OFW Christmas Blues (Pasko na Naman)

I can smell the “Spirit of Christmas” but I cannot feel the joy it brings like it does when I am still back home in the Philippines. Christmas in the Middle East is just an ordinary working day unless it falls on a Friday. Unfortunately this year it falls on a Thursday and it only means that while almost all people around the world are celebrating CHRISTMAS we the “Middle Easterners” are in the office working and contemplating at the same time. Maybe I can treat myself with a piece of shawarma after office and walk along the corniche (Bay area) and probably order “milked tea” while trying to enjoy the cold breeze.

I hate to sound so melodramatic but believe me, majority of OFW’s will surely feel this way which I may I call “OFW Christmas Blues”. It’s the season of joy for most but it’s also the season of homesickness for us Filipinos abroad.  SMS (Text) will surely flood roaming phones not with Christmas greetings but mostly “Demands”. If I may write some very common short messages below, here it goes...

“Malapit na ang Pasko mahal, ang daming gastos, dagdagan mo na lang ang padala mo.”

“Pasko na anak padala ka naman ng bagahe, sabay mo na rin ang aginaldo namin.”

“Kuya padalan mo naman ako ng sapatos kahit Nike lang ayos na yon.”

“Ate sana mapadalan mo naman ako ng bagong cell phone, nakakahiya na kasi hetong IPhone 4 ko. Sana ate kahit I-Phone 5s lang”

“Mama ang ganda ng bagong labas na Ipad, sana maregaluhan mo ako ngayong Pasko.”

“Daddy huwag mong kalimutan ang regalo ko sa Pasko, kahit yung X-Box lang.”

Above are some of the few variations of the usual text messages that an OFW will receive this Christmas Season and they have all one thing in common, all are requests or wishes. Don’t they ever wonder how hard it is to earn money abroad? But what OFWs would do? Of course they will oblige so as not to disappoint their love ones no matter what the cost even swiping credit cards and worry about the payments later, after all Christmas is giving. I wonder what I have received so far in the last three years spending Christmas abroad, yes, you guessed it right “none” but “Thank You” is more than enough to make an OFW like me to smile. The sad thing sometimes is even a short thank you message will not be sent to us.

I have been to different OFW forums and one thing I always encounter is the line “Sana malaman ng mga pamilya ng mga OFW’s sa Pinas na di tayo namumulot ng pera dito sa abroad.” This notion of easy money abroad is far-fetched; I guess the conversion from Dollars to Philippine Peso is to be blamed for this. When people know about your salary in dollars they will surely convert it to peso and they would conclude that you are being able to save so much, hardly do they know and don’t realize is that we spent local currencies not peso. For instance I would buy a can of sardines that would cost 3.75 Qatar Riyals convert that to peso it would be Php 42.00 so if you’ll do the Math it’s more expensive here than there back in the Philippines.

Also not every company here in the Middle East gives bonuses. But for us Filipinos as resilient as the bamboo grass, we always find a way to at least celebrate Christmas in our own little ways and part of that celebration is remitting bigger amount of money than usual before that “Big Day”.

How I miss the Christmas atmosphere back home, puto bumbong, bibingka, tamalis, and pandesal after every “Simbang Gabi” for half a month. Ham, nilagang baboy at kalamay on Noche Buena.... OK.. It’s not helping I must finish this entry now and it is making me more feel blue.

I just wish a very merry Christmas to all the OFWs around the world and a prosperous New Year, may you earn more so you could just stay home for good.