We hate how Filipinos are generally perceived here in Dubai. And we hate more the likes of Malu Fernandez. We hate it when people ask us incredulously here “is there anything good to see in the Philippines?”

We would rather stay in Manila to be with friends and family but we also have big dreams. We hate that the government seems unperturbed by the exodus of Filipinos. We hate that we have all accepted this as fact.

Nick is right. Paradigm shift. But how exactly do you do this on a massive scale? How ’bout a revolution? Not in the streets but here… in our heads and with our hands and feet.

Starting from the people I know here in Dubai, I have started talking about a “small revolution”. I looked at myself as an example and I realized for all my complaints of the government, I haven’t been voting the past three years since I came to Dubai. Why? Because I always thought everyone was rotten. But I should have voted the least evil candidate if i truly cared. And that’s my personal small revolution. Imagine if more people voted, maybe the one that should win could win. What if we spend an hour each month doing something for our country? Let’s say i give an hour just talking to new Filipinos looking for a job in Dubai and giving them tips where to search, what to avoid, how to dress. Am I not helping my country?

My mom says call it a sweet revolution. Because it will not give a bitter taste because it opposes no one and promotes only the country. Would love to hear your thoughts….

And believe me, in our mass transit, there are millionaires, CEOs, and politicians using them and you would never be able to distinquish one from the other. I always meet my doc in the subway, a specialist and University Professor and just like anyone will even give up his seat for an expectant woman….

OFWs
The press calls it a “brain drain” when alarms sounded about hospitals closing down due to deserting doctors emigrating for better paying jobs abroad, a looming medical crisis. By this time, thousands of nurses had embarked on the rampant exodus for employment in the U.S. and U.K. Yet they are only the latest overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) joining the 8 million or so working overseas that remit the dollars home, the group of Pinoys praised as heroes for helping to keep the nation from going down the drain of economic disaster.
These intrepid jobseekers in alien shores have not always been appreciated. The ubiquitous Pinoy nannies in Hong Kong and housemaids in Europe were a source of embarassment for Filipino globetrotting glitterati. The majority of OFWs works in menial jobs but gets paid many times more than similar jobs locally. Work abroad means he or she must endure not just the travails of the job but also the loneliness of separation from family, disrupted social life, strange language and alien customs
The OFW influence on Philippine society has profound implications beyond their economic clout. The average Filipino family consists of the two parents and three children, a family of five. Thus the 8 million OFWs represent half of the country’s population of 80 million. These Pinoys are learning the mores and rules of their host nation, and adapt to them or risk losing their job, their freedom, a hand or even a head. Repatriating OFWs return from a developed country with a higher respect and appreciation of law and order, so their potential to enhance and enrich Philippine culture is enormous. This enlightened class just might become the reformed Pinoy middleclass that will spearhead the renaissance of Philippine society, with the hope and promise of banished corruption, dismantled political dynasties, and laundered dirty politics …

I don’t doubt the reason why this administration seems bent on making sure overseas Pinoys dont get to vote is because they fear how the results might be skewed. They have no control over what happens when these ballots are cast in other territories. I think one concrete step is to make overseas voting a reality.

Its good to have you blogging too To me, this dialogue Pinoys are having online is nothing short of amazing.

First and foremost they send money home for the daily subsistence of their families. Which means that folks in the Philippines cannot subsist on the local economy. It that heroic? Or tragic?

They are individuals who have chosen to sacrifice for the sake of their families. In some instances, I would contend, there truly are heroes in the OFW communities. To exclude them altogether, simply on the basis or the definition of a comic book hero, complete with costume and cape is to totally miss the whole point of being a hero. It is sacrifice of oneself that contributes to being a hero, this is why, I have often said to colleagues, I consider my father to be my hero… It’s personal, but it’s no less true..

I do believe, however, they are being exploited by government, because of their remittances.. And yet, government, only pays lip service.