Filipino workers in Kazakhstan are safe and so far, no one was reported hurt, although a number were “traumatized” having witnessed the violence during the chaotic anti-government protests during the past few days.
“A number of Filipinos witnessed a lot of violence in Almaty (capital of Kazakhstan),” Philippine Chargé d’Affaires and Consul General to Moscow Robert Ferrer told the BusinessMirror in a video call interview.
“They saw people being beaten up. Some saw automatic rifles being fired. They are really traumatized.”
There is no Philippine embassy or Consulate in Almaty, but the Philippine Embassy in Moscow exercises jurisdiction over the former Soviet satellite. Moscow is 3,915 kilometers away from Almaty, which would take more than four hours to get by plane.
The Embassy estimates there are 800 -1,000 Filipinos working in Kazakhstan, many of them undocumented as the country allowed the Filipinos to enter the Central Asian country without visas before the pandemic. The number could have increased to 1,500 in the past two years during the pandemic.
Around 50 percent of these Filipinos are domestic helpers, while the rest are oil and gas workers, mining workers and English as Secondary Language teachers.
A nationwide state of emergency has been declared in Kazakhstan as demonstrators who decry the steep increase in oil prices became increasingly violent. The government said nearly 8,000 were arrested, 2,000 injured during the past several days of violence last week.
Ferrer said Filipinos in Almaty experienced inconvenience as food and water supplies have become scarce. They can still be contacted via WhatsApp and mobile phones although Internet and power supply were limited.
The Embassy has not hoisted any alert level for evacuation contingency. However, they have already advised Filipinos to prepare for possible evacuation in case the violence has become more uncontrollable. This includes identifying which roads are accessible and that can lead them out of conflict areas, the safest route to the airport, update their phone numbers and other contact details to the Embassy, search for alternative connection lines in case telecommunications were shut down, and keep themselves abreast on the latest news from official Kazakh government offices as well as other sources.
“Sa kabila ng mga nangyayari sa bansang Kazakhstan, nais naming paalalahanan ang lahat na manatiling kalmado, maingat at mapagmatyag,” the Embassy said in its advisory dated January 6.
The Embassy has asked Filipino community leaders to get in touch with their members and seek their cooperation.
“Pakiusap ay iwasan po ninyo na makilahok sa mga pagtitipon at pagpupulong na may kinalaman sa pampulitikang sitwasyon ngayon sa Kazakhstan, at kung kinakailangan, ay makipag-ugnayan at makipagtulungan sa inyong mga employers at awtoridad,” the Embassy added.