the longest journey begins with a single step

Millions of Filipinos have gone abroad, leaving the country, their loved ones and job in pursuit of a better life.  They say that lack of opportunities back home is what pushes them leave… they say for greener pastures, for a better life. Most of my countrymen would grab any opportunity to work abroad. But who can blame them?  If our country could only provide for the needs of our people, probably no one would ever think of leaving and working abroad … maybe Filipinos could have better lives in their own land.

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         I wonder what attributes a life should comprise for it to be called better… I’ve heard lots of stories about OFWs’ lives. There are lots success stories, but of course there also not so success ones. And even those success stories have downsides underneath them. OFWs may be scattered in different places but they experience same things such as homesickness, depression, anxiety, discrimination so on so forth. There have been countless of stories about broken homes… misguided children…unfaithful spouses… compromised values… abandoned dreams for reality of need for money. They may have become well-off, but the price they had to pay for it is unquantifiable.