More Thais to leave Libya for home next week

[Lite Beer]

More Thais to leave Libya for home next week
By Digital Content 

 

 

BANGKOK, Aug 2 -- The Philippines and Thailand have agreed to cooperate in evacuating their citizens staying in Libya, as more Thai workers are expected to return home next week, said Sihasak Puangketkeow, Permanent Secretary for Thai Foreign Affairs.

Mr Sihasak, the acting Foreign Affairs Minister, said he had discussed with the Philippine ambassador to Thailand on joint evacuation of workers of the two countries in Libya as there are now many Filipinos working in that country.

He said contact had been made with recruitment agencies, as three groups of Thai workers were scheduled to return home next week.

A total of 83 Thai workers are expected to leave Libya for Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, on Sunday while a second group comprising 10 workers will leave for Cairo, the capital of Egypt, next Monday and another group of 18 people will also leave for Cairo next Friday.

Requests have been made with the deputy foreign minister of Tunisia for a visa exemption for Thais transiting in Tunisia, said Mr Sihasak.

Meanwhile, eight Thai students arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport this afternoon after being evacuated from Libya with assistance from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

As Thais are gradually evacuated from Libya over safety concerns, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, leader of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) who is also army chief, gave orders to security agencies, including the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to provide assistance to Thais wishing to return home, said a spokesman of NCPO.

Gen Prayuth is monitoring the situation in Libya closely, the spokesman said. (MCOT online news)

 

[tna]2014-08-02[/tna]

[arjunadawn]

Thank goodness they are getting them out of there. The enlightened Arab Spring has clearly turned into a Hellish Winter. Thailand shows great leadership and protection of Her citizens by evacuating them. Bravo!

[Mudcrab]

Thank goodness they are getting them out of there. The enlightened Arab Spring has clearly turned into a Hellish Winter. Thailand shows great leadership and protection of Her citizens by evacuating them. Bravo!

As long as they haven't been up to no good whilst away. There are quite a few other nationalities in the middle east at present who will receive a less than warm welcome when trying to return to the "home" countries as indicated on their passport.

[catweazle]

Really interesting article...

[Lite Beer]

EVACUATION
Thailand, Manila join hands to evacuate of citizens in Libya
The Sunday Nation 
 

Students returning from war-ravaged Libya are welcomed by military officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday.

 

BANGKOK: -- Thailand and the Philippines have agreed to conduct joint evacuation of their citizens in Libya, Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Sihasak Puangketkeow said yesterday.

Sihasak, also the acting foreign minister, said that he had discussed with the Philippine ambassador to Thailand the joint evacuation of workers of the two countries living in Libya, the Thai News Agency reported yesterday.

There are many Filipinos working in war-ravaged Libya.

Sihasak said that more Thai workers were expected to return home this week. He said contact had been made with recruitment agencies, as three groups of Thai workers were scheduled to return home this week.

A total of 83 Thai workers are expected to leave Libya today for Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. A second group, comprising 10 workers, will leave for Cairo tomorrow while another group of 18 people will head for Cairo on Friday.

Department of Consular Affairs director-general Thongchai Chasawat said yesterday that Thais in Libya should be concerned about their safety and leave the country immediately.

Thongchai made the remarks after arriving in Tunis yesterday with officials from the Foreign and Labour ministries, in an effort to assist more Thais in Libya to evacuate to Tunisia and later leave for Thailand.

He met with the honorary Thai consul-general in Tunis to discuss how to assist Thais safely cross the border. Thongchai then travelled to Djerba in Tunisia, which is close to the Libyan border and where some Thai diplomats from Tripoli have been stationed to assist the process. He said a chartered flight would be arranged if enough Thais express their desire to return to the Kingdom.

Thongchai acknowledged that many Thais are still reluctant to leave but the Foreign Ministry's position is that they should leave Libya for the sake of their own safety. He said they should not be worried about the expenditure, as it would be covered by the ministries under a plan prepared with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). He urged relatives of Thais staying in Libya to contact them and convince them not to take further risk by staying on in Libya.

The remark came as eight Thai students from Libya arrived safely in Bangkok yesterday on Emirates Flight EK 384.

Afdol Pannoppa, a Thai student who is studying religion at an international university in Libya since last year, was amongst the evacuees who arrived. He said it was the first time in his life to be in a conflict zone and he had to stock up food and water as shops were opened only at certain hours due to the curfew.

The student said he stayed at a dormitory near the university in Tripoli and heard gunfire intermittently. Sometimes people shouted out as if a crackdown was happening followed by sounds of heavy artillery fire.

Afdol and a few fellow-Thai students were eventually contacted by the Thai Embassy in Tripoli and they decided to seek assistance to leave the country.

He said he wished to return to Libya if the situation returned to normal to continue his studies.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-Manila-join-hands-to-evacuate-of-citizens-30240107.html

 

[thenation]2014-08-03[/thenation]

[Somtamnication]

Sad state of affairs locally when Thais have to work in war zones rather than work at home. 

[tominbkk]

I think most of them are students.

[tomross46]

I think most of them are students.

What would they be studying, in Libya?  

[Mudcrab]

 

I think most of them are students.

What would they be studying, in Libya?  

 

Afdol Pannoppa, a Thai student who is studying religion at an international university in Libya 

[khunken]

I think most of them are students.

 

Only a few are. The Op describes most of them as 'workers'.

 

Actually the number of Thais is tiny compared to the number of Filipinos who basically run what's left of the health system there. They are also being evacuated.

 

All resulting from the NATO military plan to remove Gaddafi and allow anarchy to take over.

[Grindting]

I think most of them are students.

What would they be studying, in Libya?  

They just said, religion.

They have gone to Libya to study and get their qualifications... Just goes to show the low respect even the Thais themselves have of their own education and qualification system if they're having to go to this part of the world to get a decent education

[technologybytes]

Why are people surprised that someone can gain an education in Libya ??

 

 

[RisingSun]

 

 

I think most of them are students.

What would they be studying, in Libya?  

They just said, religion.

They have gone to Libya to study and get their qualifications... Just goes to show the low respect even the Thais themselves have of their own education and qualification system if they're having to go to this part of the world to get a decent education

 

 

So is there any part of the world that people should not go to gain their education?

[Estrada]

 

I think most of them are students.

What would they be studying, in Libya?  

 

I worked in Libya for 6 years and employed 2,500 Thai workers. I met many Thai students studying there at the Songkran Festival parties in Tripoli. These students usually are doing Islamic Studies and mainly come from the South of Thailand.

 

Thais working in Libya are doing so in order to get three times the money they can earn here, this is one reason they are reluctant to return to Thailand. The second is that they have already paid the equivalent of 1 years salary to their Thai Employment Agency, and need to work for several years in order to pay back the loans they took out to pay the employment agency.

[siampolee]

khunken post # 10

 

All resulting from the NATO military plan to remove Gaddafi and allow anarchy to take over.

 

 

 

Never were there truer words spoken.

 

The problem was Qaddafi knew too much for those world leaders who were in  cahoots with him in later years and Qaddafi was about to spill the beans .

 

So instead of the death of one man a nation was destroyed on the high altar of Western fears.