Filipinos abroad

Going abroad has been the primary objective of many Filipinos in the hope of finding greener pasteur in foreign lands. It is working as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) which has not only brought about economic freedom to many Filipino families but also a huge help in the country's ailing Philippine economy.

In recent years, the trend has changed, the used to be an OFW status has now become family migration. We have seen quite a number of families queuing to apply for resident visas, family status and all sorts just to get their applications approved to enter another country. The famous destination would be the US, Canada and Europe. They spend much in working for these applications.

There is no problem in migration. When one is ready to face the sudden change of environment that the family may face as soon as they get to their destination, then it is just alright. To face new neighborhood with diverse backgrounds and cultures might be one of the bigger challenges that they may face, not to discount of course the possibility of starting from scratch with their livelihood. Common scenario would be that the father would look for a job that usually is a little too low against his qualification, but will have to accept it ,that is if he finds one, or face the risk of living daily with their life savings.

These families normally process their application for abroad in 5 to 10 years before it they get results. Some are lucky that they get approved but many just ends up losing from it. They spend a lot of hard earned money so that they will have an impressive credential before the final submission, and come the interview day. They must have substantial assets to become acceptable in another country.

It is good enough that some affluent families who apply for migration just do it because they have to go abroad. It may be that they really find good reasons to migrate due to security reasons, government and economic stability or health. But to those among us who struggles daily to earn a living, and wants to focus in going abroad may have to think a little deeper. Many would save money, work harder to gather enough assets to back up their application has somehow become practically richer and will become more wealthy if they stay on, but ends up selling everything to start anew abroad. Many would focus their lives in going abroad that in doing so have made them experts in their trade which could give them more success, but had to let go of it and start anew abroad.

The point of this writing is that, the reason why one has to go abroad is because we all want better life. The better life you desire can be found anywhere, whether here or abroad, and that totally depends on the individual to find it. If you find opportunities abroad then go for it. Here is a piece of advice, if you have your mind focused in going abroad then all the opportunities that comes your way is geared towards that, and getting there is your success. Then what happens after succeeding to migrate, you are back to basics. What if you change your focus to succeeding first locally, you are going to work equally hard anyway, and then go abroad afterward. You can never tell when you might just find yourself going abroad because of work related accomplishment

red cross workers kidnapped in Philippines

First of all, it was truly heroic for the 3 red cross volunteers to work their way into the jungles of Mindanao. We really salute them! What could have been a noble endeavor turned out to be a nightmare when the Abu Sayyaf bandits kidnapped them for ransom. The bandits demanded that the Philippine military rescue team should pull out or they behead one of the kidnapped victim. The Abu Sayyaf are already cornered with no where to go, hence, the ultimate do or die demand. No w the Philippine military is in a dilemma whether to pursue the rescue operation and risk one of the kidnapped redcross worker's head severed or pull out their forces and leave the entire village vulnerable to abu sayyaf atrocities, (the military have pulled out anyway due to political pressure). I would rather pursue the rescue, they are going to kill anyway at whim.

earth hour for climate change folly

The idea of turning off the electricity for an hour is a good one to ease a little the effects of climate change. We are faced by the reality however that we as a people continue to destroy the world by our continued use of destructive materials. One hour of earth hour is not enough! Drastic measures have to be applied. A classic move is to put a stop in the use of fossil fuel! I can suggest some alternatives: use cars using electric motors and batteries. Use renewable energy from water, air and sun for house electricity etc. Now think about it. What do you think?