Most of us don’t really know how OFWs struggles to live their lives abroad. Many of us think that they are fine and that they just work there to earn money. We even call working abroad as an opportunity. We desperately need to go there and travel and meet people. However, what we fail to realize is that they suffer more pain than we can never imagine. They feel the pain of longing and homesickness for months. Aside from the fears of having and working with bad people, they spend much of their time struggling to be stronger than they can ever be.
The Myth
We may think that OFWs are strong people. The strength that we think comes from their abilities to live their lives away from the families, their children, and their wives. We think that they are happy every time we see them laugh when we talk over the phone via video chat from Messenger or any social media. Our friends and neighbors when talking to us often say, “Oh, you are rich because your husband or wife works abroad” or simply “Oh, you’re fine despite the absence of your husband and wife.” We have remarks like these; however, what we don’t know is that they struggle their lives to survive from hardships and the people around them.
OFWs’ Dilemmas
OFWs strive hard to survive. It means that they have to learn to be strong to fight against homesickness or nostalgia. They have to fight against their demons and their emotions. For the first three months of going away, they struggle to balance their decisions. However, some of them are weaker than we think. They admit defeat. Many of us can hear news reports that OFWs jump from the Fourth Floor or drink many drugs inside the toilet because of confusion, loneliness, and other factors. And yes, OFWs may come to a point where and when they give up their jobs and plan to come home. Once they decide, they cannot make things possible due to their contracts.
Crab Mentality
Some OFWs behave differently abroad. Perhaps, their loneliness and isolation made them feel brutal and tough. They possess strange or even weirder attitudes. For example, they trick other OFWs so that their employers will get mad at them. Some think why this thing happens when other OFWs only to finish the contract and go home. They do not even seek for promotions. The problem is that distance and loneliness make some OFWs stiff and unyielding. They become callous, cruel, and vicious OFWs, and they do not think any more clearly. These OFWs manage to adjust their lives in a foreign land; however, their character changed.
Benefits of Working Abroad
OFWs remain untouched by pain and time if they are ready to work abroad. If they have some experiences, they can no longer feel the problems of loneliness. They can adapt to the new environment. However, those OFWs that are just new may realize and think of the benefits of going abroad. Thinking about it may lessen the sense of returning home or the sense of losing their minds. I tell you this. Loneliness can kill OFWs. Despite the problems that OFWs feel, they must realize the fact that working abroad is advantageous and that it inspires them to continue to work on their dreams. By this, they can gain benefits:
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- Meeting new cultures and building cultural awareness
- Augmenting your personal and professional profile via CV
- Having value-added communication skills
- Enhancing self-confidence and resourcefulness
- Increasing the sense of freedom from self and disposition
- Attaining new experiences to improve professional skills
Now, OFWs can survive from their struggles if they choose to try stirring themselves the fruit of their labor. For us, they go abroad out of love and sacrifice. Because of their love to give their loved ones a good life, they sacrifice the distance and the time despite the distance. They also feel joy since they can earn a lot of money and send them to their loved ones despite the sadness.
