Friday, September 04, 2009

Philippine workers abroad: The boon has a price

Teenia Harmon
4:13
9-4-09
Since the early 1980s, millions of people from the Philippines have been traveling to nations with higher-paying jobs to achieve their dreams. While attempting to do so their families suffer. Often times both parents leave, giving the children to friends or relatives. The children become more likely to join gangs and their parents return to find the kids that they dream of sending to college are drop-outs.
Parents and children both are affected by the separation. While Maryann Bollesar works as a teacher in Dubai, her two young children live with family back home. After two years of separation the children what to give her hugs, and she cries at how much they have grown. Now their caretakers are considering leaving to build a better life for their growing family.

I feel like neither parent or child builds that bond that is so important to both. While I understand the parents’ motive, I think this must be a difficult situation to be in. These people desire a better future but know the only way to achieve it is to leave their home for better jobs. I imagine just making the decision to leave takes a lot courage. Once they get to the country of their choice, they are on their own, and so are their families back home. I cannot imagine having to decide on whether to be there for my child as they grow up, or leaving them with someone else to raise in order to secure a better future for them.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-remittances26-2009aug26,0,3339063,full.story

Teenia Harmon

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