DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Filipinos’ Bayanihan spirit for which they are best known for, next to their hospitality, once again took center stage over the weekend as the community came together to provide relief in the form of groceries and used clothes to 12 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and a two-year-old boy who were left with no place to stay after a fire razed their home in Satwa at daybreak on Thursday, Sept. 24.
Gina Fe Sanico, sales and marketing executive who was among fire victims, said they were not expecting the response to their social media distress call to be so quick. She said up to 20 organizations sent goods within 24 hours after the incident.
And so, there were so much help that the victims had to post on their Facebook page that they already have more than enough and actually have some more to give to the needy.
“Hindi po namin ine-expect,” said Sanico, the victims’ spokesperson.
“Nuong una kasi, naka-private lang ang setting ng post and then, on urging of our friends, ginawa naming public ang setting. Wala pang one day, kumalat agad. Nagkaruon ng 5,000 shares,” she added.
She said Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes also called her to check on them. “Si Congen mismo tumawag sa akin. Tinanong nya kung may mga passports na nasunog at kung ano ang kailangan namin,” Sanico said.
Interviewed, the consul general said the swift response from the community was “a manifestation of the close coordination between the consulate and the Filipino community.”
“I immediately called them up and asked them what their immediate needs were and I coordinated with the Filipino community leaders to extend quick humanitarian assistance to the Filipino victims of the fire,” Cortes told GMA News Online.
“In cases where Filipinos are victims to fires or any disaster such as this, we contact the people directly involved and liaise with the Filipino community so that we can provide maximum assistance as possible. This is a manifestation of the close coordination between the consulate, its officials, and the Filipino community leaders and volunteers in extending whatever help our nationals may require,” he added.
Sanico said they shared the groceries with those who have been jobless or were on a no-work-no-pay set-up due to the pandemic.
“Ang laking blessing,” she said. “Nawalan kami pero doble-doble ang bumalik at naging blessing pa sa iba.”
Sanico said fire broke out at around 5am at their villa in Al Badaa, Satwa– which had four rooms with a common outdoor kitchen and a total of 20 occupants renting each room in groups; thirteen of them were Filipinos, including a two-year-old boy.
She said fire started from an electrical outlet to which a microwave was plugged in. The fire quickly spread, causing one of the gas tanks to explode, according to her.
Sanico thanked the Dubai Fire and Rescue Department for swiftly responding to her distress call. “Tumawag ako ng 5:13am. Dumating sila bandang 5:24am,” she said.
Sanico, who hails from Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, said her balikbayan box, which was supposed to be shipped soon for her loved ones in the Philippines in time for Christmas, was also razed. “Sabi ko sa kanila (relatives in the Philippines), pass muna ako kasi nasunog yung padala ko,” she said.
Sanico said their next door neighbors woke them up as the fire was blazing, saving them from being trapped because their room was next to a dead end.
In their haste, she said, they ran without flipflops or slip-ons and with only the clothes on their back. “Ang iniisip lang naming ay isalba ang sarili naming kasi anytime pwedeng sumabog yung isa pang tangke ng gas na mas malaki,” Sanico said.
According to Sanico, the groups that immediately responded to the fire victims’ cry for help were Kalayaan 2020; Pinas Express Cargo; Kabayan Barter; Triskelion Dubai Chapter; AKRHO Dubai; CFC Dubai; Dubai Bikers; Stop & Help; Sunrise 315 Karama; Food Bank UAE; CIASI Group Dubai; Ortigas Restaurant; Holy Shirt; Pinoy Bayanihan Community; RNB Ladies Salon; Dubai Badminton Group; Emy Luxuryshop; representatives from the British and south African Community; Mosaic Church and World Revival International Church.
Sanico said a Lebanese national, Shirad Sahaladdin also donated gas tanks for cooking. The fire victims, as of this posting, were huddled in a temporary shelter.
The Daily Bread 