Migrants and pressures
The medical help desk was among the most visited by Filipino migrants during the October 12th Marian Festival held in Mito Church. Volunteer Filipino nurses noted that high blood pressure was very common among the male Filipino migrants compared to female Filipino migrants.
Several factors can be attributed to high blood pressure levels: diet, stress, and more. If the food preferences could be gauged by the number of male visitors who lined up for the food booths at the festival, the barbecue stalls seemed to have the longest line. Had lechon been made available, that would have been a sure favorite among the participants! Beer and barbecue, beer and lechon would have clinched the day for the Filipino male visitors but alcohol was not allowed in the vicinity. Had alcohol and lechon been available, the blood pressure levels would certainly have been higher for those who lined up for the medical consultation!
Diet is not only among the problems that migrants have to be careful about. Stress is very high among many migrants. Where is the stress coming from?
For the undocumented, there is the pressure of finding stable and reasonably-paying jobs which have become more difficult to find as Japan continues to struggle to improve the economy. If unable to find jobs, housing and food become added burden. Filipino social networks, so far, have come to the rescue of those in need and has been noted as a positive quality among Filipinos in and out of the Philippines.
Some of those employed have to deal with the stress of abusive brokers and employers, a number of whom are Filipinos. These abusive agents try to squeeze as much profits they can get from the salaries, house rental, medical/ insurance fees and bonuses of Filipinos they have introduced to employers. Many of these Filipino brokers are married to Japanese nationals, a number proficient in Japanese and are trusted by Japanese employers for stable supply of laborers. The exorbitant commission fees and abusive practices of these brokers need to be stopped but since most of the transactions with Filipino workers are done without any signed documents or solid written evidence that can be traced back to them, the brokers, to date, have continued their plunder of their own kababayans, without any guilt or remorse or compassion at all.
Growing number of Filipino migrants are permanently settling in Japan. A number of them has invested in building houses for themselves and their families. The unstable Japanese economy and the global crisis also add pressure and stress about their capacity to sustain loan payments for their houses. However, as is characteristic of Filipino families, they look forward to the formal employment of their children, in the future, to help with the house loan payment.
Those employed also worry about the sustainability of their work, given the present economic situation in Japan. Many of them are in jobs that can be taken over or handed over easily to Japanese nationals who may need these jobs in the near future.
Migrants in Japan or elsewhere in the world continue to be concerned about the rest of their family members back in the Philippines. Remittances are continuing- no matter how difficult their own situation may be in the country of destination. Migrants continue to take care of their family members back in the Philippines through remittances that they send through formal or informal channels. And many lament, the open hand of asking for more never seems to close at all! Those in the Philippines do not seem to realize how much blood and sweat migrants put in just to send any amount back home.
Migrants in war-torn areas and those in disaster-affected communities have the added pressure and stress of survival. Those who come from disaster-affected provinces also bear the extra burden of having to start all over again, from house reconstruction to rebuilding lives after the disasters for family members back home.
Despite the stresses and pressures, however, migration has become a panacea for Filipinos, even children dream to become migrants! Countless migrants, however, continue to pray that the Philippines can become a country that responds and takes care of the needs of their own people so that migration becomes a free choice, not a forced condition, for all Filipinos.
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