By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
Many Filipinos leave their motherland for the sake of chasing better opportunities abroad. To feed their families they must leave them and work for a foreign employer and take care of foreign families. They miss much of their children’s upbringing, momentous events in a child’s life that a parent should never miss. In the many graduation ceremonies I have attended in school, I could always remember classmates who didn’t have parents to walk them to the stage. Teachers would end up walking with them instead. And in our ignorance we would whisper among ourselves as to where their parents were on such an important occasion. These sights were always there during such programs. Unfortunately such are among the many cruel fates foisted on the people of this country.
Among the famous products of this country, nurses, many of them will also seek work abroad. Various professionals leave this nation annually and foreign countries end up benefiting the most, with them getting the best of this country and the people who stayed having to deal with the worst.
Like many hopeful youths in this nation, I also imagined what it would be like to work abroad. Where the policies protecting workers were strong, the pay is fair, and the conditions at work are far better than any corruption and nepotism riddled Philippine company or government agency could offer.
We also have family members who ended up settling abroad, taking their children with them. And when they visit we end up having a hard time communicating with them in English.
It is a given that this country is in dire need of better things, better leaders, and better people at the top. I don’t think any Filipino who has actually lived in the country and saw the state of things would blame anyone for leaving in search of better opportunities.
However, to those who feel they have received something from their motherland and feel even an ounce of being indebted to the country, then I hope that one day they could come back and repay that debt. I know I have one. No one but Filipinos can help the Philippines. It is up to us to drag this nation out of the mud.
Should there be a tiny amount of love to the nation left inside us, then there will come a time where we must give back in return. No matter how much a tree grows or sprawls all over, the roots are what keeps a majestic thing in place.
Perhaps one day, when our nation calls, that all those who call themselves Filipinos will answer and do their part. **
