The millions of overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East are constantly suspended between hope and anxiety. Today, as geopolitical tensions escalate into a regional crisis, that anxiety has shifted from a low-grade hum to sharp clinical distress. Whether you are a nurse in Riyadh, an engineer in Dubai, or a household service worker in...
Category: Pinoys Abroad
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Filipino fire victims get windfall cash aid but still reel from trauma
HONG KONG – Filipino migrant workers who were among those who survived the tragic fire in Tai Po that killed 159 people have received a cash bonanza, mainly from the Philippine government, of at least P70,000. Of this, P50,000 came from the Aksyon Fund (Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan), a...
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Filipinos in Hong Kong hold memorial services for fire victims
HONG KONG—There was a huge outpouring of grief and sympathy for the victims of the massive fire in Tai Po that based on the latest figures has claimed the lives of 146 people, as Filipinos gathered on Sunday to hold two separate memorial services for them. In the first event organized by FilAction (Filipinos Against...
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American jazz legend Count Basie lives on in Italian city
Seven years ago, I embarked on a different course in my career as a jazz guitarist. From “land-based” gigs at Tago Jazz Café, Manila Peninsula, and the Philippine International Jazz & Arts Festival, I began playing aboard cruise liners. My first seaborne experience was in 2017, on the ship Seabourn of Holland America Line. Among...
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Over a hot stove: ‘Ube halaya’ and love’s labors
I was born into a transnational extended family. My father, the eldest among his siblings, married before his brother (younger by only a year), was drafted into the US Navy. As a consequence, slowly, the brother and his parents and seven other siblings eventually came to live in the United States. We, the family of...
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When I was an OFW, I got detained in Saudi
Thirty-six years ago, I left my wife Malou and our two young sons to take a job in Saudi Arabia. Back then I was called an “overseas contract worker” or OCW, a term that has since morphed into “overseas Filipino worker” or OFW. From a college teaching job in the Philippines, I became a supervisor...
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Filipino coach preps MMA women’s world champ for title defense
Filipino pride will be well represented at UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) 300, the landmark event in mixed martial arts (MMA), full-contact combat, on April 14, Manila time, in Paradise, Nevada. No Filipino fighter is on the card, but Benedict Alumno promises to make his countrymen proud. Alumno is the striking coach of UFC women’s strawweight...
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Running on that track
NEW YORK CITY—I played sikyo when I was growing up in the Philippines. Each time the captains of the opposing teams chose their players, I was the last to be called because apart from my small build I did not run fast enough. But I always insisted on joining the play, so that the captain...
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5 Christmas parties while exploring for mines in 3 countries
Many Filipinos overseas yearn for Christmas in the motherland, and in my years working abroad, I’ve had to forgo that simple pleasure. But December 1993 was probably my best, celebrating it with five parties in three countries which are not even Christian. Although our work in Thailand was winding up, we went to Laos, across...