More than 100 Filipino crew of an ill-fated Italian cruise ship off the sea of Italy valiantly and heroically helped passengers to safely board life rafts and avoid the dangers of the rough and freezing sea. These Filipino Overseas Contract Workers, more popularly know called OFWs are some of the simple, honest, hardworking and God-fearing people who risk their lives every single day to work and serve various companies all over the world so they can earn money to support their families back home.
Often called by the Philippine Government Officials as the "New Heroes or Bagong Bayani" as they provide billions of pesos worth of remittances to the country. Economic experts agree that it's the OFW remittances which kept our country's economy afloat during the recent and still ongoing Global Recession. Yup, these simple folks kept our country from going under better than the think-tanks in government, they deserve more that just being called heroes.
Yet, on the bitter side of the story, these so called heroes often face abuses not only abroad but also locally. Local recruitment agencies charge them with excessive fees, they suffer long lines at the POEA and DFA which issue and process their documents and worse, they often get victimized by illegal recruiters. Horror stories of being raped, sodomized, tortured as well as non payment of salaries abroad are common. These people are not rich, most of them are from the poorest of the poor who had to leave their family and loved ones behind, sell or pawn what little property they have just to find that job abroad to support their families.
So my heart goes out to my fellow Filipinos working overseas, I will pray that someday, someway, somehow, no Filipino should ever be forced to leave his family back home just so he can find work abroad to support them. To the Filipino crew of Costa Concordia.....Mabuhay! May God Bless all the honest and hard working Filipinos all over the world!
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