Paula Chichioco Essay

...

Working abroad and working in the Philippines obviously affects the relationships you leave behind at home. According to Paula, leaving the country for work would give you distant relationships with your friends and family. She elaborates that this is what most people resort to because they see it as the best option to steer their family away from financial problems. OFWs would rather choose to suffer alone than see their whole family suffer.

Of course, having parents who work abroad has its advantages. Like what most, if not all, people do, they try to fill emotional gaps by sending material things in the hope that it would also be enough to suppress the longing for one another a little longer. Another advantage of having an OFW for a parent is that, you also get to visit the countries that they work in. You would be able to tag along in their travels and be able to see the world with them. But sadly, as there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. The main disadvantage in this kind of situation is that, you have one less parent. For Paula, there was no mother-figure to take care of her and simply be a mom to her for 6 years. Girls always need their mothers. They are the person that they would always turn to when encountering any sort of problem – bullies, heart aches, or even when she may just need advice.

I could relate to all the things that Paula was talking about. My mother worked abroad for 8 years as well, starting when I was 8 years old but is now home with us for good. I think that OFWs are heroes as well, just as Paula had stated in the interview. They show great deals of strengths to choose to be so far away. Yes, it is bound to their decision whether to stay or not but we must take into consideration who would greatly benefit in their sacrifice. If only career opportunities here in the Philippines were as good as those of other countries, then there would be no problem at all. Families would remain whole and children would grow up with both their parents.