I, OFW By J. Dela Torre I’m a Filipino, I am then and now your peripatetic OFW; Sailed the world’s seas as Captain, steered the Nissan Maru, Even served the domestic needs of British high royalty, In the While House’s burnished kitchen Ive held sway; I’ve roamed the streets of Athens, New York, and Kingston, Got sloshed in the seedy bars of LA, Madrid and London. I’m an OFW, Im sad, Im lonely, I Skype, but I’m not alone; Sold balut at Rome’s termini, in Sydney had ice cream in a cone. I have climbed transmission towers in Melbourne, Australia, Heard the swoosh of crude oil through the pipes of Rastanura; I’ve fashioned culinary masterpieces at the golden Burj Al Dubai, Fought for bedspace in North Point, Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai; Im all over, in global diaspora, not just in South Korea; I’ve touched and healed a Bedouin patient in Abha, Tended the wounded and sick of war-torn Syria, Tossed about in raging oceans hunting tuna, Ive worked my fanny off as a pembantu rumah, Went on strike in the sunny isle of New Caledonia. I was there when the earth shook in Christchurch, My Iraqi employers ran away, leaving us in the lurch, My toes were frost-bitten in the frigid ground of Saskatchewan. My lips cracked, my head roiled, temperatures soared in Oman, I miss my family, but can only embrace them from afar, Its not the same if youre in Bahrain or in Doha, Qatar. I’ve waited on the rich and famous in Taiwan, Cared for the aged in modern, greying Japan; Who will visit me in jail, pay for my bail in Cyprus Nicosia? Shield us from the rebels bullets in Benghazi and Misrata? Who can protect us from the bombs of the intifadah As we chat on the bus from Jerusalem to Haifa? Sit down with us, hear our stories at Tel Avivs merkazit, Cry with us, give us your shoulders in searing-hot Kuwait; I’ve seen everything and I’ve worked everywhere, Crossed the Middle East, the desert’s burned my skin bare, Been around the planet, crisscrossed the globe, Im always on the move, nothing more to prove. I used to be a mother of a 6-month old baby, A husband of a young wife who’s child-heavy, I’m the daughter who is eager to see what’s out there, I’m the son who is keen to buy the latest electronic gear, Want my family back, so many hurting words to retract, Will do anything, will try everything to find what I lack. I used to dive for seaweed in Bohol to be able to eat; Picked up discarded bottles to make both ends meet, My sis and I used to sell plastic bags at Tagum wet market, Father worked hard in an Ilocos Sur farm under the suns heat, Just wanted to protect and ensure my family’s future, By climbing and cleaning the skyscrapers of Singapore. I’ve had employers who were good, so many were bad Been whipped by the mutawah in the center of Riyadh But, my dear child, believe me, never been home. I’ve cried an ocean, I will wipe away my tears alone My employers deride me, even my wards maltreat me, Been wrongly accused of theft, endured the indignity. Now, it’s time to go home, it’s time to give back; Already learned so much, my bags I’ve to pack My baby will see me, my baby will know me, Last time, she just awkwardly walked past me. Eager to hug her, wanted to kiss on the lips my little darling, The pain I just bore silently, my tears down my face gushing. I’ve had enough, I’ve saved enough, I’ve brought enough, My employers treated me like dirt, some inhuman riffraff. I’m ready to divest, yes, I’m eager to invest, I left my country in rags, was wrapped in debt Now I’m made and Im all set, I no longer worry, I now see my own destiny, I’ll write my own story. Now, it’s time to return and to fill up the void; My people will be glad, my family overjoyed; Been everywhere, but now I have returned; No longer a stranger, in other lands marooned My people, my province, my town all want me, My roaming the world is over and now Im happy. Ive had a miserable and depraved life since birth, Now Im living it up in an exclusive suburb of Perth, But after all is said and done, there is something inside Eating at me, beckoning me from home, pulling me aside, It must be from my family, my country, my community: Come home, son, we need you here: set yourself free!
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 00:59:51 +0000
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