Rethinking the OFW Strategy: What Are the Downsides of Our OFW/Emigrant Economy?
Countless Filipinos travel abroad and look for jobs. Indeed, the OFW and emigration strategy is working to help people live better lives. However, while the strategy benefits individuals and the Philippine economy to an extent, the option of being an OFW or emigrant has its negative consequences. Read on and know more about the strategy’s loopholes.
Subsidized dependence of family members who won’t look for work
It is true that the dollars OFWs earn is enough to feed and to improve the lives of their families. But the downside in being OFWs is many of their family members become too dependent on their income – either because they have a hard time finding jobs in the country or are just plain lazy. The remaining family members choose to stay jobless while their OFW relatives are working hard. Often, members of the extended family depend on the OFW’s income too.
Emotional stress due to family separation
As close ties characterize many Filipino families, an OFW’s separation from his or her relatives causes emotional stress. Foreigners cannot provide the emotional support Filipino families offer to OFWs and the very different cultures OFWs encounter take some getting used to. In addition, just the fact OFWs have to live in a different country for several years can cause enough mental and emotional anxiety both to them and to the family members they left behind.
Emigration has become a “safety valve” for local politics
When businesses and political goals do not end up the way they were planned, local politicians choose to emigrate and live their own lives. Even if many such local politicians can help improve the country’s economic status, they choose the easier way out to pursue other plans abroad. This practice leaves the country with corrupt leaders who manipulate the truth, the news, and several legitimate business procedures to their advantage.
Brain drain
Many Filipinos who can afford quality education and travel choose to work in foreign countries to further earn money and have a stable future. This choice is usually true for middle class and several upper-class Filipinos. And instead of coming back to the Philippines to help, teach, and support the citizens of the country, the middle- and upper-class emigrants become assets to foreign economies.
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Photo Credit : TheAlieness
