They stay abroad for a reason

In his speech before a crowd of Filipino Americans at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, President Bongbong Marcos repeated the overused lines about “improving the Philippine economy so that Filipinos will never have to leave the country to find jobs.” Except for nurses and medical technicians, I don’t believe the United States was ever an easy or accommodating destination for job seeking Filipinos. I would venture to speculate that the crowd PBBM was addressing was a homesick bunch of green card holders, or Pinoy Americans who are highly engaged in and are part of a network and support group for Filipinos who grab at every chance to get together or take part in any Filipino happening in NYC. I honestly don’t think they were there just because of a job or to earn dollars and then eventually go back to the Philippines. They might actually say: “The Philippines – it’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.”

I once lived about 18 months in the US, starting out in San Diego, California, then to West Port, Connecticut and in Queens, in New York City. I’ve also been part of “Philippine events” in the US, Canada and Europe, not to mention having some long-time connections with OFWs now staying in UK, Ireland and Dubai. Yes, Filipinos grab at the chance of finding a job abroad but that is not what keeps them going or coming back for more. Time and again, I have discovered that what keeps them abroad is the ability to enjoy a quality of life minus the drama, the social tensions, the political farce, violence and corruption.

In other words, the quality of life here at home leaves much to be desired. You can make all the money in the Philippines but that does not automatically let you live in an environment where you can enjoy a sense of safety or security, where you are surrounded by nature and the simple joys of life. You would have to spend a lot of your hard-earned money and drive out of Metro Manila or fly to a foreign destination just to enjoy the environment that many Filipino expats and OFWs already enjoy where they are abroad.

Several people I know that have gone from “yaya” to “nanny” and who always renew their contracts don’t get to enjoy much of their hard-earned salaries because a big portion of these goes back to the Philippines to pay for exorbitant utility bills, artificially inflated rent, over-priced education and medical bills and on and on. When I confronted them with the trade-off in terms of separation from their kids, spouse and families, I got the shock of my life as they confessed that it is the price they have come to willingly pay just to be able to enjoy a quality of life they could never have in the Philippines. For one, the distance insulates them from the drama and burdens that come with having an extended family where everyone’s problem is your problem. They send the money in exchange for their peace of mind. They don’t have to live through the ugly reality of poverty, lack of social and governmental support and the bitter truth of social inequality and absence of opportunities. They have become the overseas solution to “home-made” Filipino problems. To suggest that we can reverse the situation is a patent lie or reveals a mental disconnect with reality.

Through the years I have watched their activities on Facebook and you can see how being OFWs in the right countries or places allows them to live the lives of their former bosses in the Philippines. They go for tours on holidays or visit museums because it’s affordable, state-funded and encouraged by employers. They join community picnics with people of different nationalities and stature where they are treated with dignity and respect as well as sincere interest in their culture and country of origin. Yes, they do what are called menial jobs but these are jobs that are afforded dignity and just compensation.

They go singing and dancing in clubs and send back videos of popular tourists spots for their followers and relatives back home as they witness the four seasons change and the snow fall. A couple of them have sent videos of local Mardi Gras and just this week, being among the crowd that waved goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II as her funeral procession drove by. In other words, they have a life out there beyond watching babies and washing dishes and keeping homes clean and being “on call” 24/7. They justify their absence or separation by calling it a moral and financial obligation to their families, but they also do it for themselves because they too have discovered that they deserve to have a life, one they can have by staying away from “home.”

Every Filipino who has somehow managed to get out of the country as a tourist or as a professional always wants to do it again. A lot of them actually keep going back to the same countries but different locations. Why is that? Perhaps because for them it reflects a state of being that people envision what a country or ideal destination should be. It’s not just the weather, food or language. At the end of the day, tourist or OFW, they go to experience a quality of life, a level of order and sanity that eludes many Filipinos, both rich and poor. We as a nation and people have not managed to put “our house” in order. Not our environment, our rules and laws, definitely not our way of life. We have simply “lived with it” and because of that, many OFWs choose to live elsewhere.

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