Pinoy workers ordered out of Afghanistan
By Michaela P. del Callar 10/01/2010Thousands of Filipino workers in Afghanistan stand to lose their jobs and could be sent back to the Philippines by the end of this year after the US government ordered the pullout of foreign workers from countries currently imposing a deployment ban to the Middle East state.
On Sept. 17, the US Central Command advised all contractors in Afghanistan to remove such third country nationals, including Filipinos, from the jobsites uponthe termination of their contracts this year and to repatriate them to their country of origin.
“Contractors in violation of third country laws should immediately make plans to repatriate these individuals,” a copy of the memorandum signed by Brig. Gen. Camille Nichols, commanding general of the US Centcom, said.
Contractors who will violate the US directive would result in contract termination or debarment from future US government contracts..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20101001hed6.html
2 comments:
Xe Services (formerly known as Blackwater) is once again in the news, thanks to charges made by two former employees. Blackwater officials kept a Filipino prostitute on the company payroll for a US State Department contract in Afghanistan, and billed the government for her time working for Blackwater male employees in Kabul. The alleged prostitute’s salary was categorized as part of the company’s “Morale Welfare Recreation” expenses. The Davis’ charges have not yet been proved or disproved.
It may be sad to say but, given the history of sexual activities and some private contractors, the use of a female prostitutes in Afghanistan is rampant. The males are acting as Papasangs and forcing the females into sex acts. Someone needs to help thes girls.
Okay, this is a tragedy of the highest magnitude and I want to know who’s going to pay for this. These deaths could have been prevented if only for the fact these Pinoys should have never been in the country in the first place. Yes, we all know the risks but unfortunately people from a Third World Country don’t have the same concepts of values at do the Westerners when it comes to risk management. We lost several people who but all rights, should not have been in the country. I hope they sue the Karzai Government and the USG. We did nothing about it because of the bottom dollar.
“A cargo plane contracted by a US-based company crashed into mountains east of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, with initial reports saying all eight people aboard were killed, an Afghan airport official said. In the Philippines, a radio report said that six of the eight people aboard were Filipinos. The other two are Kenyan and Indian. But the Department of Foreign Affairs is still verifying the report.
The plane was flying from Bagram Air Field, the main US military base in Afghanistan, when it went down east of the capital Tuesday about 8 p.m. (1530 GMT), Kabul Airport Director Mohammad Yaqub Rassuli told The Associated Press.
An Associated Press photographer near the scene saw wreckage ablaze on a hillside. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known. Weather conditions were clear Tuesday evening. Rassuli said all eight crew members were believed dead, although North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Afghan troops were continuing with their search-and-rescue mission. “We’re still hoping to find survivors,” said NATO spokesman James Judge. “We’re still searching.” The aircraft took off from Bagram, which lies about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kabul, but its destination was unclear.
The plane owned by United Arab Emirates-based TransAfrik was under contract by the US-based company National Air Cargo, Judge said.
“The company has confirmed that a TransAfrik L-100 aircraft flying from Bagram to Kabul went down shortly before 8 p.m.,” National Air Cargo said in a statement. “There were eight personnel onboard including one National employee. The status of the personnel on board and cause of the crash are unknown at this time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the crew and their families.” NATO said the crash occurred about 16 miles (30 kilometers) east of the Kabul International Airport.”
Again, why were these people on the plane in the first place. Why? They were being smuggled out of the country for a vacation on an unsafe aircraft. Because they are Filipinos they don’t have the same safeguards as other people. Some people are speculating they were actually being brought in the country to get in before the contracting ban. How does the USG justify the deaths of innocents who should not have been in the country in the first place? This is just a horrible tragedy and I think someone needs to answer some questions.
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