A Migrant's Tale

Lorelynn Felix

International migration has become usual in the Philippines which encouraged more and more people to join the bandwagon of migrants to other countries. Both men and women are attracted to this kind of “passage to a better life”. In the past, most of the people who migrate were men but recent studies showed a dramatic increase in the percentage of female migrants leaving the country.

“Nowadays, women were increasingly migrating as the main economic providers, or ‘breadwinners’ for their households,” said Carmen Moreno, Director of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), in the thirty-ninth session of the Commission on Population and Development.

According to the points raised in the said session, women who migrate are courageous enough to choose to give more importance to the welfare of their family members than their own. Migration not only attracts women from the lower classes but also those who are from relatively high status.

Pull Factor

“Wala akong balak before pero nung nagkaroon ng opportunity, ayun tuloy-tuloy na,” said Leonora Trinidad, a 36-year-old Filipino migrant in Qatar.

Trinidad, still unmarried, worked in an accounting firm and a gasoline station before she left for Qatar in September 2005. Her foreign employer in the said gasoline station was the one who encouraged her to work abroad. “Nakita ko yung financial aspect kaya naging interesado na rin ako,” she added.

At first, her family was against her plan because they were afraid of the risks. They later allowed her to leave after she told them that the benefits that they could get were greater than the risks that she would face.

She did not experience difficulty when she arrived in Qatar. She already had a house to live and also gained instant friends with the two Filipinos who went there ahead of her. During her stay abroad, she learned to be independent and to adjust to a different culture.

Her primary reason for working abroad is to assist her family in paying for their house in Laguna. She was able to pay it full in just two years of work abroad, but that did not stop her from leaving the country again. “Mga 14 years pa siguro akong mangingibang-bansa. Financially kasi maganda, stable,” she said.

She related that there is really discrimination against Filipino migrants abroad. “Hindi maiiwasan yun kasi syempre may mga kasama kang puti at iba yung treatment sa kanila,” she said. But she added that in Qatar, foreign employers would rather employ Filipino workers because they are known to be hard working and competent.

Trinidad also spoke about one of the dangers that women migrants are facing in Qatar. She said that some foreign taxi drivers bring women to the desert instead of the place of work then they would later rape and kill them. She is also concerned of the safety of her family—especially her sick mother—that she left in the Philippines.

“Ang sakit kapag may kamag-anak na umaalis. Kung maganda sana yung economy natin dito sa Pilipinas, hindi na lang sana magkakahiwa-hiwalay ang mga magkakapamilya. Kaya lang dahil sa hirap ng buhay natin eh wala tayong magagawa. Kailangan talaga umalis,” said Jo Aninao, sister of Trinidad.

­A Dutiful Daughter

“Nung una pinipigilan ko siya at medyo nagagalit-galit pa ako sa kanya n’un kasi magpa-Pasko n’ung umalis siya pero ngayon feeling ko mas ok na din kasi kung nandito siya ay mas mahihirapan talaga sila ni Papa,” said Monica (not her real name), 20 years old daughter of a migrant.

Monica’s mother was working for a pharmaceutical company before she was encouraged by a relative to leave the country and try her luck abroad. In 2005, she applied for a tourist visa and went to the United States. She moved from one relative’s house to another, looking for a decent-paying job that could help her support her family in the Philippines. At present, she is an undocumented migrant and is working as a caregiver for a family in Boston. She is planning to review for the board exam for pharmacists so she could legally work in the US.

Her father cannot leave his job in a pharmaceutical company since he is nearing his retirement and he cannot afford to lose all the benefits he could get from it, that is why it is his wife who decided to work abroad.

According to Monica, her mother’s primary reason for working abroad is to earn money to finance all of their expenses—a major part of this is the school expenses. Three of them are in college while two are studying in a private school in Laguna.

Her mom was attracted by the relatively large amount of money that she could earn from working abroad compared to staying in her job in the Philippines. “Mas malaki talaga sahod dun, biruin mo nag-aalaga lang siya ng bata. Eh dito manager siya pero maliit pa rin ang sweldo. Hindi rin siya gaanong pagod sa trabaho niya ngayon kasi magbabantay lang ng bata na madalas tulog naman,” she said.

Aside from the financial support that they get every week, Monica said that her mother’s decision to work abroad gave them emotional security. “Dati kasi laging may worry na kung paano na yung allowance para sa susunod na linggo, ngayon hindi na masyado dahil medyo kampante na kami na by weekend meron kaming pera,” she explained. In the past, it would take them days or even weeks to provide enough money for their needs but now it would only take a phone call to their mother for them to get the money they needed. “Kunyari umaga namin sasabihin yung kailangan na pera tapos habang natutulog kami sa gabi ay pinapadala na ni Mama yun kaya pag gising namin kinabukasan meron na,” she shared.

Most of the burden of her mother’s absence was left for Monica to face. Aside from the emotional burden, she was also tasked to manage her family’s budget. She handles her father’s wage and the money that her mother sends them. She takes over all her mother’s responsibility in the family.

She believes that her mother’s desire to give them a better life is the one that gave her the confidence to take all the risks that she is facing right now.

Feminization of Migration

Economic opportunity is the major reason why many Filipinos, even women, are enticed to try their luck abroad. Most of the women who are attracted to work overseas are employed in jobs that require them to do reproductive work—tasks that are akin to their work at home. Reproductive work is not given enough importance compared to productive work since the former only generates small amount of money for its workers.

According to Nancy Yinger in her article on feminization of migration, the unregulated nature of reproductive work leaves women migrants prone to all forms of exploitation and discrimination.

According to Maruja Asis in her paper entitled, “When men and women migrate: Comparing gendered migration in Asia”, the Philippines has devised ways to protect migrant workers, especially women. But the problem lies in the receiving countries whose policies intend to keep migration temporary, limit migrants’ participation in their country, and prevent settlement by inhibiting family reunification.

Yinger said that there are gender differences in the remittance patterns of men and women migrants. Women migrants are more likely to remit a large portion of their earnings compared to men and these remittances are mainly used to meet the daily needs of the family left in the Philippines.

Asis said that overall, families usually do well even with the absence of their men because women are the ones who fill in the responsibilities of the men. But the case is mixed when it is the women who leave the country. This affect the stability of the family and the welfare of the children left behind. The men do not necessarily take the role of the women. Instead, it is the other female members of the family who assume the task of the female member who left. There is also some evidence which suggests that some men are taking the role of the female member of the family.

Asis added that there is some evidence showing that husbands are wasting the hard-earned money of their wives or are having extra-marital affairs with other women. Since women have become the breadwinners of the family, they are more confident to put an end to a bad marriage.

The question of whether the feminization of migration promotes women empowerment is still left unanswered. For now, no one can really tell if it is good or bad for both the women who left the country and the women left behind. One thing is for sure, as long as the needs of the family call it, feminization of migration will still continue to prevail. ■