An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) could not help but fear for their safety as India battles a catastrophic coronavirus surge.
42-year-old Annabelle Joy Villamarin, a primary school principal in Gurugram City sees every day as a battle for survival against the coronavirus.
“Nahihirapan kami dito kasi we’re so scared and we need somebody to tell us at least that we’re going to be okay, we’re going to be fine,” she told Philippine News Agency.
Villamarin went to India in 2012. There are about 2,000 Filipinos still in India, last year there were around 5,000 of them but some decided to go home due to the pandemic.
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Philippine Ambassador to India Ramon Bagatsing Jr. said two Filipinos, both female, succumbed to Covid-19 while about 20 are infected and isolated.
Villamarin lives in India with her husband who’s also from Manila and with their two sons.
“My dad passed away last year. I couldn’t do anything. Parang sa utak mo parang you know what to do but when it actually happened we’re so helpless, no one knows what to do. I’m a teacher, so I try to research, but it’s not enough,” Villamarin said.
Villamarin said that the Philippines is doing much better in responding to the pandemic.
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The Indian government has been drawing flak over its coronavirus response in recent months due to its failure to curb the spread of new coronavirus variants.
“Yung mga tao dito nagkakagulo kasi maraming families ng mga namatayan dito nagwawala at sininisira nila ‘yung mga facilities around the hospital kaya nakakatakot din pumunta,” she said.
As new cases overflow and with more people dying from the virus, Villmarin said that the government is converting public places as crematoriums.
“They had to create ‘yung isang parang sementadong box na dun nilalagay yun, kinokolekta yun. Nililinya nila yung mga katawan. Hindi na nila alam kung saan nila susunugin kasi it requires 24 hours before siya fully ma-cremate, hindi tulad sa atin na may full blast cremation facility,” she said. (TDT)
