Horror in Riyadh



THE HORRIFIC BOMBINGS of four compounds in Riyadh on Monday night, in which three Filipinos have died so far and another 14 were injured, were in the planning for some time.

The United States government had been warning for weeks that Americans should be extra cautious in the Kingdom because a terrorist attack was imminent. That was the best it could do. As we all know, determined terrorists can foil even the best security in the world. Despite this, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal admitted in interviews on Wednesday that security around the four attacked compounds had not been good enough.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's insensitive remarks on Wednesday that Filipino casualties in the war on terror were to be expected with the deployment of millions of Filipino workers around the globe, highlighted the shortcomings of the Philippine government when it comes to helping its own citizens.

Among the three Filipino victims of the Riyadh bombings, was Rogelio Pababero, 61, of Lucena City, Quezon. His family learned of his grisly death not from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as they should have done, but directly from Rogelio's supervisor in Riyadh through a phone call. That in itself could easily be overlooked, as OWWA was probably not getting information fast enough from Riyadh, considering the mayhem and chaos the bombings caused. But the fact remains that a full 24 hours after the bombings, the Pababero family complained to the Inquirer newspaper that they still hadn't received a call from OWWA informing them of Rogelio's death, or to tell them when his remains would be sent home.

The one thing that OWWA did get right was complaining about the slowness that Saudi authorities take in releasing the bodies of the deceased. OWWA Administrator Virgilio Angelo told the Inquirer that coordination with Saudi police would delay the repatriation of the bodies of the three Filipino victims. And not just by days, but perhaps by weeks. Tales abound in the past of bodies piling up at mortuaries across the country, until the cumbersome paperwork that our authorities require is filled in and signed. Which is a shame really, as many families need to bury the remains of their loved ones before they begin to recover from the grieving.

Many commentators have said that the terrorists behind Monday's Riyadh bombings should be hunted down mercilessly and killed. But will that really solve the problem of Al-Qaeda terror? I don't think so. The continued US occupation of Iraq, the ongoing killing of both innocent Palestinians and Israelis, a lack of political expression in Gulf countries, rising unemployment and widespread corruption all fuel the people who join hands with the Al-Qaeda terrorists. All the hand wringing in the world will not solve this growing problem. We must begin making reforms at home and creating a playing field where those who previously felt excluded and neglected now feel included and part of the governing process.

Blaming all of our problems on the United States, Israel or other outside forces is absurd and should stop.

All the increased security in the world will never be enough to stop determined and crazed terrorists. The best way to ensure our safety and that of foreigners in the Kingdom is to co-opt the forces of terror by giving them access to education, jobs and political expression. This is the only way that the beast of terror will be tamed.

SARS tit for tat

THE ONGOING Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome crisis has produced some rather silly tit for tat retaliatory measures. First it was Libya banning the hiring of Filipino workers about a month ago, when the Philippines had three suspected SARS cases. Now, Kuwait and Bahrain have also temporarily stopped hiring Filipinos because of the SARS scare.

When nearly every country in the world issued travel advisories to its citizens warning them not to travel to southern China, Hong Kong, Singapore, or Taiwan, seeing as they were at the epicenter of the SARS outbreak, none of these countries could really complain about it, as it was true. Thousands of people had been infected with SARS, and the disease was spreading fast in densely populated urban areas. Now in a truly silly tit-for-tat fashion, Singapore and Taiwan have both issued travel advisories telling their citizens to avoid travel to the Philippines because of the ten suspected SARS cases there.

But wait, the story doesn't stop there! Singapore, its economy dependent in a major way on tourism, has desperately tried to get Filipino journalists to go on all-expenses paid luxury junkets to the city-state. They've been snubbed by and large by Pinoy writers for the simple reason that just a few months ago when the Singaporeans invited journalists to see their country the accommodations were not as luxurious as they are now. Exacting revenge for the Philippine travel advisory, is also part of the reason why Filipino journalists have declined the invitations to Singapore.

Silly or not, I understand why Filipino journalists have politely declined to visit Singapore. With the SARS outbreak not fully over, Singapore, Hong Kong and China are not at the top of my must-visit list.

Speaking of Singapore and SARS, an official from Singapore Airlines e-mailed me after reading my column last week and asked that I clarify that the airline is destroying the cushions and carpeting surrounding the seat of any passenger found to be SARS-infected ONLY after the aircraft has landed and all passengers have disembarked. When describing this policy I was only quoting from a SARS bulletin that this official himself had sent me, but do apologize if my wording led to any confusion.

Comments or questions? E-mail the author at manilamoods@hotmail.com. Visit the author's website at http://www.manilamoods.com to read past columns.