DFA TO PINOYS: STEER CLEAR OF EGYPT / CHARTER FLIGHTS FOR CANADIANS
[PHOTO - VIOLENT PROTESTS AGAINST PRESIDENT MUBARAK RULE IN EGYPT]
MANILA, JANUARY 31, 2011 (MALAYA) BY GERARD NAVAL - THE Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday warned Filipinos against non-essential travel to Egypt where protests over the 30-year authoritarian rule of President Hosni Mubarak turned violent over the weekend.
There are 6,569 Filipinos in Egypt, mostly in Cairo and Alexandria, including professionals and students, according to DFA records.
No Filipino has been reported killed or hurt in the violent protests "and there is no imminent danger to their lives," said the DFA.
It placed on standby a P25-million fund in case there is a need for an emergency evacuation.
In a statement after an inter-agency crisis management committee meeting, the DFA said it decided to issue a travel advisory "which urges Filipinos who have plans to proceed to Egypt to defer non-essential and non-urgent travels, notably for tourism purposes, until the security situation has stabilized."
The embassy in Cairo advised Filipinos there to stay indoors, steer clear of public places, especially the protest sites.
The DFA said it is sending additional personnel to assist the 20-person staff of the embassy in Cairo. This is aside from the earlier deployment of Special Assistant Enrico Fos of the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs and special envoy Roy Cimatu.
A 24-hour hotline (No. 834-4580) was set up by the DFA for Filipinos who would like to inquire about their relatives in Egypt.
The inter-agency meeting was attended by Overseas Workers Welfare Administration administrator Carmelita Dimzon, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration deputy administrator Noriel Devanadera, and senior officials from the Department of Labor and Employment, the National Security Council, and the Office of the President.
Migrante-Middle East asked the government to initiate evacuation operations.
"Under this uncertain and deteriorating peace and order situation in Egypt, it is wise and prudent to prepare now and start evacuating our fellow OFWs and Filipinos out of Egypt," said Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona.
He said other countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Jordan are preparing to evacuate their citizens.
Tens of thousands have taken part in the demonstrations in Cairo, Suez, Alexandria and other cities.
The protests started Tuesday last week, with at least 25 protesters and policemen killed, while at least 750 policemen and 1,500 protesters have been wounded in clashes.
Hundreds have been reported among the tens of thousands protesters who are complaining about unemployment, inflation and corruption.
CANADIAN NEWS
Ottawa offers charter flights as Canadians urged to leave Egypt By Mike De Souza, Postmedia News
[PHOTO - Passengers crowd the departures area at the Cairo International airport on January 30, 2011, as Egyptians across the nation take to the streets for the sixth straight day calling on the resignation of their long-term president Hosni Mubarak.Photograph by: Michel Moutot, AFP]
OTTAWA — Charter flights arranged by the federal government will start flying Canadians out of the chaos that has swept Egypt as early as Monday.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon announced details of the flights Sunday evening in Ottawa, on the heels of similar action taken earlier in the day by the United States and other countries.
"The situation is deteriorating," Cannon said. "It is not under control."
He said Canadians would be flown to Europe, but would have to sign a contract promising to reimburse the government for the cost of their flight out of Egypt.
"Canadian citizens who travel on arranged transport will be expected to make their own onward travel plans from these locations."
Violent protests swept through the streets of Egypt for a sixth day Sunday, and Canadians trapped in the country had been asking just what their government was doing to help them.
There are believed to be about 5,500 Canadians in Egypt.
Cannon on Sunday night urged those seeking flights to contact the Canadian embassy in Cairo or the emergency operations centre in Ottawa, he said.
"We continue to call on the Egyptian government to state its commitment to strengthening democracy, consultation, dialogue and co-operation," Cannon said. "We urge the Egyptian government to accelerate the pace of democratic and economic reforms and listen to the aspirations of the Egyptian people."
During the riots, the death toll has climbed to more than 100 people, as Egyptians continue to call for democratic and economic reforms, as well as the ouster of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.
Marie-Claude Vigneault said she had been trying to reach Canadian embassy officials for six days since deadly protests began last week.
She said local police have been nowhere in sight. And while her friends from other countries — such as France, Mexico and the United Kingdom — have all been in touch with local consular officials, Vigneault said she had not received a single response from the Canadian embassy or government officials.
"I almost feel ashamed to be Canadian," said Vigneault, who moved to Egypt from Quebec City eight years ago. "We were not even able to contact Ottawa. The emergency number doesn't work."
The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged Canadians in Egypt to "consider leaving if their presence is not necessary."
The United States and Iraq have also told their citizens to evacuate and offered flights to take them home to safety.
Vigneault said that when she called the embassy, she was put on hold and eventually transferred to Ottawa with no response.
After waiting on hold for 20 minutes, she said she ran out of credit to make calls, spending more than $100 with no one to speak to on the other end of the line.
Dan McTeague, the Liberal party's critic for consular affairs, said the government's reaction to helping Canadians in Egypt has been "extremely concerning."
"One would have hoped and thought that a number of contingency plans would have been revealed by now. As a result, it would appear that Canadians' lives could be in jeopardy," he said.
"This is a very serious matter and it's troubling that the only time the government appears to react is if other nations do so. Canadians are having to fend for themselves without response from the government and now it might be a little too late," he said.
Vigneault, whose husband passed away in December, said she has been getting more help from the locals in Egypt who know that she is now a widow. Her mother arrived to visit her from Quebec City at the beginning of the month and is still with her at an apartment in the suburban neighbourhood of Maati, south of downtown Cairo.
In contrast, she said one of her friends from France was contacted by the French consular officials who explained the situation and how to prepare for a possible evacuation.
Vigneault said she has heard gunshots and machine guns firing in recent days around her block and has tried to avoid going outside. But she said the situation has stabilized over the past day, mainly because the locals are now carrying guns, knives or blunt objects to protect themselves.
Although the military has been brought in to restore the security on the streets, she said they simply don't have the numbers to stop all the vandalism, looting and violence on the streets downtown
Even in some historic sites such as Saqqara — an ancient burial ground site about 30 kilometres south of Cairo that is the site of the step pyramid of Djoser, built nearly 5,000 years ago — she said that she has spoken to someone who works in the area and is seeing looting and vandalism in the museum, as well as the site itself.
"There is no more security there," she said.
Meanwhile, she was able to buy some groceries at the beginning of the weekend and has supplies to last her for about two weeks. Many basic items are becoming very expensive, she said.
"There's almost nothing left in the grocery store," she said.
Early on Sunday evening, she said a friend of hers from Quebec had finally heard from Canadian foreign affairs officials who said they were trying to reach her but got no response on her phone.
Vigneault said her Internet connection and mobile phones were initially cut off, but the phones are once again working again, allowing her to take calls from Postmedia News. With files from Carmen Chai, Postmedia News
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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