A few months ago, I wrote about Wowowee, the anaesthetic to the harsh realities in the life of a Filipino. My mother was watching the show, and I chanced by the contestants of a certain segment—they were children of OFWs. There was one thing similar among the 6 children that I saw—the mere mention of Christmas struck a sensitive chord in their hearts, such that their eyes were filled with tears. Christmas meant a lot to them. They wanted their parent/s to be home on Christmas Day, not on New Year’s Day, but please on Christmas Day so that they can all be together.
All of them had fond thoughts of their OFW parent, from wishing them well, to advising a parent not to drink and smoke, to drink milk everyday, or just to take care of themselves and remain healthy—trivial to some maybe, but important to them. One even mentioned about being able to pay their debts, maybe the reason why the parent had to go abroad. All of them sent their love to their parent/s, through The Filipino Channel where most of the local shows of the network are aired abroad.
Lucky are the children whose OFW parent/s are able to come home this Christmas, or at least to come home for a visit once a year. How about those who are unable to come home—for economic reasons or other reasons beyond their control, like the illegal immigrants.
SAD, it seems like our country will remain this way for a longer period of time—capitalizing on the earnings of our OFWs, such that sending people abroad has become a Filipino way of life. As more and more Filipinos and Filipinas go abroad to earn a living, more families will be torn apart, in different degrees of dysfunctionalities. These and many more are the harsh realities in the lives of our OFWs and their families.
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6 responses so far ↓
Kyels // Nov 13, 2008 at 11:06 am
This post reminds me about the realities faced by Vilma Santos in the movie Anak and also Caregiver. Kind of sad pero it’s life, di ba? For the sake of familias they’ve to do that.
Gigi // Nov 13, 2008 at 2:40 pm
If only those FW’s can work here instead and live with their children and spouses. More often than not, though they may earn substantially for their kids – the repercussion is too much.
myepinoy // Nov 13, 2008 at 5:08 pm
ito napanood ko sa GB:
Ano daw kaibahan ng OFW at Pulis?
Ang OFW nangingibang bansa para magdala ng pera sa bansa, ang ibang pulis, umaalis ng ng bansa para maglabas ng pera ng bansa.
As for me, one thing is for sure. Unless Pinoys change their ways, lalo pa lalala ang situation ng Pilipinas. Example: ang mga pinoy, pag showbiz tismis, like nabuntis si ganon, may sex video si ganon, talagang engross at all ears ang karamihan, pero pag ang balita eh kinurakot ni ganito ang milyon o bilyong pera ng bayan, nagkikibit balikat lang.
Pero pag minsan sa barya nakikipagpatayan.
Ano bang klaseng mentalidad meron ang Pinoy. Paki explain nga po?
Parang gusto ko ng maniwala sa sinasabi ng the 3 basic laws of human stupidity na kapag meron daw concentration ng large number of stupids in a particular place, area or country, expect daw na that place or country will go southward (in brutal terms:going down to hell). Are we or are we not?
Mitch // Nov 13, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I feel for them bilang anak ng ex-OFW, at ako din as an ex-OFW. Mahirap talaga!
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