A Sudanese suddenly got emotional upon seeing his Filipina wife and three daughters who were able to escape the ongoing civil war in Sudan. Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople on Monday shared with the media the story and photos of the family who happily reunited in a hotel in Cairo, Egypt after a weeklong travel from Sudan. ‘Kaya nga sa tingin namin sa DMW, mahalaga na intact ang family (that is why for us in DMW, it is important that the family is intact). Family is always a top priority even in time of crisis and war,’ Ople said. ‘Nakakaiyak yung video nung nagkita na sila (the video of them reuniting is just too emotional),’ she added. Ople said Hassan I. Ali Hamed who is married to a Filipina, Evelyn Ali Hamed, shared the same fate and stories with overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who opted to leave the Philippines just to support their families. ‘Ali Hamed has been an overseas worker in UAE since 1975. He is now connected at Darwish bin Ahmad Co. as an office controller from 2019 to the present. He met his wife in UAE. She was then working at a sales company. They got married in 2004,’ Ople narrated. She said that in 2005, the couple visited the Philippines and spent a year in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, Evelyn’s hometown. They have been blessed with three beautiful daughters, Bothina, Maryam and Jehan. After their vacation in the Philippines, the family decided to stay in Sudan. Hassan, however, still needs to work overseas to support his family. Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Hassan went back to Sudan in 2021 to ensure the safety of his family. Little did he know that that would be the last vacation he would spend with his family in Sudan. When he heard about the Sudan crisis, bombed houses and the impossibility of entering his country, Ali Hamid cannot do anything but cry and pray for the safety of his family. With the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, the DMW team and other individuals, the family of Hassan is now safe after a weeklong trip, together with other OFWs who reached the border of Agreen, Egypt. Ople said when Evelyn finally informed his husband that they are now in Cairo, Egypt and Hassan immediately took the first flight on Sunday from UAE. On Sunday evening, Hassan finally met his family at the Royal Marshal Hotel and promised not to leave his family again. He thanked the efforts of Ople and the DMW for the assistance extended to his family and for bringing them safely to Cairo. On Sunday, a seven-bus convoy from the Egypt border facility arrived at the Oasis Hotel in Cairo. They were welcomed by Ople, Undersecretary Hans Cacdac and other DMW personnel. ‘All 340 will soon be flying home courtesy of DMW-OWWA,’ Ople said.

Source: Philippines News Agency