[RESOLVED] Ofw Tsikoteer (and Others) In Riyadh Desperately Need Our Help

[juntzo]

whew! thanks for removing the doubt in my mind!

[architect]

*juntzo,

Thanks, too, for choosing to review the facts and judge for yourself. I hope others will do the same.

For the record, it was only when ehnriko stopped corresponding with members of the Tsikot R&D core group that we sensed something was wrong. We had been communicating regularly with him via email, PM, and YM and he usually replies promptly. The times he will not have Internet access, he usually advises us ahead of time.

So when we had failed to hear from him after a week without prior notice, we contacted his wife Elaine to find out what could have possibly happened to him. It was only then we learned that his group has been detained. Of note is that she did not asked our help. We offered our help. That's why we know, for a fact, that this is not a scam.

[claRkEnt]

nice one, architect!

actually, you need not go any further. there are people here at tsikot na "negative" agad ang nasa utak. pa-righteous kuno! if only they would read the thread from the start and digest what everybody else have written.

jedi, pass ako ng one night sa Gold. divert ko yung expense dun dyan sa fundraising. bigay ko when we meet personally na lang.

[Hanren]

*juntzo, VtEC, mazdamazda,

This is exactly my concern. The letter writer never bothered to verify the facts and pre-maturedly dismissed it as a potential scam. Yet his letter manages to put doubts in fellow tsikoteers, even those who have been following the situation from the start. Now consider what others will think when they read the letter and again never bother to verify the facts.

A simple read of this thread will tell you that other organizations and individuals, on their own, have contacted ehnriko and verified their situation separately.

I also sent email copies of elaine's letter to a lot of email groups and I got mixed reactions. Some even suggested that they encountered the same lines already and some have even suggested that I am contributing to the spread of this scam. Well, it was said in a very straightforward but polite and humorous manner and I didn't take it personally..

My Honest Opinion: People are skeptical nowadays especially when it comes to the use of the Internet to disseminate such appeals. Some people judged it prematurely to be a potential scam but there are others who don't! In this world, there will always be the hardened skeptics who'd rather be shown hardened proofs before you can convince them. To me, this is understandable. However, that does not make the case of enrico similar to that of those other scams which were successfully perpetuated because in this case, there is some personal knowledge about this case by some tsikoteers.

Siguro konting paliwananag na lang sa kanila.. It's hard to convince people especially if it involves money but again, the hard part of this endeavor is convincing people about their situation while at the same time, getting to the bottom of this case with much care and caution so that it would inevitable clear the air of doubt.

[architect]

Update from ehnriko, forwarded by Elaine (via text) -

Tumawag yung Mr. Tom Lawson ng embassy almost 4:30pm na nung tumawag. Nireset ulit ang meeting sa Sunday naman daw ulit. We're just sleeping and waiting the whole day. And every mdnyt and early dawn we are all coughing hard. However I am sticking it up wid d thought that good things hapen 2 those who wait. Patience is all that I have, the same goes with the rest of the team...it's really cold here without electricity...very unspiring.

[juntzo]

*juntzo,

Thanks, too, for choosing to review the facts and judge for yourself. I hope others will do the same.

For the record, it was only when ehnriko stopped corresponding with members of the Tsikot R&D core group that we sensed something was wrong. We had been communicating regularly with him via email, PM, and YM and he usually replies promptly. The times he will not have Internet access, he usually advises us ahead of time.

So when we had failed to hear from him after a week without prior notice, we contacted his wife Elaine to find out what could have possibly happened to him. It was only then we learned that his group has been detained. Of note is that she did not asked our help. We offered our help. That's why we know, for a fact, that this is not a scam.

thanks bro for the clarification! i believe in helping others without expecting anything in return but i have been a victim of many scams that's why sometimes i can be very doubtful. anyway, i hope everything turns out for the better for our fellow tsikoteers!

so for other fellow tsikoteers, this is your chance to share your blessings that you got last month! Karma is real! Do good for your brother in need and you will receive your reward a hundred fold!

[architect]

What is so disappointing is that the contact numbers of the group members were precisely included so that those who are sincere about contributing but have some doubts can call them personally to verify. What is a phone call if you are sincere in helping?

And even more so disappointing are those who are quick to dismiss the situation as a scam when a simple read of the thread can provide enough proof that this is not a scam but a potentially life-and-death situation.

The irony of it all is that people like Mon Tulfo are so quick to act when I contacted them for help. Considering that their reputations are on the line if they fall prey to such a scam (and become laughingstocks) their genuine interest in helping others take precedence over self-interest.

I am sure Mon has his ways of verifying the situation as I am sure he encounters a lot of scams of like this on a regular basis. But that does not make him cynical and dismiss it pre-maturely as a scam. At the very least, he gives the case the benefit of the doubt - unlike so many others who not only are unwilling to help but even try to rationalize their unwillingness by promoting the whole thing as a scam.

[maykel]

i dont think this is a scam.

may representative na nga from Phil embassy ang kumausap sa kanila (enriko and his team), i even talked to enriko bago mag new year asking their condition there. he told they are surviving naman with help from friends.

Half-way prisons (i.e., traffic police jails, early reported and non-convicted prisoners’ jail, etc.), however (way back 1987), are not as good and pretty much the same as how your email below described them

twenty years ago pa yun sinasabi sa mail na ito if ever totoo man, and to compare it sa current condition ng jail facility dito is like comparing an apple to egg!

[jedi]

fellow tsikoteers and friends,

alam po namin na madaming scams sa internet na naglalabasan sa ngayon at di natin masisisi na magkakaroon ng ibat ibang pananaw ang mga taong makakabasa ng letter, but rest assured na we will not use tsikot para mabiktima ng mga scam na ito, several days before i posted the letter of mrs. elaine luga, ilang beses na namin naverify lahat ng facts, we even postponed yung pagpost at paghingi ng tulong coz the enriko and the group was hoping na maayos agad problem nila duon at babalikan sila ng employer nila, but di nangyari ang inaasahan nila.

at ayon nga kay sir architect, kami po mismo ang nagvolunteer na gumawa ng paraan para makakalap ng tulong.

Nagpapasalamat po kaming lahat dahil nanaig pa din po ang tiwala nyo sa tsikot at di po kayo nagdalawang isip tumulong at sumuporta at magbigay ng prayers for this cause.

Salamat din po sa PEACE foundation and Dubai Tsikoteers na walang sawang tumutulong at sa pagtulong personally kina jing duon at kay ********http://www.pinoy.ae/pinoy/modules.ph...er=asc&start=5

Salamt din kay sir Pox and to Ms Leslie , to sir juntzo, sir vtec, doc oobah, sir bhong and Peace foundation, and to all na nagbigay ng suporta at prayers.

pagpapatunay lang po ito na, as members of this online community, namamayagpag pa din ang bayanihan sa puso ng bawat isa.

[architect]

Am posting Mr. de Vera's reply to me (need to chop it up though)

[SIZE=2]Thank you for your reaction – and indeed you were right of my immediate dismissal that it was, as I wrote, a “potential” scam, and I cannot deny it. If it bothers you, and your brothers at TSIKOT, then do accept my apologies. But I as I said, I find the inconsistency in said letter, and still do. I am not at all against anyone, tsikot or any advocacy group, hope that is clear. My replies inside your email below will prove that.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=2]I have somehow, enough materials to bore each and every reader (since we start our advocacy way back 1990s), with a help of a fellow-advocate and a church-leader, how we attended to matters such as these, and sadly, we ended up in a “wild-goose-chase”. Bad judgment on our part, I admit, but we really need to start somewhere, right?[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=2]It was not only once, but far too many, and I guess it is the frustration of only ending up in a scam that showed so much in my reply and that I truly apologize. What should have been a less emotional and more constructive reaction didn’t take place. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=2]The perpetrators of these poor wrongly accused OFWs now lavishing in prison are scot-free. But of course, as you say your TSIKOT group being a band of people with integrity and wisdom, I have to respect that, though I really didn’t see the OCW discussion forum (maybe you could lead me to it?).[/SIZE]

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[SIZE=2]As to the other issues, may I reply to them inside where you managed to put your replies? Thanks.

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