The Cambodia-Philippine Journey Home

My journey in coming back to the Philippines started even before the lock downs begun. I went to Cambodia early February this year to renew our visa. My return flight was March 20 and I was supposed to stay in the Philippines for an indefinite time to take care of some family matters. Our visa is free and I needed to renew it. Hence, even if I would stay in the Philippines indefinitely, I still renewed my Cambodian visa.

Our visa was released on March 17, after the lockdowns. Hence I was forced to stay with my husband in Cambodia. The Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh arranged for a repatriation trip in March. I applied and was approved. However, I begged off for fear of catching the virus. Next came another repatriation trip, I applied and was approved once more. Then I begged off for the same reason. 

I was getting bored in Cambodia but that would be a good entry in a different article.

My trip finally pushed through in July 23 together with 88 others. We took the Cambodian Angkor Air from Phnom Penh to Manila. We were given 20 kg luggage allowance. I wanted to buy more luggage but the cost was way beyond my reason. So I stick with 20 kg and 7 kg carry on. I brought with me basic toiletries knowing that we will be quarantined for more than 14 days. I even brought detergent. The toiletries took up a lot of my luggage. I have sufficient clothes as long as I wash them regularly.

July 23, 2020

We arrived Manila at 3:30am through NAIA Terminal 2. We were immediately directed to the briefing area where the Philippine Coast Guard led the orientation on the next steps. We were made sure to have registered at the Red Cross page for returning OFWs to get our QR code. Afterwhich, we got our QR code stamps from a booth. Then we got our Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) swab test. Both nostrils and the throat were swabbed. It did not hurt but it was uncomfortable. My eyes were the ones that complained. My tears were bitter (I dunno the better term).

Orientation by the Philippine Coast Guard.

After the swabbing we got our luggage then we queued at an OWWA kiosk to check where our hotel accommodation would be.

OWWA kiosk for hotel assignment.

We were brought to a bus that would take us to I’m Hotel in Makati where we will stay while waiting for our swab test result. According to the PCG, it would take at most 72 hours. We had to wait for an hour at the bus. I guess they were waiting for more passengers from other countries – repatriated Filipinos as well. It was a good time to catch sleep.  We finally left for the hotel at a little past 7am. The hotel is at the corner of Makati and Kalayaan Avenue in Makati. A 5-star hotel according to google search. They have an Onsen Spa. They have been closed since the start of the lock down but was later identified as a quarantine facility for OFWs. According to the guard, they were just informed of our arrival the night before. This meant we had to wait for another hour outside of the hotel – all tired, hungry and messy. In other words – HANGRY. The hotel staff would not let us in because the rooms were not yet ready. One of us requested that we be allowed to stay in their function room where we could rest and use the toilets. This worked.

The hotel was not ready for us.

Where is social distancing here?

 

I finally got to my own room on the 20^th floor overlooking the South side of Makati. I could see Pasig River and the Makati City Hall (I presumed). It was a corner room so I got good view on two sides. I liked my room. The bed was comfy as well. I had a smart TV.

My room at I'm Hotel,Makati City.

July 27, 2020

I got my negative results on July 27^th, Monday through email. I praise God for the negative result. I thought we would be fetched for the airport on that same day. But, according to the front desk, because of the bulk of repats, the shuttle bus will not be available to pick us up until the following day. So I had to change back to my house clothes. In fact, I decided to wash some more clothes.

July 28, 2020

We were fetched from our hotel after lunch and arrived at the airport around 2:30 in the afternoon. After filling up a form, we had to write our name according to what our final airport destination – mine would be Dumaguete. I left my passport with the Coast Guard on duty at the counter. Then we wait. I later realized it was for the printing of our RP-PCR Test. Then slowly each destination was called and people queued to go to the other side of the airport and wait for check in. 

Waiting for our printed copy of the RP_PCR Test.

 

In the check in area, we had to wait again. A certain Department of National Defense Undersecretary who was also a member of the IATF did a briefing about the process. What I liked with what he said was that whatever we find in our respective LGUs, we just have to make do with it and be considerate. The government is doing its best to take care of the OFWs. There are just too many to handle but even with more that 1k people sent to the provinces per night, things are still way behind the target of getting Filipinos in distress back to the Philippines. I liked what he said. We are all in this together. There is no point of complaining. I would rather focus on being grateful, patient and joyful.

Finally, we got boarded the plane at 11pm together with the group for Iloilo and Bohol who got to be dropped first, respectively.There were 15 of us for Negros Oriental through the Dumaguete (Sibulan Airport). Four women and 11 men.

July 29, 2020

We arrived Dumaguete at 2:50am. Our carry ons were sanitized before we were allowed into the arrival area. There, we had to register our names and address once again. Then we claimed our luggage and proceeded to the bus provided by the Negros Oriental Provincial Government. The bus brought us to Hotel Essencia where we will be housed for 3 days. It was paid for by the Provincial Government. However, we had to share the room with another OFW. I got in first because of my grey hair. This really gets me special privileges and I don’t complain. Again, there was sanitizing before entering the hotel lobby. The front desk personnel were in full PPE and there was a plastic barrier between me and them.  It think that was good. We can never be too careful with this virus. The hotel receives OFWs almost everyday and they need to take every precautionary measure possible.

Registration at the Sibulan Airport.

 

Our room was in the 3^rd floor. Per persistent reminder from my daughter, I had to take a shower before I could hit the bed. I was already half asleep when my roommate came. I did not get to welcome her. We were too tired. I was even too tired to call front desk for the leak in the aircon which was directly above my head. I woke up at 8am and call front desk about the leak. We got transferred to the 7^th floor which was a huge blessing because I could see the sea from the window.

We were advised to go to the 5^th floor for our Rapid Test (blood) and take a monitoring form for our temperature. We were told to have our own thermometer.

Rapid test for newly arrived OFWs at Hotel Essencia, Dumaguete City.

 

Beth, my roommate was a 42-year old lady from Dubai. She worked in a salon and was there for just a year when the pandemic broke out. She was one of the almost 50 staff that were laid off. She had to come home. She shared that even the Philippine peso that she brought on her way to Dubai was spent while she was in quarantine in Manila because of some miscommunication in bringing them to NAIA 2 for their flight to Dumaguete. During the course of our conversation, I learned that her work was in massage and in nails. What a coincidence that I needed a massage. It would break protocols of social distancing but well, they put us in one room with one toilet. Massage or not, we would already infect each other if one of us has the virus. So, I got a very good massage that night. I slept for a good 9 hours that night. I gave her P1k for that which was pretty generous. She also forgot to bring her phone’s charger so she used mine to contact her family. She installed an app called Imo which they use in Dubai. It seemed popular in the Middle East because I can see Arabic characters in the home page.

Kim had to bring me some stuff like mug, knife, spoon and fork, laundry soap and thermometer.

July 30, 2020

First day of our quarantine. Nothing much happened. I had to request Pastor Venus to take over my Online Study Group because I scheduled a meeting with Randall, my boss, at the same time slot. Although Randall called a little later but it was good to be ready. Beth and I ordered halo-halo from the hotel’s cafeteria. Oh how I missed halo-halo.

Food  was good at Hotel Essencia. There was enough viand and way too much rice. In I’m Hotel, our rice was just like a half cup. It was a good way to diet. Not in Hotel Essencia. I had to call my son, Kean to claim my dinner because I was fasting. I think I was eating too much carbs.

 

 

July 31, 2020

I attended my Come Before Winter  and Old Testament online classes today. It was good to still be connected with the world albeit virtual. Our daily family altar also continues.

 

Aug 1, 2020

Today was our 3^rd day at Hotel Essencia. The 3^rd day of our 14-days quarantine. We were given 2 options:

1. Take the remaining 4 days at the Dumaguete City High School for free and with free food. They have converted the Gym into cubicles for the OFWs and LSIs. Toilet was common. Bad idea, I think.
   
2. Go to an accredited hotel to complete the remaining 4 days. This will be at my own expense.

Why “remaining 4 days”? This is because after the 4 days (7th day actually), depending on our temperature which they monitor daily, we can now continue at home and finish the remaining 7 days to complete the required 14 days.

Kim, beforehand, assured me that he will pay for my hotel so it was settled. I just informed the Dept of City Health gal to book me in a hotel that is cheap and has free wifi. I need wifi. It was my connection to the outside world. So I was brought to Grand Pension Plaza. I was again entertained first so I got to choose the room with a window at the topmost floor. Funny how I got degraded from a 5-star hotel in Makati, to a premium hotel and to a room with a small window and eventually to our home in Bantinguel where I would not have aircon in my room. Nonetheless, I need wifi.

I stayed at Grand Pension until Wednesday, Aug 5. Then I was brought to our rental house in Amihan, Bantinguel, Dumaguete City where Kim and Donna stays.

Kim brings me food. I have everything I need or at least I can just call out to Kim to bring me something.

As of this writing I am still on my 10th day of quarantine. I will finish strong on Thursday, August 14. My accommodation will actually be my permanent place of stay. I have the entire second floor. I have my own room, my own living room and a toilet. A huge window to my right gives me a glimpse of a wide grass field, Mt Talinis and the simplicity of life.

In all these things, I am forever grateful to God for using people and institutions to bring me home safely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jobless in Their Own Land

They came in military and dump truckloads. They came in bus. They came in pickups. They just keep coming. Thousands… Old men, young men, old women, babies, young girls and boys, nursing mothers. Oh, the sight was heart-crushing. 

This mass deportation is Thailand’s Martial Law government’s attempt to get rid of their country of undocumented migrant workers. Unofficial reports said these workers were given 10 days to go home to their own countries or they will be shot on sight. Now, who wouldn’t be on his feet to get out of there? Their bags showed that they didn’t have much time to pack their things. They took their valuables and boarded in government-provided vehicles where every space was optimized to accommodate these thousands of Cambodians fleeing Thailand.

Samaritan's Purse Cambodia was among the first to respond to the emergency. They set up a tent and gave out what was readily available in the stores - bread and water. Eventually as more people poured in, more relief goods (meal packs, noodles soup, hygiene kits, milk, juice, etc) also came in. While the people at the Poipet border roundabout were overwhelming, the help from private individuals was equally awesome. We could see private vehicles just came in bringing food. Churches and private organizations coordinate to provide manpower. Everybody has something to do to help.

It was also a good time to share the love of God through gospel tracts. I believe that while we do humanitarian efforts, the chance to share God's love through Jesus Christ through His Word is as important as the food we give. The tracts, however, were not given together with the food lest the help be construed negatively. They were distributed widely among the bystanders and given to those who were interested.

I am not really adept on the current political situation of Thailand aside from its being under Martial Law. But my mind keeps asking how does the Cambodian government react to this? Needless to say these people are illegal aliens and shouldn’t really be working in Thailand. But is the Cambodian government ready to provide these people jobs in their own country? And what happens to the businesses in Thailand that are suddenly crippled? How do these businessmen react to their government?

Right now people still keep pouring in. The Cambodian government has provided trucks to bring them to the provinces. I have no idea if these people have homes to go. But one thing is sure, they are jobless here for it was the very reason why they ventured into a foreign land.

From There to Here

I arrived Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam on 09 July, 2013 at 12:15 local time . Ptr Raul fetched me at the airport then we stayed in a guest house for $6/night. It was a comfortable room but the stairs were not so favorable to us as I had a huge luggage. The owner was so helpful as to carry it along the very narrow upclimb to the 5th floor. We had noodles in the nearby resto where so many young people, more foreigners than locals were drinking the night away. Then we took the 1pm bus from HCM to Phnom Penh (locals pronounce this as P-nom Pen).

On the bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Fare is $13 including snacks.
The bus had CR in it.

I had a nervous encounter with the Cambodian immigration officer at the Vietnam-Cambodia border. I needed to lay in all my fingers for their database. First are the fingers (forefinger to little finger) of the right hand, then the right thumb. Then you the left fingers, then the left thumb. I was supposed to wait until the color changed in the monitor but I missed it. So the officer said "fo finge" (in stern voice). I was sure he did not mean my fore finger so I asked if it was my thumb. He repeated "fo finge" (in irritated voice). I panicked. Why fore finger? Then Ptr Raul, who was behind me at the yellow line, said "your four fingers first". Ah "four fingers" not "forefinger". Ok got it. I thought I was going to be detained. The officer must have thought I was stupid not to know "fo finge".

Lunch with HLC Family

We arrived PP at 6:30 pm after an almost 6 hours bus drive. I was greeted with happy faces of the Pacha family. It was warm and no so shocking considering that everybody spoke our local dialect, Cebuano-Visayan.



This is a start of a new journey. An exciting one - a more focused one. I say more focused because I believe that God has been molding me in preparation for journey. I always used to think that I would only be a missions mobilizer. But alas, my efforts bore fruit when I was able to mobilized my very own husband. And so, being a submissive wife, I joyfully join him to the mission field. What can I say?

We are currently housed at the Hope Learning Center (HLC) in Chbar Ampov, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. It is a 3 storey concrete apartment. The ground floor is for the children's activities. The kitchen and the rest room is also there. The second floor which is more like a mezzanine floor is for the office. The 3rd floor is for the residence and private functions.

Nails tend to grow fast with children.

HLC was founded in 2000 by Rev. Samuel Pacha, a retired pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and is assisted by the Baptist Missionary Association of the Phils (BMAP). Assisted here means BMAP sponsors their visa as a NGO. Its ministries include educational assistance to Khmer children who are in the elementary and school levels, free lesson in the center (10-15 children come to the center from Tuesday - Saturday for the lessons), free breakfast and lunch for the children, bath, vitamins and medicines.  HLC's operations are funded by private individuals. It has two teachers, 1 cook and 1 tuktok driver. All are paid with a very meager honorarium.

Pastor Sam and family are in the Philippines right now for a 1.5 months furlough. We are here to help oversee the operations of the Center in their absence.