The Stigma of OFWs

almost 8 million Filipinos are working overseas, and almost 80 % of them are married, and leave their families behind. this work trend has definitely answered a big problem among the Filipino families – financial survival. dollars are sent back to the philippines, alleviating their families’ lives, and on a bigger scale, it increases the dollar reserve and of course, increasing the spending cycle of money, making it a good machinery of the government to improve our economy.

our boss’ vision for bringing in employees from the philippines to dubai is “one filipino employee hired, means one family made financially worry-free.” yes very true.

but................ on the other hand, it left a stigma to many. it solved one, but created another problem. one parent is away, leaving the whole responsibility of child-caring to the other spouse, and many times, with the grand parents and uncles and aunties. the kids are left with no image of either the mother or the family, whoever decided to fly abroad. and because of this, filipino family has never been the same again…

the absence of one parent-figure is already disturbing. but there is something more shattering, and more alarming… the increasing cases of infidelities and broken marriages among the OFW families.

yearly, in our company alone, we deal with a number of these cases. is the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ rubbing them in, poisoning their minds? the once ‘married’ are claiming to be ‘separated’, and thus making their current relationship legal. we’ve put our foot down on this issue and has implemented radical policies and decisions. but there are others who’d really sneak behind our back smartly, and prolong a taboo relationship longer than we’d imagine. not all OFWs are given the bi-annual treat to go home. many wait for 1 year, or worse, 2 years to be given the chance to go home.

or, it is the spouse left behind who is playing with fire! whew, is 1 or 2 years of wait really too long to keep the married vows intact?! ... i pity the wronged ones... but most especially, i pity the kids who have to borne the consequences of their parents' selfishness...


oh, the stigma… the curse of Filipino OFWs… financially free yet emotionally broken...... or would you rather keep the family intact despite being financially drowned?