CHILDREN: Beneficiaries of and Compromised by the Migration of their Parent/s BY REV. FR. JOJO C. GONDA
Migration has become the culture of Filipino life. Most young people prefer to go abroad than to find work here because of poor job opportunities and insufficient income to raise a decent family. With the advent of growing percentage of people with no jobs or had been laid off because of the effects of the global economic crisis, the direction of Filipinos is to search for job offers abroad. This is sometimes, if not most of the time, results to Filipinos accepting jobs totally different from the courses they took or much lower than their training (i.e. doctors becoming nurses).
With almost 10 million Filipinos and Filipinas working abroad (and millions more wanting to go there), this will definitely create benefits to the families left behind. Most especially, the children are the number one beneficiary of such migration process. They get more money. They live easily. They attend good schools. They get what they want most of the time. They wear good clothes and accessories. They go to malls instead of the “palengke”. They enjoy a good house, a good car and even good appliances. Even if the government enjoys the migrants’ (OFW) remittances, still it can’t be denied that the children of the Overseas Filipino Workers enjoy so much privilege.
More often than not, these material and social benefits become the main motivation of all migrant Filipinos. They all want to live a good life based on material benefits. This is absolutely necessary for the Filipino Families: that they improve their style and way of life much different to the life that they have while just working here. It is a sad fact that this happens because of poor opportunities being provided by the government. Much of the money they gain from the people’s taxes, which can be used in the service of the Filipinos goes, most of the time, to the pockets of government officials. The effect is that the Filipinos are forced and even coerced to work abroad. Instead of being assisted by the government, migrants assist the government. (Annually, the OFW sends to the country an average of 15 billion dollars saving the country from further economic downfall.)
However, this is only half of the picture. When migration happens, especially if the father or the mother or both leave to work abroad, the children are usually left behind to caretakers: grandparents, uncles and aunts or even to cousins, friends or “yayas”. As a result, they live for a whole year or so without their real parent/s. This has tremendous psychological and social effects on their process of growing up. Some suffer identity crisis. Some develop inferiority and insecurity. Some lose control of their lives and live undisciplined lives. Many cannot finish their schooling. Much worse, some fall into drugs, early pregnancy and marriage, delinquency and the like. They don’t experience closeness and intimacy with their parents. Much of the time they relate through text messages or at times through phone calls and internet chatting. Both the parents and the children know and understand that is not enough to build authentic bonding.
We do not deny the many benefits of migration. It is highly commendable in the economic situation of our country. However, society must address the other issues and concerns. Otherwise, if this goes on in the next ten years or so, we will see more of the deterioration of our core family value: close family ties. At this juncture, the Catholic Church must take the upper hand in addressing this reality. The Family Life Apostolate and the Youth Ministry must and should cope up with this emerging and concrete realities happening to the family and the youth of today’s generation. LACMMI spearheads the ministry to the migrant families but the other commissions and the Church as a whole must be involved. We must work hand in hand in approaching the realities of our Church today as it is now being populated by families affected by migration.
OUR PARTNERS
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
A Pastoral Care Program for Batangueño Migrants and their Families
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