April 01, 2011 Friday
We had a head count after boarding the tourist bus, we were 42 in all. About half a kilometer away from the Tunisian border, we saw the "Tent City" which houses the refugees from other African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Chad, etc.).We were told that the UN is the one supporting them because their own government has shown indifference to their plight. The DFA official said that if we compare our situation with them, we would know how fortunate we are. After a five-hour ride to the island resort of Djerba, we traversed a single road constructed in the middle of the sea and connecting the island to the mainland. It was beautiful!
When we reached Djerba, we were divided into sub-groups and were assigned to pension houses which the OWWA staff rented for us. I was grouped with two Muslim ladies, Shafira and Sameera, who worked as domestic helpers in Tripoli. It was the first time that I learned that there were Pinoy domestic helpers in Libya. Having them as my roommates was a blessing, I didn't need to lift a finger. Shafira was the one who chose our room, and she was pleased to tell me that she chose the room with television. She also complained to Ron and Mario (OWWA staff) that the blankets provided to us by the landlady were dusty so they bought new blankets for us. They also gave us provisions for the night : mineral water, rice, canned tuna, noodles, coffee, sugar, laundry and dish washing detergents.
Shafira was really a character. She spoke Arabic fluently because she had worked in several Arab countries for 17 years already (Oman, UAE, Qatar, and the last two years, in Libya). She must have been a very good worker because her employers (whose family was already in London at that time) sent her money in the Philippines (She was discussing the transaction with them on the phone that's why we knew about it.). Her muder (boss) also asked her when she would join them in London because they would send her the plane ticket. (Isn't that something!) Shafira was very happy when she learned that I was an English teacher in college. She said that I had the highest rank in our group and felt proud that I was her roommate. She requested me to help her in the documentation. She confessed that she only finished third grade but her documents state that she's a high school graduate. My encounter with Shafira gave a new meaning to my flight from Libya. I now realized why I wasn't able to join last Saturday's batch. This comes to my mind every time Shafira sits beside me with a form to be filled up. God is really good ...all the time.
There were eight of us in the pension house : two female nurses, an engineer who worked as a supervisor in a cement factory, another engineer who worked with telecommunication, and Bong, the most popular in the group. (He is popular among Filipinos in Libya because he sold Filipino food outside the Catholic Church on Fridays; he's also a natural comedian.). Aside from the provisions which the OWWA people gave us on our first night, we were also given 12 Tunisian dinar each, to cover our meal allowance for two days. We agreed to pull our money together and buy everything we need for the next two days. Bong, the two nurses, and one of the engineers did the marketing while the rest of us watched television. When they arrived, they gave each of us four dinar change. Bong volunteered to cook, Shafira and Sameera washed the dishes. What did I do? Well, I just "supervised" them in what they did and "inspired" them with my presence (This one's a joke!).
At about 9:00 PM, Ron and Mario came with our passport and flight schedule. They said that it was the UN who booked us for our flight. Since we would be using commercial planes, they were not able to book all of us altogether. Only 20 would be going ahead and it was done alphabetically to facilitate the process. Three from our group were included in the first batch: Janice, one of the nurses; Shafira, and me. Ron said that our batch was the fastest group to be booked among all the repatriates. Others before us stayed in Djerba from 3-7 days before proceeding to their flight back to the Philippines. We were asked to prepare at once because we would be leaving at 10:00 PM that very night, taking an eight-hour bus ride to the Tunis airport. Shafira was very happy that we would leave together. She said that she really prayed hard for it. I said : "God is really good. He answered your prayer."
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