seruriermarshal
05-12-2004, 07:21 AM
Sad message
Manila Says Four Filipinos Killed in Iraq Attack
MANILA (*******) - Four Filipino workers have been killed in a mortar attack in Iraq (news - web sites), and Manila will review the safety of 3,000 civilians from the Philippines working there, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites) said on Wednesday.
The Philippines -- a stalwart ally of Washington -- also has about 100 police, soldiers and medical personnel assisting in reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
The four Filipinos were killed in a mortar attack late on Tuesday on a U.S. military camp in Balad, a town north of Baghdad, officials said.
They were among more than 1,360 Filipinos working at the Camp Anaconda and around 3,000 in the whole of Iraq.
"It was a stroke of bad luck that they were exposed and unprotected at the time of the attack," Arroyo said in a statement.
She said she had instructed officials to assess the safety of civilians working at U.S. bases in Iraq.
"If they cannot be adequately secured, they must be transferred or evacuated to other areas," she said. "We cannot allow Filipino lives to be placed at wanton risk in a situation where unpredictable attacks are rife."
Arroyo, who faces weeks of vote counting to confirm whether she kept her job in national elections on May 10, said last month she was considering withdrawing the contingent of peacekeepers. She later decided to keep the team in place for the time being.
In late April, a truck driver became the first Filipino casualty since last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq when he was killed by attackers as he traveled with other foreigners.
Eight million Filipinos, about a tenth of the population, work overseas, many as nurses, construction workers and maids.
They send more than $7 billion home each year -- a vital source of support for their families and hard currency for the government in a nation where 30 million people try to survive on just a couple of dollars a day.
REGIMENTAL PRAYER
Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.
We ask you to remember, as we do,
the tremendous sacrifice made by those who went before us.
They have given their lives so that we might live and breathe freely.
We ask you to receive them into your hands.
Father, give us the strength and wisdom to learn from their example,
to uphold freedom and life at home and around the world.
Keep us vigilant as we guard the frontiers of freedom.
Give our leaders the wisdom and the strength to lead well.
Grant all of us courage and confidence.
Be, for all of us, troopers, a wise counsel in keeping peace
and a strong shield for us against our enemies.
Oh heavenly Father, give us the determination
that the peace and freedom won at such a high price be lasting!
Father, hold all of the troopers in the palm of your almighty hand
and protect them in the shadow of your wings.
Amen.
Manila Says Four Filipinos Killed in Iraq Attack
MANILA (*******) - Four Filipino workers have been killed in a mortar attack in Iraq (news - web sites), and Manila will review the safety of 3,000 civilians from the Philippines working there, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites) said on Wednesday.
The Philippines -- a stalwart ally of Washington -- also has about 100 police, soldiers and medical personnel assisting in reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
The four Filipinos were killed in a mortar attack late on Tuesday on a U.S. military camp in Balad, a town north of Baghdad, officials said.
They were among more than 1,360 Filipinos working at the Camp Anaconda and around 3,000 in the whole of Iraq.
"It was a stroke of bad luck that they were exposed and unprotected at the time of the attack," Arroyo said in a statement.
She said she had instructed officials to assess the safety of civilians working at U.S. bases in Iraq.
"If they cannot be adequately secured, they must be transferred or evacuated to other areas," she said. "We cannot allow Filipino lives to be placed at wanton risk in a situation where unpredictable attacks are rife."
Arroyo, who faces weeks of vote counting to confirm whether she kept her job in national elections on May 10, said last month she was considering withdrawing the contingent of peacekeepers. She later decided to keep the team in place for the time being.
In late April, a truck driver became the first Filipino casualty since last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq when he was killed by attackers as he traveled with other foreigners.
Eight million Filipinos, about a tenth of the population, work overseas, many as nurses, construction workers and maids.
They send more than $7 billion home each year -- a vital source of support for their families and hard currency for the government in a nation where 30 million people try to survive on just a couple of dollars a day.
REGIMENTAL PRAYER
Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.
We ask you to remember, as we do,
the tremendous sacrifice made by those who went before us.
They have given their lives so that we might live and breathe freely.
We ask you to receive them into your hands.
Father, give us the strength and wisdom to learn from their example,
to uphold freedom and life at home and around the world.
Keep us vigilant as we guard the frontiers of freedom.
Give our leaders the wisdom and the strength to lead well.
Grant all of us courage and confidence.
Be, for all of us, troopers, a wise counsel in keeping peace
and a strong shield for us against our enemies.
Oh heavenly Father, give us the determination
that the peace and freedom won at such a high price be lasting!
Father, hold all of the troopers in the palm of your almighty hand
and protect them in the shadow of your wings.
Amen.