|
Friday, December 23, 2005
Oledan: Margins
By Radzini Oledan
"There is a need to take steps to ensure respect for and protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families, something sorely lacking today despite the OFWs' contribution to the economy."
THE country's extreme reliance on the remittances of migrant workers has been recognized as a blessing ever since the 1970s when the country became a major exporter of labor. Or is it?
True, foreign remittances have kept the economy afloat. Unfortunately, the continuing migration has resulted in the collapse of the family. Children are left to the care of their grandparents or other relatives while one or both parents work abroad.
More than seven million Pinoys live and work overseas as nannies and nurses, on construction sites, in factories and other jobs. Remittances for October this year alone reached $8.8B, which is larger than the value of top five export products and combined amount of foreign aid and direct investment.
In most cases, poverty is one of the main drivers of today's migration patterns. Poverty forces people to leave their homes in search of a better life for themselves and their children.
Two-thirds of those working abroad are women and this migration takes a heavy toll on families who are left to fend on their own. Considering the socialization of men in our culture, such responsibility makes it difficult for fathers to assume the role left behind by their wives.
Most often, one partner becomes dependent on the other who is earning more for the family. OFWs have also become the cash cows not only of family members but also of their relatives who are as cash-strapped.
Even when migrants return, broken families are often the result. This leads to increasing drug use among the children of migrants. Study shows that majority of high school dropouts are children from these families with migrant workers.
The country still grapples with a high unemployment rate, at 10.3 percent. Recently, the Asian Development Bank ranked the high unemployment as "the country's single clearest indicator of a weak economy."
It is not only social cohesion that is threatened by the migration of Filipinos. A growing number of the unemployed and growing number of children are no longer interested to finish their college education because they have been taught that working abroad is better as it pays more.
Value also comes into place as most of the remittances are spent mostly on consumer items like clothes, appliances and cellphones. While there are OFWs who invest in business, most of these ventures fail mainly because of their lack of entrepreneurial and managerial skills.
Migrant workers are a fast growing population, most moving from countries like ours which are on the economic margins, or economically weak, to countries whose economies have benefited from globalization, and who may as a result need additional work force.
Although migration is not a new phenomenon, its growth and dimensions are new, and requires pro-active response. There is a need to take steps to ensure respect for and protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families, something sorely lacking today despite OFWs' contribution to the economy.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (December 23, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
