Imagine a world without Filipinos

Written on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 11:43 pm | by Abe N. Margallo

UPDATED

On June 26, 2001, www.gin.ph quoted from a piece published in Arab News:

The Filipino worker, in comparison to other laborers, stands out. He is known for keenness to do the job, for his honesty in dealing with customers and he respects time. In other words, if he has given you a date to deliver your goods, you would find him living up to his word. You would also be avoiding any unnecessary arguments or excuses, as would have generally been the case with some Arab workers. What makes him that way? What is the secret behind his aptitude and success? Is it due to the fact that he comes from a nation where people honor work and are trustworthy? Or could it be that they are given more practical training?

By that time, I think, our OFWs were not as much hailed as our modern heroes as now and so then I posed the following:

When, in contrast to the above adulation, Philippine media leans toward highlighting more the plight of OFWs in trouble with the laws of their host foreign countries, one cannot help but marvel if Filipinos deserve more than they give themselves credit for.

Now, seven years later, here’s another adulation that certainly should again make us Filipinos proud of ourselves.

Imagine a world without Filipinos

By: Abdullah Al-Maghlooth (Arab News. 16 Jun 2008)

Muhammad Al-Maghrabi became handicapped and shut down his flower and gifts shop business in Jeddah after his Filipino workers insisted on leaving and returning home. He says: “When they left, I felt as if I had lost my arms. I was so sad that I lost my appetite.”

Al-Maghrabi then flew to Manila to look for two other Filipino workers to replace the ones who had left. Previously, he had tried workers of different nationalities but they did not impress him. “There is no comparison between Filipinos and others,” he says. Whenever I see Filipinos working in the Kingdom, I wonder what our life would be without them.

Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers — 1,019,577 — outside the Philippines. In 2006 alone, the Kingdom recruited more than 223,000 workers from the Philippines and their numbers are still increasing. Filipinos not only play an important and effective role in the Kingdom, they also perform different jobs in countries across the world, including working as sailors. They are known for their professionalism and the quality of their work.

Nobody here can think of a life without Filipinos, who make up around 20 percent of the world’s seafarers. There are 1.2 million Filipino sailors.

So if Filipinos decided one day to stop working or go on strike for any reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across the world? We can only imagine the disaster that would happen.

What makes Filipinos unique is their ability to speak very good English and the technical training they receive in the early stages of their education. There are several specialized training institutes in the Philippines, including those specializing in engineering and road maintenance. This training background makes them highly competent in these vital areas.

When speaking about the Philippines, we should not forget Filipino nurses. They are some 23 percent of the world’s total number of nurses. The Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing colleges and institutes, from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each year. Many of them work abroad in countries such as the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.

Cathy Ann, a 35-year-old Filipino nurse who has been working in the Kingdom for the last five years and before that in Singapore, said she does not feel homesick abroad because “I am surrounded by my compatriots everywhere.” Ann thinks that early training allows Filipinos to excel in nursing and other vocations. She started learning this profession at the age of four as her aunt, a nurse, used to take her to hospital and ask her to watch the work. “She used to kiss me whenever I learned a new thing. At the age of 11, I could do a lot. I began doing things like measuring my grandfather’s blood pressure and giving my mother her insulin injections,” she said.

This type of early education system is lacking in the Kingdom. Many of our children reach the university stage without learning anything except boredom.

The Philippines, which you can barely see on the map, is a very effective country thanks to its people. It has the ability to influence the entire world economy.

We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but also by learning from their valuable experiences.

We should learn and educate our children on how to operate and maintain ships and oil tankers, as well as planning and nursing and how to achieve perfection in our work. This is a must so that we do not become like Muhammad Al-Maghrabi who lost his interest and appetite when Filipino workers left his flower shop.

We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.

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About The Author: Abe N. Margallo is a teacher, lawyer, author, columnist, and activist. When not running, advising community associations, or teaching, he studies events, and reacts accordingly by writing, blogging (at Red’s Herring) or acting on them, alone or with others

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Comments

5 Responses to “Imagine a world without Filipinos”

  1. cvj on July 2nd, 2008 1:36 pm

    The Philippines has world class migrant labor and a lackluster business class. I wonder when our businessmen would finally step up.

    Slightly OT: Your mention of the ‘gin.ph’ is a blast from the past. The very first online comment i submitted was to that website (back in the late 90’s or early 00’s - can’t remember exactly). They had a post that said that only those who pay taxes should vote so i stated my objections. My comment got deleted and the website became inaccessible.

  2. benign0 on July 2nd, 2008 3:39 pm

    The Saudi’s have recently decided to pump more oil in apparent fear of advanced nations developing new forms/sources of fuel in response to higher energy costs.

    Kung baga, if oil supply becomes an issue, the Advanced World will mobilise its vast technological might to overcome that setback.

    So I imagine that if cheap Filipino labour suddenly disappears from the face of the earth, advanced nations will, in the same way, manage to find SOLUTIONS to overcome such a setback.

    The guiding principle here is how THINKING usually overcomes physical challenges.

    It’s kind of like how we are suddenly faced with a shortage of our precious staple. Do Pinoys simply lay down and “die a slow death” because of this setback (as the Saudi dude above said they would if the equivalent commodity shortage occurs there)? Abangan ang susunod na kabanata… :D

  3. Imagine a world without oil… | Filipino Voices on July 3rd, 2008 8:33 am

    […] bulb in the room, but I’m not really sure if the irony behind Abe’s article “Imagine a world without Filipinos” escaped anyone else […]

  4. butch on July 5th, 2008 10:46 am

    Randy David wrote about this in today’s (5 July 2008) Inquirer: A World Without Filipinos

  5. The Saudi-Filipino Democratic Deficit | Filipino Voices on July 7th, 2008 9:06 am

    […] by Abdullah Al-Maghlooth praising Filipinos in Saudi Arabia. Red’s Herring posted the item at Filipino Voices. Al Maglooth writes: Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers — 1,019,577 — […]

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