It’s inspiring to read about Novelita Perez, an OFW in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, who suffered a stroke and racked up a P2.4 million hospital bill, yet still managed to get reunited with her family through the help of fellow OFWs there.
Novelita Perez is a 45 year-old resident of Caloocan City who suffered a stroke while she was in the process of obtaining her exit visa during the Saudi Government’s crackdown against illegal foreign workers.
Perez, a household service worker, was brought to the Jeddah National Hospital (JNH) “where she was cared for by the mostly Filipino staff,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“The Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Jeddah, with assistance from JNH doctors Grace Gonzales and Alex Tan, successfully negotiated for a substantial reduction in her hospital bill,” DFA said.
Perez was flown back to the Philippines and reunited with her family on March 2, it said. The PCG in Jeddah has repatriated 4,231 undocumented OFWs as of January 23, 2014 since the crackdown began.
OFW Stats
- The PCG repatriated at least 4,167 Filipinos in 2013.
- Saudi Arabia deported 1,197 deported 2012.
- Based on December 2012 records of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there are over 1.2 million permanent, temporary, and irregular Filipinos in Saudi Arabia.
- Saudi Arabia is the top deployment destination for OFWs with 330,040 new hires and rehires deployed in 2012, according to data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
- The number of OFWs deployed to Saudi Arabia has grown steadily every year with 316,736 in 2011, 293,049 in 2010, 291,419 in 2009, and 273,933 in 2008.
Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net
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