Envoy's gentle touch

MRS Bahjin is facing up to her first crisis situation after stepping into her new role in Bahrain.

Hundreds of Filipino expats have been in touch with the embassy in Zinj desperate for news about loved ones and offering assistance for those left suffering as a result of severe flooding caused by Typhoon Ketsana.

She said: "We are in constant contact with officials back in the Philippines and trying to reassure callers as best we can.

"It has hit us all very badly and even one of our own staff here has lost his home but fortunately his family survived.

"We are providing support and prayers for all those affected and in the weeks to come we are sure our community in Bahrain will rally to support the victims.

"We are thankful to the Government of Bahrain for its support - we have received condolences from the Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa in our moment of tragedy."

If you wish to help, money can be donated to the National Disaster Co-ordinating Centre's current account (Philippine peso) 0-00149-435-3, swift code DSPHPHMM Account 36002016, Development Bank of the Philippines, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo Branch, Camp Aguiraldo, Quezon City, Philippines.

THE Philippines is taking fresh measures to prevent the illegal entry of workers into the kingdom, says the country's new ambassador to Bahrain, Maria Corazon Yap-Bahjin.

The aim is double edged - to ensure that under-age women are not exploited and that the host country's rules and regulations are not infringed upon.

She said: "The young and under-aged maids who come to live and work in Bahrain are breaking the law. They come here on fake passports and certificates and eventually end up in trouble.

"This December we will be issuing chip-based passports to Filipinos which will be very detailed featuring fingerprints, face image, eye and biometrics making it very difficult to cheat."

Mrs Bahjin, 62, is the embassy's first female and first Muslim diplomat to take office and only the fourth woman to hold the post of diplomat on the island - the official voice for 45,000 Filipinos in Bahrain.

Steps to protect housemaids facing ill-treatment from employees are currently taken care of by OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Association) situated near the Philippines Embassy in Zinj. She said: "Maids face similar problems everywhere. Sometimes workers are not given their due rights.

"In Bahrain, the crisis is not as huge as compared to other nations but we are making full efforts to ensure that their rights are protected.

"Some workers may not be aware of the social and cultural differences they might face in a new environment and are unable to adapt quickly."

Over the period of two months since her appointment on July 27, she has been keeping busy pursuing a list of pending 'memorandums of understanding' as well as strengthening ties between Bahrain and the Philippines.

She said: "My first mission in Bahrain was to maintain friendly relations and sign up pending MoUs in the fields of agriculture, Islamic banking, education and relieving visas procedures for diplomats.

"Talks are on the final stages now, we have exchanged several notes. There will be a joint commission meeting between both countries in the last quarter of this year or early next year.

"We will also pursue talks on trade and investment and hope to establish a Bahrain and Philippines business council. Plans are progressing steadily."

Other initiatives include promoting Philippines as a tourist destination for the residents of Bahrain.

Mrs Bahjin, was born in Manila, but has roots in Sulu, an island province in the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. She graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in 1967 in English and theology and received her master's degree in arts from the University of the Philippines in 1974.

Mrs Bahjin was a professor at the Holy Trinity College in Palawan, the Centro Escolar University, and the Palawan State University before joining the Foreign Services department of the government in 1979.

She is the first Filipina Muslim to have passed the Foreign Service Officers' examination also making her the first amongst her tribe, the Tausaugs from Sulu, to join the foreign services.

Mrs Bahjin then became acting director of the cultural division of the Office of Islamic Affairs in 1982 where she was sent on her first assignment abroad as vice consul in Jeddah in 1986.

She said: "When I was posted to Jeddah I was pleasantly surprised. They treated me better I felt than my male counterparts. Maybe I was just lucky, but their hospitality was warm."

In 1990, she was posted as second secretary and consul in Amman, Jordan. She said: "In Jordan it was extraordinary as we were dealing with the repatriation of Filipinos from Kuwait caught up in the war. Around 17,000 people were moved to Jordan from Kuwait through Iraq.

"Those were very anxious times as we didn't know what would happen. But we were quite successful in our task."

She has also served in offices in Kuwait, Egypt, Thailand and prior to coming to Bahrain, served as assistant secretary for personal and administration services and head of consular in Xiamen, China.

She has also held senior positions in Manila.

Mrs Bahjin has been settling in and enjoying her three year posting to Bahrain. She said: "It has been quite delightful. I have to say, this is one of the best posts in the Middle East.

"What I have seen here is that Bahrainis have a lot of confidence in their women. They drive, go to universities, wear clothes they like - this is great.

"I have met several Filipinos who have even chosen to retire in Bahrain and that is saying something! Whenever I ask them, they all reply saying - it is a quiet and comfortable place."