Manila (dpa) – Thousands of Filipinos working in Syria have refused to return home despite escalating violence in the Middle East state, the Philippines' foreign secretary said Wednesday. There are an estimated 10,000 Filipinos in Syria, where a government crackdown on protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad has left more than 5,000 people dead, according to UN estimates. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who visited Syria on the weekend, said most Filipinos were afraid they would face unemployment if they returned home. “Oddly enough, not a single one of the Filipinos I spoke with wanted to be repatriated because of the lack of economic opportunities in the Philippines,” he said in Manila. The Philippine government two weeks ago ordered the repatriation of its citizens from Syria due to the violence. So far, only 200 Filipinos have volunteered to return home, bringing to 1,000 the number that have returned since March. Del Rosario said he spoke with Syrian authorities to help the reach out to other Filipinos in conflict areas where diplomats were not allowed to visit. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/qLb4k Tags: Filipinos, Philippines, Violence Section: East Asia, Latest News, Syria
