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Filipinos suffer cost of working abroad

Failed relationships and severing family ties are often the price many migrants have to pay to earn a living
Filipinos suffer cost of working abroad

Lack of better job opportunities pushes Mike Alino, and many other Filipinos, to dream of working abroad. (Photo by Mark Saludes)

 

Published: May 22, 2017 09:56 AM GMT

Mike Alio's journey as a migrant worker started when he exchanged wedding vows with his girlfriend, Leah, who got an employment pass to Singapore in 2009.

A marriage contract was the fastest way for Mike to get a job. As Leah's spouse, Mike was able to get a dependent's pass that allowed him to work abroad.

But when Leah's employer declared bankruptcy in 2014, the marriage also ended.

Mike recalled how "almost perfect" their life was during their first years in the foreign land. He worked as a graphic artist and a swimming instructor while Leah worked in an office.

"The cost of staying in a totally unfamiliar environment and culture was worthwhile," said 49-year-old Mike. He had a relatively higher compared to what he could earn in the Philippines.

The marriage to Leah, a "prerequisite in getting employment," also blossomed. They spent a lot of "quality time" together without worrying about their finances.

Mike felt that the marriage came "too early" at that time, but he vowed to "nurture it."

"I thought Singapore was the best place to do it," he said. Despite his busy schedule, Mike would go home early to have dinner with Leah.

Then she lost her job. It meant losing the privilege of staying in Singapore. It also meant giving up Mike's status as a dependent.

Leah was frustrated. "She really wanted to get away from the uncertainties and poverty in the Philippines," said Mike.

The arguments over "misunderstandings" started. Leah wanted to migrate to the United States and let Mike follow later and "work the marriage out."

But the wounds of the Singapore experience did not heal. Mike never had the chance to follow Leah who later got married to an American national to acquire U.S. citizenship.

 

Risks and sacrifices

Failed relationships have become part of the "high cost" Filipinos pay for working abroad.

Sister Arlyne Casas of the Church People-Workers Solidarity, a faith-based organization, said families always pay a price because of the government's failure to provide sufficient jobs.

"A worker's struggle to find a well-paying job outside the country makes him or her value any job opportunity overseas over his or her relationship with the family," said the Our Lady of Sion nun.

She said that it has become "normal" for Filipino migrant workers to take risks and sacrifice everything, including their families, "to survive in foreign places."

"Families have become victims of this trend that forces Filipinos to become slaves to their jobs," said Sister Arlyne.

The nun recognized that the church should "become a voice of migrant workers" so that they will be heard by the government who should take action and solve the problem."

Sister Casas said the church has "the responsibility to strengthen Catholic values inside every family."

"If the church is present in every family, the price that a migrant worker has to pay for working abroad would not be his or her relationship with the family," she said.

In 2014, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines through its commission for migrants and itinerant people launched an "intervention program" for families of migrant workers.

The program engaged families in livelihood seminars "especially designed to train relatives of migrant workers in valuable skills."

For Mike, however, it is already too late. The heartache brought about by the separation and joblessness damaged him. He does not believe anymore in marriage.

"Why invest in something that can turn into a nightmare," he said.

An average of 6,000 Filipino workers leave the country every day, according to the group Migrante International.

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