More than 2.4 million Filipino workers are employed across the Middle East, primarily in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in sectors ranging from healthcare and hospitality to retail and domestic work. Their remittances account for roughly 10 percent of the Philippine economy, making the regional downturn a major concern for households dependent on overseas income.

The conflict, now in its third month, has triggered uncertainty across Gulf economies reliant on expatriate labor. Filipinos interviewed by Arab News described abrupt job losses, shrinking work opportunities and financial stress amid declining business activity and security fears.

A Filipino domestic worker in Dubai, identified only as Cinderella, said she lost stable employment after the Syrian family she worked for left the UAE because of the conflict.

“The money I raise from my part-time work is not enough,” she said, adding that she often reduced herself to one meal a day to save money while struggling to cover rent and basic expenses.

Another Filipino worker, Kim, said she was among roughly 200 employees laid off from a luxury hotel in Doha as the hospitality sector contracted amid weaker business activity.

“The hotel was cutting employees because of the situation,” she said, adding that the company anticipated reduced operations due to the conflict.
Although the hotel later offered to reverse her termination, Kim said she chose to return permanently to the Philippines after spending more than a decade working in the Gulf.

Others said the instability accelerated plans already underway to relocate home. Tere, a Filipino resident in Bahrain, said suspended projects and weakening business conditions influenced her family’s decision to settle permanently in Manila.

Despite the downturn, remittances from the Middle East still rose slightly in the first quarter of 2026 to $1.55 billion from $1.49 billion a year earlier, according to figures cited in the report.

The Philippine government said more than 11,000 Filipinos have sought assistance through repatriation programs since the conflict intensified, including around 4,500 from the UAE, more than 2,200 from Kuwait, and nearly 1,000 each from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Hans Leo Cacdac, secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers, said many returning workers still hoped to go back once regional conditions stabilized, with roughly 70 percent expressing interest in returning to Gulf jobs after the conflict.
The Philippine government has introduced emergency support measures including financial assistance, psychosocial support, livelihood programs and healthcare services for displaced workers. Filipinos who lost jobs but remain in the region are eligible for one-time assistance payments of $200 under crisis-response programs operating in 10 Middle Eastern countries.
For some workers, however, returning home remains financially difficult despite the instability. Cinderella said she planned to remain in Dubai for now after recently securing cleaning work, though she hoped eventually to move to Cairo, where she previously worked for a decade.

Speaking before greeting Charles and Queen Camilla at a 9/11 memorial event in New York, Mamdani said he would urge the king to return the historic gemstone, which was taken from the Indian subcontinent during British colonial rule in the 19th century.

“If I was to speak to the king, separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond,” Mamdani said, while adding that the focus of the event remained honoring those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks.It was not immediately clear whether Mamdani raised the issue directly during his brief exchange with Charles, who was seen speaking and laughing with the mayor after the two shook hands at the memorial ceremony.

The Koh-i-Noor, a 106-carat diamond housed in the Tower of London, is among the most prominent jewels in Britain’s Crown Jewels and is mounted in the crown made for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.The gem’s ownership has been disputed for generations.

It passed through the hands of Mughal emperors, Persian rulers and Sikh maharajas before it was ceded to Queen Victoria in 1849 under the Treaty of Lahore following the annexation of Punjab by the British Empire.India has repeatedly sought the return of the diamond, arguing it was taken under colonial rule, though British governments have consistently rejected those requests.

Other countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, have also laid claim to the stone, citing historical ownership ties dating back centuries.The comments quickly drew criticism from Britain’s anti-immigration Reform UK party, whose home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf described Mamdani’s remarks as an insult to the monarch.

“This beautiful diamond is currently on display in the Tower of London,” Yusuf wrote on X. “That is where it will stay.”Debates over colonial-era artifacts have intensified globally in recent years, with former imperial powers facing growing pressure to return culturally significant objects to their countries of origin.

Charles’ visit to New York included a memorial tribute to victims of the 2001 attacks and meetings with local leaders, amid broader efforts to strengthen diplomatic and symbolic ties between Britain and the United States.

National broadcaster ABC reported that four Australian women and nine of their children and grandchildren departed Roj Camp on Friday, citing the camp’s director, with Syrian authorities transporting them to Damascus to facilitate onward travel to Australia.

The Australian government said it was not involved in the operation and maintained its long-standing policy against actively repatriating individuals from such camps.“The Australian Government is not and will not repatriate people from Syria,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson added that intelligence and security agencies were continuing to monitor developments closely and were prepared for any Australians who attempted to return independently.

“People in this cohort need to know that if they have committed a crime and if they return to Australia they will be met with the full force of the law,” the statement said.Canberra said its “overriding priority” remained the safety of Australians and the protection of national interests, reflecting ongoing political sensitivity surrounding the possible return of families linked to members of the extremist group Daesh.

Roj Camp, located in northeastern Syria, houses women and children associated with suspected Daesh fighters following the collapse of the group’s territorial control in Iraq and Syria.

The families reported this week are believed to be part of a group of 34 Australians who were unable to leave the camp during a failed repatriation attempt in February, reportedly due to coordination issues involving Syrian authorities.

At the time, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would not provide assistance, using the phrase: “You make your bed, you lie in it,” to describe Canberra’s position.The return of Daesh-linked families has remained highly divisive in Australia, with some lawmakers and security officials warning that repatriation could create long-term domestic security risks.

Humanitarian organizations, however, have argued that women and especially children trapped in the camps face deteriorating living conditions, legal limbo, and prolonged statelessness.In 2023, Save the Children Australia filed legal action on behalf of 11 women and 20 children in Roj Camp, seeking government intervention to secure their return.

Australia’s Federal Court ruled against the group, finding that the government did not exercise legal control over the detainees’ confinement in Syria and therefore was not obligated to repatriate them.

Australia has previously repatriated some women and children from Syrian detention camps under earlier operations, but officials have remained cautious, balancing humanitarian concerns against domestic political and security pressures.

The latest developments suggest that any return of Australian citizens from Roj Camp will likely proceed without direct government facilitation, under close scrutiny from law enforcement and intelligence agencies upon arrival.

The three men, taken to Syria by their parents at the age of 11 or 12, were allegedly forced to participate in propaganda activities, policing duties and combat roles under Islamic State, according to legal filings submitted in France.

A source familiar with the case said the detainees are seeking recognition as victims of a war crime due to their recruitment as minors.Their lawyers, Marie Dose and Matthieu Bagard, said in a joint statement that the French authorities were failing to uphold obligations under international conventions prohibiting the use of child soldiers.

They argued that the men’s transfer to Iraq and continued detention amounted to inhumane treatment rather than victim protection.The detainees are among approximately 5,700 suspected Islamic State fighters of multiple nationalities transferred from Syria to Iraqi custody earlier this year, following shifts in territorial control in northern Syria.

France has opened investigations into the three men for alleged terrorism-related offenses committed during their time in Syria.The lawyers contend that, instead of pursuing prosecution, French authorities should prioritize repatriation and rehabilitation, citing the circumstances under which the individuals were recruited and their age at the time.

Hundreds of French citizens joined the Islamic State after it seized large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared a so-called caliphate. Iraqi authorities, supported by a U.S.-led coalition, declared victory over the group in 2017, while Kurdish-led forces in Syria defeated its remaining strongholds in 2019.

Since then, thousands of suspected fighters and their families have been held in detention facilities across Syria and Iraq. Kurdish authorities in Syria have repeatedly called on foreign governments to repatriate their nationals, but most Western countries, including France, have proceeded cautiously, often handling returns on a case-by-case basis.

The recent transfer of detainees to Iraq has renewed scrutiny over their legal status and future, particularly in cases involving individuals recruited as minors.