New York Times veteran journalist Jason DeParle recounts the life of a three generation of a Filipino family who hopscotched from the Middle East through America.
It was in 1987 when DeParle, then a budding journalist, rented a space in the house of Portaganas’ family in the slums near Manila Bay. He was placed by the Asia Foundation to Manila as a Henry Luce Scholar.
“Restless, and searching for a better understanding of poverty, DeParle was introduced to Tita Comodas and her family, who invited him to live with them in the shantytown of Leveriza,” according to the Asia Foundation.
He developed a good friendship with them during the span of eight months of living with them under one roof.
More than 30 years after, DeParle took inspiration from the family’s journey as overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to write his new book entitled, “A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves”.
The sweeping tales of the family’s migration started when an opportunity in Saudi Arabia knocked for Emet, husband of Tita.
“Emet Comodas was away as a guest worker in Saudi Arabia. His wife, Tita, was home, raising five kids on the money he sent back. I wasn’t thinking of migration, I was thinking about poverty, but migration was the way they survived their poverty,” DeParle told the Asia Foundation.
He worked as a pool keeper in Saudi for 20 years. And when he decided to return home for good, another member of his family had to leave to be a “good provider”.
His daughter Rosalie took on the task, continuing the spiral of migration in their family. In paradox, even the long years spent by his father working abroad did not suffice to end that cycle of constantly being apart.
After she finished a degree in nursing, Rosalie first worked in Jeddah before transferring to Abu Dhabi. When the work opportunity in the US landed on her table, she grabbed it thanks to the American dream.
“When Rosalie first got to the United States, the kids were still in the Philippines. So, she’d leave the webcam on all day long on her days off, 12 hours a day. She was in Galveston, Texas, and could hear the roosters crow 13 time zones away. Mother would be ironing, or the kids would be running in and out, somebody would slam the door, and it was the ambient sound of the Philippines that helped Rosalie feel less homesick,” DeParle said.
In 2013, she was able to petition for her husband and their three children. Thus, the third generation of OFWs in their family.
According to a study by the Migration Policy Institute, there are 10 million Filipinos who are working or living abroad in 2017. This is about ten percent of the population in the country.
The Philippines became open to overseas employment program back in the 1970s. The state promoted Filipino workers to the oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The latter half of the 1970s saw the booming demands for Filipino workers.
“The two main themes of Filipino Overseas Worker life are homesickness and money,” writes New York Times reporter and two-time Pulitzer finalist DeParle.
