Cat Makes History After Repatriation to the Philippines Amid Myanmar Political Turmoil

Cat Makes History After Repatriation to the Philippines Amid Myanmar Political TurmoilCat Makes History After Repatriation to the Philippines Amid Myanmar Political Turmoil
A cat owned by a Filipino migrant worker in Myanmar became the first pet to be repatriated to the Philippines when it joined the fifth government-funded repatriation flight amid the COVID-19 pandemic on May 29.
Plea for help: Karen Vinalay, an art director returning home due to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, initially failed to get permission from the Philippine Embassy in Yangon, to bring along her short-haired cat, Jon Snow White, the Manila Bulletin reported.
  • Vinalay shared a tweet on May 10, containing a letter she wrote to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., requesting she and her pet be rescued. 
  • The worker, whose other cat Yoda passed away in December 2020, shared how Jon was her only family in a foreign country, noting how pets “add life” when “homesickness sets in.” 
  • She lamented the embassy probably turned her down because they “have less appreciation on the importance of pets for people who have been away from home.”
DFA Chief responds:  Touched by Vinalay’s impassioned letter, Locsin immediately directed his department to coordinate the needed accommodation to have the cat onboard the repatriation flight.
  • Locsin then told Vinalay to call the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar to assist her. 
  • Vinalay and her cat joined 54 other Filipinos from Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand in a chartered Philippine Airlines sweeper flight, which arrived in Manila on May 29.
View post on X
The Philippines’ DFA has been repatriating Filipinos in Myanmar due to COVID-19 and the political situation since last year, according to the Philippine Star.
Featured Image via @kvinalay (left, right)
Share this Article
Your leading
Asian American
news source
NextShark.com
© 2024 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.