MANILA, Philippines – Fleeing bloodshed in Syria, 85 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) began their journey home Tuesday, June 4, after two years of conflict that has also forced thousands of other OFWs to return to the Philippines.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the group will cross the Syrian-Lebanese border on Tuesday, and will later take a flight bound for Doha, Qatar.

The 85 Filipinos will arrive in the Philippines on Wednesday, June 5.

Their arrival would mean 4,305 Filipinos have already fled Syria under the government’s mandatory repatriation program.

Based on information from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Syria, undocumented migrants comprise a great majority of repatriated OFWs. Polo-Syria classified only 300 of them as documented OFWs as of May 27, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the government maintains its total deployment ban in Syria. She cited the “worsening civil war.”

Over the weekend alone, Syrian rebels prepared for a new assault on their beleaguered stronghold of Qusayr. The fate of the unknown number of civilians there, including around 1,000 wounded, remained uncertain.

In this situation, a ray of hope is an upcoming peace conference on Syria in Geneva. “’Geneva 2′ is in my opinion a last-chance conference. I hope it will take place, I think it could take place in July,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. – Rappler.com