Coffee Thursdays
Migration stories: The good, the bad and the ugly
"I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life." -- Leo Tolstoy
Another friend, Bryan is leaving to migrate abroad this month. I notice the overwhelming exodus of my age generation to the point there seems to be nobody left in my circle that clings on to motherland. Gone are the days of youth and carefree subsistence where we frolicked in the streets and partied in the bars till dawn breaks, the sign of the times is to seek a greener pasture. The trend is to abandon comfort zone, embrace life and go into the reality.
It has been 5 years since I graduated from college and I want to recount the engrossing stories of my peers and acquaintances with their life on adopted land and leaving home; their adventures, challenges and the accounts of these unsung overseas workers. *Real names had been changed to protect the identity of the subjects involved.
Ken*, a classmate from college left to the United States with a tourist visa in the same year after graduation. Everybody envied him as he updates us in the land of milk and honey. He managed to find a job in a hospice care and succeeded himself in sending money back home. With the menace of over-staying his visa, it comes with the cost of working illegally, thus he can't go home to the Philippines at any given time. Being the only child, he expressed his remorse when his mother died of cancer and no presence of a son for the funeral. A price to pay for a life he is caught entangled. The last time I heard from him, he yearned: "I keep on working like a dog overtime to earn and save more money, thinking about what happened back home is one I cannot do something about. "
Mark* worked in marketing a food company prior to going to Dubai. He gave up the opportunity of promotion and ventured in the Middle East with the expectation of a better career. It took him 3 long months to find work, renew his visa and exit in Iran and continuously in the brink of uncertainty of lacking funds to get by. In his first month, I received a call as he expressed his homesickness and frustrations of finding a job, and somehow lingering thoughts of how good it is to recall few years back then. His positive outlook keeps him moving. Finally, he landed a contract work in a freight company and secured a position due of his worth. His compelling sacrifices paid off and he will be home this year to tie the knot with his girlfriend and start a family.
I met Rhea* on the train when I traveled in Thailand for a holiday. Went to her apartment and come across a handful of Filipinos under one roof. I felt strangely at home as the group chats in Tagalog and the nostalgic sight of home cooked Pancit and chicken pork Adobo welcomed my visit. Listening to their experiences leaves me a heart-rending but human story of how they ended up surviving in a foreign land. Employment didn't come easy, some had to work as masseurs, escorts and even had to do laundry for other people to keep afloat. They are all college educated with professional degrees. But they say it's all history now. Currently, most of them have stable jobs and work as English teachers in Bangkok. Rhea gave me a final thought in my departure: "Our families back home don't have to know exactly what we are doing, what is important to them is we are all well and we are helping them in their needs."
Philip* comes from a well-to-do family in Iloilo and decided to embark in a study program in Australia. With the burden of sustaining his costly tuition he ended up with 6 hours job washing greasy dishes in a Chinese restaurant. In retrospect, he never imagined this ordeal as he lived quite comfortably in our country. Sometimes he is mentally exhausted from school and endures his physical toil during his night shift. But, the gratification of earning from hard labor and being completely independent is the value he treasures.
These stories remind us that life abroad is not all glamorous as it sounds. With understanding, these personal heroes earned my utmost respect in their sacrifices and strong conviction in their choices. As another friend joins the millions of Filipinos working around the world, I can only send him hope and prayer of a good voyage in his journey; of a life saga that one day can give us another reflection and riveting tales that can subjectively define as good, bad or ugly experience.