Casualties Of War

Reading the story of Angela (Cover Story, skillfully narrated by Amy Gunnacao) reminded me of many distant tales of people I know. One is about my wife’s nephew who is a good and hard-working young man. He worked for 3 years in Saudi Arabia in his teens and after his vacation, for some reason, he could not come back. For several years he couldn’t find the luck to land for another overseas job. And so finally, when the chance came for an opening in Israel 5 years ago, he grabbed it. Before his departure, he brought his young family together with his wife, who is a teacher, to our house for a visit. I asked him why, of all places abroad, he chose to work in Israel – a country always at war. Without any hesitation his reply was short and straightforward, “Uncle, mas mahirap ang giyera sa sikmura dito – gutom!”

I was baffled by his determination to leave knowing that he is fully aware of the dangers that lie ahead in his place of destination and also of the tragic fate that befell his older brother in a not-so-recent past. The brother I am referring to worked in South Korea for 5 straight years without a single chance to go home for a vacation – the reason is because he was an undocumented worker. When he finally came home, in a matter of just few months, he got terribly sick. And so after a long battle with illness that saw his savings all wiped out he succumbed and died of cancer, obviously contracted from the harmful chemicals of the garment factory where he worked without proper protective and safety gears in a remote town in South Korea. He left behind a son and a grieving young wife who endured 5 years dreaming for his return.

I am sure that you have heard similar stories even before you started your own journey. Yet, these sad tales do not deter our spirit from seeking our destiny from all the four corners of the world – all in the name of our dream for a better life for our family and for ourselves. Our country is at war and fighting a formidable enemy – poverty! And most of us might not know it yet, but as OFWs, we are our country’s Salvation Army. This “war” has no geographical boundaries. It has no visible weapon of destruction, no deafening explosions yet its damage can be heard through the cries of our love ones left behind. This fight is for them and for the sake of our country. The irony though is that while many of our brothers-and-sisters-in-arms, especially those who are ill-equipped to face danger, are dying in the battlefield of survival our “generals” back home are basking with all the luxuries in life. And so stories such as those I mentioned above abound and will always be heard. What hurts me though is the fact that the numbers of these incidents will continuously grow as life gets harder each day in our country, but what pains me more is to know that our “generals” believe that the sad fate of Angela, the dangers faced by my wife’s nephew in Israel, the exploitation of the many undocumented OFWs, and the many more untold tragedies that I’m sure many of you are aware of, are just to them – Casualties Of War. That is probably the reason why they labeled the OFWs “Bagong Bayani“… for us to bleed in the battlefield while they hide in the comforts of their war rooms!

Author: Tony Bartolome, Editor, True Friends Newsmag

*Published in True Friends Newsmag (November 2008 issue)