Should i leave or should i stay? This is the very question that has been bugging so many people, especially those who are in need to sustain their immediate family, their children, their siblings who are in need to finish school or obtain a much needed education, for without education one may struggle all throughout this chaotic urban jungle to search for a job or earn a living. Some struggles are even much worse, the very basis of it is just to survive and keep one's self alive for the day. Come to think of it, this form of survival is not only present in a country like the Philippines but almost on all third world countries. But if you look at it and just focus on the Philippines alone where in which ties between family members are so closely knit that having to leave one's family in order to work in a foreign land is so difficult and painful an experience, not only to the person who is departing, but it is equally scarring to those whom are left behind.
As of 2015, statistics show roughly around 6,092 migrant workers leave the country every single day to work abroad and we are all left with the big question mark, why is this the case, knowing that Filipino families are so tightly bonded to each other but they can still whisk out the courage to leave their comfort zones and explore other places where they have to adapt to a totally different environment, culture, weather, food and the treatment which might not even meet their expectations. With the hope that the big question mark be satisfied by greener pastures. Can we blame them? That will be the next big question.
Just in the Philippine local news alone, we can see a lot of cases where in which Filipino
migrant workers are maltreated sometimes up to the point of either they take their own life or them being killed. And again, the question comes to arise once again, can we blame them? Can we blame them for wanting something better for themselves and for their families. Of course aside from considering the downside there are also a lot o success stories as well but i really need not elaborate on those anymore.
Once again, let's revisit the first question, should i leave or should i stay? At this point we may consider 2 main culprits for this question. Chronic joblessness and low wages that Filipinos resort to leaving, but again, do they have a choice, the answer maybe yes but would that serve as reasonable choice or would it be a satisfying choice, maybe not. We need not dwell any deeper to what would catapult a person to such major decisions rather than plain and simple love for family, and that is already a good enough reason if you'd ask me.
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