Is the economy in the Philippines really that bad that a lot of Philippinos in Dubai and Sharjah has to accept a salary of Dhs. 2000/month and cramped in a sharing room with other six people? Or they just sacrifice their well beings here and swallow their prides not to be back in thier country even though learning Dubai is sometimes not a place for them?
2008-05-20T15:37:58Z
Taurus... I think you are the one not clear... read my question again and find out which "bad" i'm referring to ... it's the economy ****!
Here's my favourite part about your answer: "Nothing wrong of sacrificing yourself for the good of your country and to your family"
Good of your country??? Philippines rich are getting richer and poors are getting poorer and the sad thing?.... foreign philippino workers which previously belonging to the middle class are now slowly eaten by the poverty line and you know who enjoys your fruit of labour?.... it's the politicians back home who bag your money and the poor who are exempted from tax but enjoys all the low cost housings, roads, bridges, etc.
battgirl.....
is it in the Philippino culture that once a member of the family goes to abroad, the person is expected to send money back home and shoulder the house expenses, the studies of your younger siblings. financial helps to other members of the family, etc....
2008-05-21T00:34:37Z
chand.....
I admire your insights and the parallelism that you have laid down. Nice answer.
2008-05-21T03:34:17Z
Papars.....
iyi gün Papalık. benim eyes were tüm odak -e doğru senin güzel adı geçen yanıt ve cant yardım etmek -e doğru şaşkınlık nasıl sen were güçlü -e doğru yazmak öyle. I kurmak dışarı adl. şu sen are evli -e doğru a Filipina ve benim kutlama sana.
At least I tried....
battgirl2008-05-20T08:19:59Z
Favorite Answer
Dear Willie,
While not all of us are in dire needs, a lot of my kababayans are willing to take an AED2000 salary. Why? In the Philippines, the minimum salary is PHP382 per day (counting the recent PHP20 wage hike), amounting to roughly AED800 a month. Armed with a better education and a better personality, a start-up wage is roughly AED1100.
There are a lot like me who have good paying jobs and better opportunities in our home country alone but went to Dubai for the sake of a change of environment, a much higher wage for the same job profile and just to see what is there for us. Filipinos in Dubai is not all made up of your hired help. A significant number are competent and competitive professionals . Yet a larger part of the Filipinos in Dubai are the ones who are competing with the large number of unemployed back home. Don't get it wrong, there are a lot of job opportunities back home, there are just too many of us.
Visualize the following too:
Manila MINIMUM Salary AED800 Less: Tax, medical and Social Security shares Rising transport and food expenses Increasing house rent and electricity bills Family's needs + children's education
Dubai/UAE Salary AED2000 Less: Personal Needs Money to send back home for family needs and children's education - usually transport and accommodation and sometimes even food and medical expense are already provided
By all means, most of Filipinos in Dubai will be earning more than they ever will in the Philippines. A little self-sacrifice is a small price to pay for the sake of loved ones.
On a sad part, there are also people who are being duped into believing a good job and wage awaits for them in Dubai, only to find themselves jobless, penniless and debt-ridden. Rather than returning home with the shame and debt, they will swallow their pride so as to repay the debts and for the sake of the family who depends on them. My heart goes out to these folks. You just can't call them stupid of naive. It just happens.
And yes there are also a lot of Filipinos who feel Dubai is not the place for them and so after numerous visa runs, they just give up and go back home.
To go back to your original question, they say the economy is going good. I, as an OFW, am feeling the devaluation of my earnings if I were to send them back home. My compatriots who have opted to stay at home likewise complains that they do not feel the rising economy at all... Maybe it is, but we are yet to "feel" it.
-- edit: Yes it is although it doesn't apply to all. Most of the workers who go abroad are the ones who are really in need of uplifting their family status. Shouldering family expenses and education of younger siblings is mostly the primary reason they go abroad. In my case where my parents are both financially stable and my younger brother is already having a job of his own, sending part of money is not an obligation rather a small token of gratitude for the sacrifices of my parents to give me whatever I had needed. We have a family-oriented culture where extending help to one's family is often a higher priority before your own needs.
You are a veteran vis-a-vis this site and know more about Dubai and Filipinos more than anybody else (or is it my assumption?). Still, if you need the reply, I'm gonna tell you what I feel and know about them, though the same (Q) has been replied and discussed umpteen time here in this section. A Filipino or a frequent contributor here Filipina (with face hidden in hair) would give you the apt reply, still I can dish out my prognosis. Literacy rate in Philippines is far higher as compared to other neighbouring countries, but subsequent jobs etc are not enough to accommodate teeming graduates every year, so the whole of graduate class shifts to Dubai every year as temperamentally and otherwise Filipinos suit and fit in Dubai market like anything be it some travel agency, catering or some other job. They are affable, less quarrelsome fun and music loving nation and Dubai provides them all what they need like money and other paraphernalia. Like Keralites suit the Dubai market as they are educated (again as compared to other communities within their country), same is true with Filipinos. So they are out to make some bucks here as has been the case with many expats, that's it. I hope i'm able to put my message across.
yes... the economy is really that bad. rich people getting more richer. the poor ones, eventhough how hard they do they 're still poor.
Filipinos are hardworking people. I admire their perseverance. They will do what's best for their family.
we have to face the truth that some aren't lucky enough to get something what they want but chose to swallow their prides and sacrifice in other countries like dubai just to earn .
what kind of choices do they have?
there are no rooms(i mean good chances) for them in the phils. even if they do, not that much like what they're receiving right now.
i'd rather suggest they stay in dubai and sacrifice staying with others which i know they think it's more like in heaven rather than staying in their own country and get nothing.
Make it clear! Which is bad ... the Filipino or the Philippine Economy? Filipino are the people and Philippines is the country. Nothing wrong of sacrificing yourself for the good of your country and to your family. I hope, it is also inculcated on your mind. Other countries need the technical know how from others, for maybe they are short of it or lack of manpower and capability. The benefit is mutual, you gained the said target of progress by using foriegn manpower and the workers are compensated . Be thankful that there are still heroes that sacrifices not only for themselve but to your country as well.