The Price We Pay for Being Poor

The Filipino-Muslim Sarah Balabagan was sentenced to die by firing squad by an Islamic court in the United Arab Emirates. She came to the Middle East to work as a domestic helper. Two months after she arrived, she was raped at knifepoint. In an act of self-defense she killed her 85-year old abductor by stabbing him 43 times. Sarah is 16 years old. She is just a child!

This tragic event made me ponder what price do we have to pay for being poor? Do poor parents really have no choice but to allow their children to go to unknown countries to work dangerously in order to earn a living? Should the children suffer the brunt by earning money to support their families?

I am not passing judgments on the Filipino parents who send their children to work abroad. I know they have difficult times coping with the daily needs of the families. And yet I can’t help looking back to the time when “going abroad” was not the only answer to solve poverty. The opportunity did not exist then and going abroad was actually only for the rich either to study or to spend holidays. Obviously, time has changed. Going abroad nowadays is just like finding jobs in the cities. I wish deep in my heart that parents no longer allow their children to go abroad or tolerate them if they turn to prostitution just to earn a living. That they will persevere a bit more in protecting their children from harm come what may. I know this is a tall order and a question of life and death. And yet… is there really no other way? Do parents really have no choice?

When I was still child, the only pride my family, my relatives, my friends and lot of neighbors I know back home was to send their children to school and to get their college education. The parents burned their backs or did extra menial jobs so that they can support the studies of their children. If the parents were too poor to send the children to school, the children work as working students just to be able to continue with their studies. During vacation and weekends, the children help in the farm, wash and iron clothes, tend farm animals, fetch water, and gather firewood. Life was simpler then.

If necessary, parents do extra farm work or other menial jobs to provide the necessities of their children: food, clothing, shelter and education. This tie, if the poor have to survive, they either have to work abroad or are forced to go into prostitution.

Sarah Balabagan perhaps did not even finish high school but she is already working miles away from home. I will not delve into the economic and political implications about the reason why she went abroad to work. That is not what I intend to tackle for now. It is easy though to point accusing fingers at the corrupt and inefficient government (this government issues a travel document to a 15 year-old girl with passport stating that she is 28 years old!), to the colonial history of our country, to imperialism, and capitalism. I know the root cause of the problem is quite more complex. What I want to stress now is the breakdown of our family values. Due to extreme poverty, we have to trade our national price and dignity. We escape poverty by going abroad only to be treated like strayed animals by employers. Exporting domestic servants becomes a major business in the Philippines. About 10 million Filipinos are now residing and working abroad.

Unfortunately, we have an incompetent government which reinforces the situation by allowing their own people to work abroad as slaves in order to earn the hard-earned dollars just because it lacks the political will and creativity to protect and provide the needs of the country through its own efforts. Instead, the government uses the hard-earned remittances from the overseas workers to keep the economy afloat.

I grieve for Flor, for Sarah, and for the many other Filipino and Asian migrant workers worldwide who suffer from various abuses, harassments, and other dehumanizing treatment. I grieve for those who went abroad to earn a living, who languish in lonely prisons or met their untimely and tragic death. I grieve to see Filipino traditional values eroding and families disintegrating due to widespread poverty and hopelessness of the people.

I am angry with the government people for failing to do what they are supposed to do. This government lacks the will power to defend the basic human rights of the Filipino migrants. A government which closes its eyes to the miseries of the migrant workers only because the only way to support its economy is to get the hard-earned dollars.

I am angry with the recruitment agencies which not only charge exorbitant fees but also promise false hopes to the poor Filipinos. Above all, I am angry with ourselves for being subservient, docile, and adventurous (Bahala na! Makikipagsapalaran!) making ourselves easy preys for exploitation and oppression. For being too humble and weak to stand up for our rights; for allowing ourselves to be treated like slaves!

What a tragedy. With a burning desire to improve her lot, Flor left her children in the Philippines to find a job in Singapore. Sarah left behind her parents and her innocent childhood for the same reason. They both met the same tragic fate. Flor was hanged to death and Sarah is about to be if the Unite Arab Emirates court remains insensitive to the worldwide protests. Another Filipino youth will be wasted. The Economist reports that on the day Sarah was sentenced to death, more than 1,000 young women left the Philippines to work overseas. How many Flors and Sarahs do we need before we stop all this madness?

And what would happened to Flor and Sarah if they decided to remain in the Philippines?


Author’s note: Sarah Balabagan’s death sentence has been acquitted. She was caned in 20 strokes at a time, over five days during January 30 - February 5 in 1996 and finally returned home on August 1, 1996. She had to pay a sum of US$ 40,000 which was donated by a Filipino businessman to the victim’s family as blood money and to serve a one-year imprisonment.

More on Sarah's Story

1996