I remember when I used to be the editor-in-chief of our school paper in High School, I wrote an editorial about OFW “Overseas Filipino Worker”. Filipino government has always been encouraging Filipinos to work abroad claiming that their remittances are vital to our economy. It is not that I am against the government campaign pushing Filipinos to go and work abroad it's just that have always believed that if we want to make our country develop we need to stay. OFW is the term we coined for Filipinos that opted to leave the country and work abroad for reasons of higher salary. Statistics says that there are more than 10 million OFW abroad without counting of course those who entered illegally which are roughly around 5 million. A total of as much as 13 billion dollars of remittances in 2005 was recorded.
However, study revealed that contrary to what the government claims migration benefits does not ooze down to the poor and to the less developed regions of the country. Not also to forget the problem of “brain drain”: A doctor that would be willing to become a care giver or a teacher that accepts to become domestic helper abroad is a little bit frustrating. The saddest scenario of this are those minor migrants still unripe of experiences some of whom have never been to school that goes and work abroad for menial jobs that often falls to slavery , maltreatment and abuse. Studies also showed that migration on some cases have negative impacts on families. The presence of the two parents is always essential to children’s growth or that long distance love affair for parents may proved to be difficult in some cases. I have a friend who grew up seventeen years without their mom for she worked as a domestic helper abroad. Well all this to say, how I despise the idea that people leave their country for reasons of higher salary, as we say that “grass are always greener on the other side of the fence”. But what is really the truth behind this: salaries maybe higher but life expenses are also higher, that there is language barrier, cultural differences and that leaving far from your family is not that easy.
To our dearest Norma,
You are very talented and your Capalongas family loves you. We know that it’s been long time now that you wanted to work abroad and you saved a lot of money to pay for this placement. It is sad thing though as a domestic helper in Saudi Arabia your talent as embroider will be put to waste. I hope this is not a goodbye for our door is always open for your return. We will surely miss you!
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