Bridging the gap between OFWs and their families

MANILA, Philippines - The ubiquitous cellphone has become an effective instrument in bridging the physical and emotional gaps between overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families left behind in the country.

Through the tip of one’s finger, an OFW out there in a far corner of the globe can easily reach his/her loved ones in the Philippines, or vice versa at a relatively cheaper cost.

Through such interactions, emotional anxieties and concerns for one another are eased up and peace of mind sets in.

The role that cellphones can play in keeping families of OFWs intact surfaced at a conference on poverty reduction held not long ago at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila in Pasig City.

The forum was organized by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO SEARCA) and University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE).

SEARCA is one of the 15 “centers of excellence” of SEAMEO, an intergovernment treaty organization founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in the fields of education, science, and culture. SEARCA is hosted by the Philippine government on the UP Los Baños (UPLB) campus.

Things were different years back when cellular telephones were not yet around.

The quickest way of reaching one’s relatives abroad or elsewhere was through the telephone. But then, these communication gadgets were not handy in the countryside, thus, OFWs and their loved ones usually communicated by mail — a snail-paced process with no full guarantee that letters ever reach their addresses.

Some studies so far conducted on the social problems besetting OFWs and their families point to the destruction of the family fabric brought about by the departure of a member to eke out a living in a far-away land.

Many achieve their objectives of earning enough for the upkeep of their families left behind.

But being abroad, at times under harsh realities, spell tragedies for not so few. Some come home in coffins or maimed, others land in jail for infraction of laws of the countries where they have found employment, or are forced to go through ordeals because they have gone to these places through unlawful means — victims of illegal recruiters.

But in these times when a cellphone comes handy, the physical and emotional gaps between OFWs and their families are now easily bridged, said one SEARCA-UPSE forum resource person, in answer to a question of one in the audience.

As of 2007, there were already about 8.73 million overseas Filipinos, reported another speaker, Dr. Edita Tan, UPSE professor.

In her presentation titled “The Private and Social Returns of Migration,” she noted that by country, the United States absorbed the most number of Filipinos — 2.8 million. It was followed by Saudi Arabia, 1.066 million; Canada, 462,935; Malaysia, 244,967; and Japan, 202, 557.

By region, the Americas/Trust Territories (US, Canada, Oceania) had the most number of overseas Filipinos (3.65 million).

There were 266,552 sea-based Filipino workers during the period under review.

Dr. Tan said there were two groups of Filipino immigrants: the permanent ones and overseas Filipino workers.

“Migration is driven mainly by economic benefits to the migrants which take the form of higher wages, better social and political environment, etc. We refer to this as private returns,” she explained.

The social returns are the externalities or the benefits/cost to society owing mainly to remittances. Such returns contribute to the country’s gross national product (GNP, about 10 percent), and to foreign exchange earnings (about 40 percent), which may be beneficial or harmful.

Moreover, Dr. Tan averred, the social returns may mitgate poverty, increase saving and investment rates, and migration may reduce the unemployment problem.

She added, however, that “there may have been brain or skill drain.”

Encouragingly, most OFWs earn income they could hardly realize at home.

For instance, she said, “Nurses earn more than $3,000 per month in the US, $2,000 in the United Kingdom, $500 in Saudi Arabia. Maids earn close to $1,000 in Spain and Israel but only $200 in most Middle East countries.”

Clerks took home from $333 to $436 in Middle East. Domestic helpers earned an average of $471 in Hongkong, $204 in Saudi Arabia, $201 in other Middle East countries, and $201 in Singapore.

Other professionals are also handsomely paid in the US, Canada, UK, and Middle East countries.