Change with the times

Times have changed.

Before, going abroad was like a death sentence for a typical Filipino family. Stories of infidelity, marital problems, drugs, gambling, and other vices were aplenty for Filipinos seeking greener pastures overseas.

It was understandable.

Working abroad wasn't easy. Before you could talk to your wife and children, a father working in an oil field in Jeddah or Riyadh had to go to Souq every Saturday so he could use a telephone.

If his children wanted something, say a pair of rubber shoes, they had to trace their feet on a sheet of paper and mail it to Dad. It took a week or two — even months — before the mail arrived in the Middle East.

The same went for the wife. If she wanted to say something she couldn't utter over the phone, she had to record it on a cassette tape and mail it to Saudi. Again, it was a long process, and many things would have already happened before her husband could hear her voice.

This kind of setup led to a lot of broken families.

How often have we seen a situation where the husband got lonely abroad, fell in love with his workmate, and decided to marry in the Middle East?

During vacations, they would go home to their families as if nothing happened. Some established families in the Middle East while sending remittances to their original families in the Philippines.

The children also were affected.

With their father or mother working abroad, the children had nowhere to turn but to their relatives, who usually had their own families to tend to. Yes, their fathers or mothers always provided their wants, like the latest gadgets, chocolates, shirts, and rubber shoes, but the children still felt empty as they longed for the love, care and affection that only their parents could provide.

Without their parents, the children became vulnerable, leading to many bad choices. They fell prey to a lousy company that encouraged them to smoke, gamble and do drugs at such a young age. And when they ended up in either a drug facility or prison, the overseas-based parents would come home and blame their children, saying: I sacrificed a lot and went abroad for you. Why did you do this to me?

But everything is now a thing of the past.

With the advent of social media and other modern communication tools, the world is now more miniature. Overseas Filipinos can now call their families anytime, anywhere, and talk to them as if they were just in the next room. A Viber call from Doha, Toronto, Rome, or Los Angeles is now almost the same as a call from Quiapo or Divisoria.

If you want to know the whereabouts of your beloved, just a few clicks on Facebook or Instagram, and you will get instant answers. If you want to see their faces, you can call them via video call to talk to them as if they were standing beside you.

You can also install CCTV cameras inside your house and access them through your mobile device, even if you're out of the country. With that, you can monitor your children's routines even if you're not around.

But the best part is that everything is free if you have cellular data or a stable internet connection.

That's why many Filipinos are becoming bolder and more aggressive in pursuing careers overseas. With the advent of modern technology, they have become more open-minded about packing their bags and going abroad, knowing that they can earn a decent living without sacrificing their families.

Filipino families have gone global.

Times have truly changed.