By Janette ToralDigital Filipino
Sunstar CebuSINCE last month, I’ve been managing a blog that features Filipino migrants and those working abroad. Reading stories about them firsthand made me more sensitive to the reasons they are there.
Those who have family members who are working or have worked abroad are more inclined to pursue the same path. The young ones tend to take up courses that will give them the opportunity to travel or work overseas.
I have a cousin who did not pursue careers related to the degree (advertising) she finished; she was determined to get a job abroad. Her dad was based in the Middle East for more than a decade and her two brothers are out of the country working. Even if she gets a redundant or clerical job, she prefers to work in a strict-culture country than settle with the kind of income she is getting here today. I guess, with assistance from her brothers, she can earn more abroad.
Young people are now pressured to take courses out of practicality rather than passion.
As a typical Filipino family has more than three children, taking care of household, school and other expenses — with escalating cost of living, uncertain government support and without significant income increases — can be frightening for some parents. Thus, we may ask, “is the trend of Filipinos working overseas really caused by lack of competitive opportunities in the country or by a determination to earn a large income? Or do many Filipinos merely desire to just leave the country right away and look for opportunities to migrate?
If this lack of interest to build a career in the country continues, what will become of this nation?
Thanks to the Internet, resources are now available for families to keep in touch, such as text messaging and affordable international phone calls (where a growing number is done through voice over Internet protocol), online chat, web cam, blogs and e-mail. At least, the absence and tension caused by having a member of the family work abroad is eased through these means.
It is through the Internet that most of us discover opportunities that can be worth exploring to improve our lives. What the future holds for our country will greatly depend on our future leaders. Which path do we want them to take us?
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