Award-winning photographer and former domestic helper in Hong Kong questioned the Philippine government’s economic system that relies heavily on the remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
Xyza Bacani, during the 2019 Mountain Echoes festival, said at that a lot of children grew up without their parents who were working abroad, including her.
“Unfortunately, our country does not export anything, we only export people. In the 70s and 80s, our government found a way, an export policy. So multi-millions are coming into our country through these OFW workers, who are sending remittances. These OFW remittances are a huge contribution to the economy. But it is quite sad. A country that encourages people to leave their homes is a broken country. The last two generations of children have grown up without their mothers,” Bacani said.
The continuous trend of workers abroad also left children motherless or fatherless during their crucial formative years.
“Correct me if I am wrong, but for the healthy upbringing of a child, one needs nutrition, education, vaccination and affection. The affection that comes from the mother, is what was missing in our generation. It is still going on. They all have a motherless childhood,” she said.
Bacani is also a daughter of an OFW. She left her three children as she worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong.
“I was a child, who was left behind by my mother, a migrant domestic worker. Later I myself became a migrant worker. So I have seen both sides of the spectrum. And I was tired of the narrative about these women, whose lives are not celebrated but only shown as a tragic story,” she said.
