00:00Let's update on the situation of some OFWs in Lebanon that are still there despite the ongoing tensions.
00:06We will talk to Mayra Aragon, 20 years of OFW in Lebanon. Good morning and welcome to Balitang Hali.
00:12Good morning.
00:14Good morning to you and to us.
00:16Yes. How are you?
00:18How are you there? Where are you now?
00:20In these moments, are you still hearing explosions?
00:25Yes, there are still many. Explosions are coming one after another.
00:30There are still no ceaseless explosions here in Lebanon.
00:37But in my place, where I live, I am safe.
00:42Although, if there are explosions, we can hear them and we can also feel them.
00:49It's like there are earthquakes.
00:51It's like there are earthquakes.
00:53Yes.
00:55Why don't you join the repatriation? Did you register to go back to your country?
01:03So far, sir, not yet.
01:05Because here in our area, people are still earning.
01:11People are still able to go back to their work.
01:17Because the bombings, the target is precise.
01:21And before the bombings, they tell us what areas they will target.
01:29And they have already evacuated so that they won't get hurt.
01:33Where are you in Lebanon? Is there an area in the middle or near Israel, a part of Lebanon?
01:39No, we are not near Israel.
01:48And we are not in the area that is being targeted by Israel.
01:54But our concern now, because of the bombings,
02:01a lot of people have already evacuated to that area.
02:05And they are also going to our area.
02:09So it's becoming alarming because we don't know our neighbors anymore.
02:15So what we are afraid of, because wherever they run, the enemy can see them.
02:22And they will target them.
02:24For example, if it's an official from Hells Bowl who ran to our area,
02:30maybe they will target them and get hurt.
02:32But before the bombings, they are telling us to evacuate to that area, to that building, because we will bomb it.
02:43Have you already told our officials who are in charge in Lebanon about your fear?
02:50And will that be the evidence when the Hells Bowl members run there, that you will leave Lebanon?
02:57For now, sir, even if it's near our embassy, they already feel the bombings.
03:12Because the area that is being bombed by Israel is just close to our embassy.
03:27That's why they feel the bombings more.
03:34The sounds are louder there and the explosions.
03:38The temblor is like an intensity of 7 or 8 because of the bombings.
03:46But it's not the earthquake, sir.
03:48It's just the feeling of being bombed.
03:52So for you, you are still relatively safe.
03:54But your fear is that if the situation gets worse, you might not be able to go back to your area.
03:59Maybe it's up to you if you want to call your fellow countrymen.
04:03Maybe it's up to you if you want to call your fellow countrymen in the Philippines
04:07that you are still safe and if it gets dangerous, you plan to go back to the Philippines.
04:12It's up to you.
04:15Yes, sir.
04:17Yes, sir.
04:18I always talk to them.
04:20I always tell them that we are safe for now.
04:26We are still safe.
04:27Actually, my group cooks for the displaced migrants.
04:34Because here in Lebanon, unlike in Israel where there is a government,
04:39here in Lebanon, there is no working government.
04:42So there are no cases.
04:44Especially the migrants, they are just left behind.
04:47There are government-set evacuation centers, but the migrants are not accepted.
04:56The Filipinos are lucky because our Philippine Embassy is taking care of the Filipinos
05:02and the shelter of the Philippine Embassy is open.
05:05But the non-Filipinos, migrants, are literally sleeping on the streets
05:11because there is no shelter for the migrants.
05:14Okay.
05:15So they cook and distribute food.
05:19Yes.
05:20Well, good to know that up to that point, the spirit of Bayanihan is still alive in the Philippines
05:25and is still helping other countries.
05:27Thank you very much.
05:28Yes, sir.
05:29We are Filipinos.
05:30Yes.
05:31Thank you very much.
05:33Ginang Mayra Aragon.
05:34Yes.
05:35Yes.
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