Moving Forward: OFWs’ Strategy to Challenge COVID-19 Hurdles

We’ve got a lot of hullabaloos recently. Wherever we live in the world and whether we suffer from frightening circumstances under the community quarantine period, we’ve just realized that things around us completely transformed into a “new normal.

This time, it appears to be politically correct to say that we live in a completely “new normal” society where we keep our distance and wear our face masks. We barely realize that we lose everything after the pandemic. Gone are the days when we meet friends and attend some social events. Gone are the days when we hug and kiss our friends when we see them. This time we only have patterns to do things – wear a face mask, go to the department stores to buy for the basic needs, and go home. We’ve become parts of the dynamics of the “new normal” – a term that other people discover during the pandemic.

As OFWs, we’ve been secretly crying in despair and isolation. We’ve been away from family members and friends. We, too, have the same experience with our family and social circles around the world. Sometimes, we’ve lost connections to them due to horrors brought about by the contagion.

As well, we can say that we feel it difficult to be away from family members. Our fear that our loved ones may be infected by the virus does not allow us to sleep well. We can say we have sleepless nights to think about them in the Philippines. It is because, in our deepest corner of our minds, the safety of our family members becomes our top priority.

At present, we experience some impediments in life. All complications in life get us disheveled that we suffer emotionally, financially, and physically. Despite our distance, we have to find means and ways to get better and pull through from them.

Stay composed and optimistic.

We know we suffer a lot of brawls and scraps throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we still have the option to stay positive. We cannot think well if we lose your nerve and feel restless. When we face all these problems in terms of economic, emotional, and physical concerns, we must stay constructive and hopeful. The point is, we must find means and ways to disassemble the negativity and to let them vanish in life. Despite the moments under the quarantine, we can think of plausible actions to plan for the next steps to succeed in life.

Stay connected.

We’ve all been experiencing the struggles financially. Since all business companies and establishments undergo some financial obstacles, we must stay connected to our loved ones and friends. We can use Facebook, Messenger, and other social media sites to communicate with our loved ones and friends and relatives. Despite the moment of isolation, we make use of technologies to stay interconnected with the people and family members. We must stay attached to friends and loved ones and ask for some advice to defeat the shortcomings.

Stay productive.

In times like this, we’ve learned so much from day one of the pandemic and up to this day. We’ve realized we’ve had so much potential to recuperate from losses and horrors. If we face the pandemic through emotional, economic, and physical, we ask someone who can help us resolve the problems. We do not need to blame people and time for why these things happen. Out of the situation, we’ve managed to understand that we could still smile after the rain. We only have to remember that we are in this together. We are not alone. As others slowly stand their feet to look ahead, we do the same thing to cope with the burdens poured in us. As OFWs who are far from home, we can look for real people and communities to embrace the same breaths of pain and struggle so that we, together, can recover the same.

All these actions are imperative. The struggles in life brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are real. The impact even disturbs us. As we take a moment to think of this present situation, we realize we have so much to think about to move forward!

Photo credit: Rappler