Absence and presents

TOWARDS JUSTICE

- EMMELINE AGLIPAY-VILLAR

As the holidays once again come around, a great many of us are engaged in frantic preparation. Even those focused on the spiritual aspects of the season have social obligations and family traditions they can't ignore. There are gifts to buy, gatherings to prepare for, reunions to attend, Christmas party presentations to practice for. For many, Christmas is a time of happiness, of celebration, of gathering with family and friends.

Not all of us, however, have that privilege. And for those of us who do not, the Christmas season can be a keen reminder of things we have sacrificed in the pursuit of a better life.

For the migrant worker who is unable to return home, Christmas can be a time of great loneliness, of suffering and longing. Data show that as of last year, after a brief reduction during the pandemic, the number of Filipinos working abroad reached a record number of 2.3 million people. A substantial number of those people will not be able to return to their motherland to spend the holidays with their families. The reasons can vary: the return trip may be too expensive, for instance, such that the migrant worker would rather remit the money home than spend it on a homecoming. In other cases, the precarious immigration status of the worker can make leaving a risk they cannot afford to take, as they may not be allowed to return to their place of work or would lose their jobs due to any significant absence from work.