Filipino family in Sudan walked 5 km to escape war zone

A Filipino family with young kids braved their way through the battlefield and headed towards the Egyptian border by foot in order to escape war-torn Sudan.

In JP Soriano's report on “24 Oras” on Thursday,  Anthony Lucas — one of the 74 repatriates to arrive back in the Philippines —  said he, his wife, and their three children left their residence and walked at least five kilometers to get out of the war zone.

“Inside the battlefield naglakad talaga kami para lang makalabas dun sa mismong war zone. So nagkalakad kami for like five kilometers kami ng mga bata ,” said Lucas.

(We walked inside the battlefield to get out of the war zone. It’s about five kilometers.)

He said they had to be careful and took cover to avoid being dragged into the crossfire.

“Ongoing ‘yung bombing tsaka yung gunfire. 'Yung artillery medyo heavy.  Hindi kami dapat kabahan hindi kami dapat matakot kasi may mga bata...Kailangan malakas kami para hindi ma trauma ang mga bata,” he added.

(The bombings and gunfire were ongoing. The artillery was also heavy. We really tried not to be scared for our kids. We needed to be strong so they would not be traumatized.)

More than 300 Filipinos have entered Egypt according to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Arnell Ignacio. Over 100, meanwhile, have fled Sudan but have yet to cross the border.

“Ang magandang balita, wala na tayong pinoproblema na delikado sa Khartoum. Nakuha na natin,” said Ignacio.

(The good news is, there are no stranded victims in Khartoum. We’ve evacuated them.)

All repatriates from Sudan will receive P100,000 worth of financial assistance from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the OWWA.

Meanwhile, DMW Secretary Susan Ople said several employers from the US and Saudi Arabia expressed interest in employing the displaced overseas Filipino workers.

"There are employers in the US and also in the cruise ship industry and in Saudi Arabia that are very much interested and would like to see the profiles of our workers from Sudan," she said.—Sundy Locus/LDF, GMA Integrated News