Migration is a matter of choice

Migration is not a crime. It is one of the rights of people, to have the freedom to move where he wants, for as long as such movement does not violate or contravene any law. When people migrate, it is because they choose to exercise that right.

But leftists in the Philippines, who have made a cottage industry out of protesting against anything, are pushing the canard that migration is a forced movement of people. That is a lot of bullshit.

We are not saying that times are not hard. We are not insisting that everything is all hunky-dory in the Philippines. But it is not the hardship, the lack of better-paying jobs and high prices that are pushing people to migrate. People are leaving of their own choosing.

To say that migration is being forced is to blindly reject the fact that for every Filipino who freely chooses to go, probably nine or ten others are opting to stay behind, and they include some of the most rabid leftists.

The leftists are free to go if they want. But they are opting to stay behind. And I can see the reason why. They make a good living out of protesting here. If they go after having only gained skills in protesting, they will never make a better living anywhere.

It is true migration is hard on people. Families get separated. Normal lives are disrupted. Familiar things will be abandoned. But it is a choice that is freely made. That life is full of tough choices does not necessarily mean choosing to migrate is a forced act.

As said earlier, for every one who migrates, probably nine or ten others stay. And we see them among us. Some are happy where they are, and then some are not. But that does not mean they cannot get by.

The important thing is, whether it is leaving or staying, Filipinos are making their choices on their own. And that is something that we should not ignore but instead recognize and then celebrate.

What we should all dread is when some authority starts curtailing our rights and starts orchestrating our moves. Heaven forbid that the day should come when we need to have permission whether to stay or move somewhere.

People with more open minds than leftists have recognized this right of people to choose where they want to go. In fact, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, in a recent visit to the Philippines, extolled Filipino migrants and the great help they have done for the country.

That times are hard does not necessarily mean people have to be uprooted against their will. People migrate because they refuse to be victims of circumstance. People migrate because they have a fairly good idea of what they want and have the courage to go and get it.

For all their supposed taking up the cudgels for migrants, little do the leftists know that the migrants do not care any less for their espousing of a cause the migrants themselves do not share.

For all the belly-aching of leftists, have they even bothered to consult the migrants themselves if the protests are in fact a welcome representation of causes that may not even be of any concern or interest to them?

Migration is a natural choice made by people. It is just a coincidence that Filipinos are truly hard-up and would want to improve their lives elsewhere. But has anyone ever considered that in excellent times, migration may in fact get even more attractive to people?