as planning and nursing and how to achieve
perfection in our work. This is a must so that we do not become like
Muhammad Al-Maghrabi who lost his interest and appetite when Filipino
workers left his flower shop.
We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around
us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.
(almaghlooth@alwatan.com.sa)
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