Nena Hallasgo has been in Taiwan for seven years and the whole time she has been working in the country, the 43-year-old native of Cagayan de Oro City has never experienced more sleepless nights these days than she had ever before. The sleepless nights resulted from the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard. The fear, emanating from the shooting incident, has resonated to hundreds and thousands of other OFWs currently based in Taiwan.

IBTimes-AU has caught up with Nena at the one-day gathering held at Fung Shun Park, Taipei City on May 26, 2013. The gathering of Filipino and Taiwanese nationals organised by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with other local interest groups, has provided venue for Nena to share her fears since the shooting incident in northern Philippines.

Asked what her fears are, Nena enumerated ones that she pointed shared by fellow Filipinos working abroad.

She said, “First of all, I fear for my job and losing it. I fear that the [political] conflict will get out of hand that I will be forced to come back home in no time.”

But Nena’s fear is not just losing her job. She said that she may continue with the job and finish her contract, but her worst fear may have yet to come if the Philippine officials failed to come up with some kind of agreement with the Taiwan government.

“Even if I finish my contract and go home, my even worse fear is not being able to come back to Taiwan to the same job, or even find a new one,” Nena exclaimed.

Nena reiterated that she is not alone feeling scared of how the political conflict between Philippines and Taiwan has been affecting the thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers in the country, adding that this would likely affect them if the conflict is not put to end.

Nena’s fears are felt not just among OFWs but also of the Taiwanese nationals. And this fear have been apparent that some Taiwanese groups decided to come up with a joint collaboration that will show solidarity and support for Filipino workers in the region, to make Filipinos feel that “[They] Are Not Alone.”

A rich Taiwanese company owner also felt this fear, and he initiated the one-day gathering in a joint effort with Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry and Taiwanese advocates.

“This company owner said that there are many Filipino workers in his community whom he observed are afraid to go out after the incident and he felt sad about that,” Yun-Chan Liao, a member of the 4-Way Voice in Taiwan said in an exclusive interview with IBTimes-AU during a gathering held at the Fu Shung Park in Taipei City.

After a week of preparation, a day of fun-filled activities was born, dubbed as “You Are Not Alone,” in an effort to make the Filipinos happy and assured them that “Taiwan Gently Cares.”

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