Just last week, a classmate in high school wrote something about the living condition of some OFWs in Dubai. She has mentioned about sharing accommodation where dividers could either be Styrofoam, boxes or just plain curtains. I was deeply saddened upon knowing their living conditions. This is the reality that some people, specially the ones in power seamed to ignore.
OFWs are hailed by the government, past and present, as modern day heroes. According to some, the money that we send back home thru our remittances helps keep the Philippine economy afloat.
What made me even sadder is the fact that some people seamed insensitive of the plight of OFWs not only in Dubai but elsewhere in the world. I would like to share with you this article written by Malu Fernandez, a columnist for Manila Standard and for People Asia magazine.
PART 1
PART 2
It is unthinkable that a fellow Filipino would malign and insult the ‘modern day heroes’. Malu might think that she’s rich, famous, smart and witty, being witty, to the extent of using the OFWs as the object of her humor.
In her article “From Boracay to Greece” (June 2007), among other things Malu wrote the following:
“I forgot the hub was in Dubai and the majority of OFWs were stationed there...Meanwhile, I wanted to slash my wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with them.”
She also went on to saying "This time I had already resigned myself to being trapped like a sardine in a sardine can with all these OFWs smelling of AXE and Charlie cologne while my Jo Malone evaporated into thin air."
She also wrote, “But I was busted, so I heaved a sigh, pooped my sleeping pills and dozed off to the sound of chewing gum and endless yelling of “Hoy! Kumusta ka na? At taga saan ka? Domestic helper ka rin ba?...I though I had died and God had sent me to my very own private hell.”
Her article proved once more that no amount of wealth in this world can give some the proper education and sensitivity to the feeling of others.
It is sometimes painful to know that a fellow Filipino puts down its own kababayan!
L Ven
