These are my thoughts on “The OFW Project”, a Youtube video that is gaining popularity.
It shows a few OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) that have been staying for years abroad and were given the opportunity to return home for free by the famous softdrinks company. Working abroad is a popular “goal” for Filipinos, lured by the promise of better pay – aspirants would apply for IT jobs, ERP Jobs, Medical care jobs and any job that would give them better pay.
Sadly, I felt that the video was an obvious ploy to use real life emotions to promote an unhealthy product. I would call it a semi-reality TV commercial which just like the product it endorses, hides the ugly inconvenient truth.
What the video did not show is how many OFW families are being broken everyday just for the sake of that imaginary financial stability. The video also failed to show the children who are growing up without the much needed guidance from their parents.
What use is the house that they are paying for if they don’t live under one roof? How many of these unguided children will grow up to be good productive citizens?
The video also seem to neglect the many opportunities within the country that intelligent Filipinos could have been cultivating instead of going the easy route of working “abroad”.
My definition of true “family” love is staying with your family and trying to make ends meet without sacrificing your time together. A family should stay together, but sadly in this modern “relativistic” times – even the definition of family can change to whatever is more convenient. It was heart warming to see the reunions, but it is heart wrenching to think that these OFW had to wait many years for a silly softdrink product to give them free tickets when they can, if they REALLY wanted, to go back home with their own money.
It would have made a big difference if the OFWs on the video were given business or job opportunities within the country so that they can stay “happy” with their families. Unfortunately, the happiness that is promoted in the video is much like what Coca cola gives us, temporary and unhealthy happiness, which eventually turns into disease.
In fairness, the video was well made and have left many in tears, but sadly the video didn’t change anything, it didn’t even change the minds of the OFWs about leaving their country and families in the first place.
Found myself nodding at the last three paragraphs. Filipinos do have a flair for the drama and Coca Cola capitalized on that. The initial reaction would be that the reunions were very touching. The heart-wrenching scenes override the reality behind the plight of our OFW’s. Question is, what happens after that? Do they wait for years again before some benevolent people sponsor them for another dramatic reunion? And a question we can ask ourselves is what can we do now so that in the future it doesn’t have to be this way?