Songs of Journey of a Migrant Wife (conclusion)

by Ediza Pumarada
...concluding part

Despite what happened to her, she was very much concerned about her parents and relatives. She didn’t want them to know her miserable situation, and didn’t want to go to the province at once where the family was staying. Her problem was that she had nobody in Manila to stay with even for a while, and I immediately offered our place. She stayed with me for a week and I learned about the other ordeals she went through which were clear violations of her human rights. With our constant sharing, she slowly gained her confidence, and decided that she will be going home to tell her story to the family. Sending her off to the bus station, I thought of other Filipina domestic workers and their unheard tragic stories.

That first visit in Singapore was not only a happy reunion for my family but was an awakening to the harsh realities of migration. I was convinced that I met Flor Contemplacion, up close and personal, in the faces and experiences of those Filipina domestic workers in Singapore. This challenged me being the wife of an OFW to do something within my limited capacity. In the late 1999, I was given the opportunity to work for migrants and their families under the Catholic Church institution which I am still valuing at present. This work provided me occasions to share and empathize with their feelings of happiness, sentiments, and anxieties brought about by overseas employment.

The Journey
I know that the journey of Filipinos families with a migrant workers’ world is becoming more complicated, problematic and challenging. There are many issues on migration, which are negating the very essence of the Filipino family values. With the government’s favoring and promoting overseas employment, migration is becoming more attractive to the Filipinos. This should be taken seriously by the migrant family itself, and other institutions in society because it poses a real danger to the strength and unity of the family that mirrors the society.

Opting for overseas employment is not merely because of dollars earning. It is about love. It is about shelter to live in, food on the table, better education for the children, and health for every family member. As migrant wives and families, our road to travel is long, winding, and most of the time, rough. Let us face these challenge those people in authorities to look beyond the dollar aspects of migration, but more so, on the sufferings of migrants and their families and the social costs of migration.

~THE END~