buhay ofw

Dumating na si rey galling pinas. Halos magkasabay kaming nagbakasyon ni rey last july. Isang oras at kalahati lang ang pagitan ng flight namin. Bago nito, halos magkasabay din kaming nahirapan ni rey na makakuha ng exit re-entry visa dahil di pa kami tapos na malipat sa aming mga sponsor pero nagawan din eto ng paraan kaya kami nakauwi.

Agosto pa ako bumalik dito sa Riyadh pero si rey ay inabot ng disyembre.

Masaya ako kay rey. Matagal tagal din nagkwento si rey tungkol sa bakasyon nya. Inalam ko kung anong nangyari pagdating nya kasi di niya pinaalam sa pamily anya na uuwi sya pagkatapos ng malapit apat na taong paghahanapbuhay dito sa Riyadh.

Tatlong beses na kasing nabulilyaso ang uwi ni rey. Meron pang streamer noon at mga baloon na welcome message ng pamilya nya sa kanya noon pero di natuloy ang kanyang pag uwi kasi nga walang exit re-entry visa. Tatlong beses din nag dispedida noon si rey dito na nauwi lang sa hinagpis.

"takbuhan palabas ng bahay ang dalawa kong binata at laking gulat ko na napakalaki na nila. Mas matangkad na sila sa akin at sa bumbunan ko na sila humalik,” kwento ni rey sa akin.

Titser sa gensan si rey pero mas minabuti nyang magtrabaho sa isang construction firm dito sa Riyadh.

Si rey ang palaging tumutulong sa akin tuwing kailangan ko ng sasakyan sa paglipat ng bahay at kung may aayusin sa aking sasakyan.

Malaki ang utang na loob ko kay rey at kahit wala akong naiabot na pambyad ay sadyang mabait si rey.

‘mabuti at nakauwi ako. Nakita ko at naramdaman ang hirap ng aking pamilya. Talaga nga palang kulang ang $400 na buwanan kong padala. Sa pamasahe, baon ng 2 kong nasa kolehiyo at 2 pang nag aaral, labada, kuryente at pagkain ay talaga nga palang kapos,” kwento ni rey.

Nakita ako yung double bed ng 2 kong binata na ang taas ay halos dikit na sa yero. Mainit.

Bumili noon ng 3 plywood ang misis ko at pinako na lang diretso sa kahoy na pinagpakoan ng yero sa may sala. Doon naglalagi ang aking buong pamilya dahil medyo lumamig sa p laywood na kisame.

Walang sinayang na araw si rey. Bumili sya agad ng mga kahoy at plywood. Sya na mismo ang gumawa ng kisame sa bahay nya. Ang 2 karto ay di nya lang nilagyan ng kisame kundi nag double walling na rin sya sa mga kwarto. Pinasok na nya ang mga kuryente na dati ay naka staple lang. binili nya na rin ng tig iisang walling fan na nilagay nya sa double bed ng kanyang mga anak.

“masaya. Katulong ko ang mga anak ko sa pagayos ng bahay naming. Pati yung bunso ay mag paint roller din sya at tumulong sa pagpintura. May mga cabinets na rin akong ginawa para sa mga anak ko kaya gumanda na ang loob ng bahay,” ang kwento ni rey.

Gwapo ang mga anak ni rey, si boboy at si junjun. at kasama palagi sa pagsimba bawat linggo ng buong pamilya.

Si junjun ay SK scholar samantalang si boboy ay mahilig sa basketball. Pareho silang civil engineering ang kurso.

Binili rin ni rey ng motorbike ang kanyang mga anak upang maghatid sa kanyang mga kapatid sa eskwela.

ngayong andito na si rey, balik hanap na naman sya ng pera sa trabaho at pilit humataw upang may maipadala sa pagdating ng pasko.

wifi connect and prison break

The soul mate I have here got me a DSL line in his name to allow me unlimited Internet line. Of course, the monthly dues will be on me but Zambo he got me the subscription and he installed the cable wires lining from the front gate to the back of the four-storey building and up to the third level where my flat is located.

He did this noontime till 3 PM because he has to work from 4PM till midnight.

I got Zambo his IT job in the company where I was working for the past two years and he has been transferred directly to the credit card company as his sponsor, unlike me.

Anyhow, in the next few minutes, the local telco company will deliver the DSL modem and I will be online as long as I want.

While waiting, I am starting to view this Prison Break Season 1, 2 and 3 that Zambo brought me.

By the way, I had myself absent from work. Am not feeling well.

to hell

To hell with the MTRCB. This Philippine government-funded agency is a total waste of money and resources.

Scolding the Philippines’ largest news network over an interview aired in its prime news program about an interview with MILF’S Kumander Bravo, is really moronic stance.

Opposing to an anti-government statement like that of Bravo is understandable especially from MTRCB, which is fully known as the state’s censorship bureau.

But scolding the messenger of the news is a total crap. Where are they? Where have they from? The MILF has long been there. Their cause has long been understood by a growing number of concsientisized Filipinos.

An MTRCB making a scene after the GMA government betrayed the MILF with the peace process is a cheap act.

Enough MTRCB. You’re never relevant. Always out of touch with reality.

dead line

Yesterday afternoon, the CEO of an American credit card company wanted to know the update of my work status in Saudi Arabia.

I was already halfway down the staircase when the CEO’s secretary called me back and asked me on my last week-end plan to meet my sponsor in the Eastern Region after my sponsor invited me to see him and get my Release Letter.

“I didn’t push through. The owner of an outsource manpower agency told me he will do the negotiations and get the Tanazul for me,” I told the senior executive secretary of the CEO.

After the update, I continued going down the staircase with Tim, who is accompanying me to go to a hypermarket to buy a cell phone for my industrious nephew.

As I descended the stairs, it downed on me that probably the CEO is now pressured to terminate my work with the popular international financial intitution after I failed to transfer my sponsorship to one of the company contractors.

With the Saudi government program of providing jobs to locals, foreign workers especially the rank and files in the banking industry are relegated to the sub-contractual companies that supposed to supply back-up, administrative or technical support to the permanent local employees.

I am supposed to be one of them but my sponsor has been nowhere to be found until three weeks ago.

I was so happy to hear from my sponsor after March 2006 late last month especially that he told me he has no problem should I want to transfer my sponsorship.

The limited time that I have, however, is killing me. I am given no time to go down to Khobar to get my papers. This is why I asked the agency owner himself to get the paper from my sponsor in order for him to transfer my sponsorship.

This has not been done.

When the CEO asked me for an update, I knew my deadline is over.

Two days after, ‘twas my boss’ turn to ask the update.

“Talk to them. I know Raeid. He won’t move until you push him. Let him give the demand letter and get the Release Letter. Better yet, spend a day to go to Khobar and get that document yourself,” my boss said.

Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries all over the world that practice sponsorship system to employ foreign workers. Like Hong Kong, Riyadh requires migrant workers to work only under his own sponsorship. Working outside the sponsor is prohibited by law. To work with another employer, one has to get a Release Letter and transfer the sponsorship to the new employer.

Although this practice is supposed to protect migrant workers, the system has become a milking opportunity to squeeze migrant workers to pay for their “freedom”.

Distressed foreign workers complaining of physical or sexual abuse, unpaid wages, salary reduction, contract substitution, no work, over-crowded or unsanitized housing accommodation, are pressed to pay huge amounts demanded by the sponsor aside from the bloated-from-the-regular government fees in order to acquire “legal” work.

What a shame I allowed myself to be into this unpeaceful situation.

I wished I was punked.

bed make-over

Three weeks ago, I was able to buy a four-pillow pack at SR12. I was thrilled to see it on my bed when I checked it out. I decided I have to go back to that store and buy one more pack. I also got a SR79-bookshelf. When I went back two weeks after, they are all gone, including the bookshelf. I was really dismayed.

Tonight, my co-worker enticed me to a hypermarket selling a SR132 colored cell phone. Since I decided to give my nephew a cell phone after helping my bestfreind brushed Solignum on my windowpanes, I went to the mall. My co-worker joined me only to find out that the branch that we went to was not the mall that he got his cell phone. The branch has no supply of the same cell phone he was talking about.

Imbes na makatipid sa cell phone gumastos ako ng pamasahe na walang pakinabang.

I strolled around the hypermarket and luckily, I found a six-pack white pillowcase bag at SR12.95. I also have a white, fitted-bed sheet or mattress cover that would match my pillowcases at the same price. I only need a white duvet cover to complete my bed make-over for this season.

My visual artist brother has taught me that a quarterly make-over would help provide excitement to the boring routinely work of an OFW. True, not only the accumulated dust and clutters are cleaned but also the homesickness is swept after a make-over is done.

I am excited.

My friend that probably sensed that I was dismayed with our mall-ing, treated me at Kudu. I ate fish fillet and green salad.

Yummy. Not a bad night to spent after a busy day at work.

hmmmmm

I felt guilty for not posting in my blog lately. The lack of ideas is not the culprit but my ability to weave these thoughts into words. There were several topics though that I earlier wanted to immortalize.

The impending eviction of Ace and his mom from their house and Ace hospitalization right after they were save from eviction and Ace supposed joining date with his new job but was altered due to his ailment. These are all so depressing but a life puzzle that Ace and his Mom survived.

My cousin’s alcohol drinking after his friend fetched him from his job site following a contractual job that he was so lucky enough to have bagged and that spree resulted into my neighbor’s wrath because of the drinking buddy’s unpleasant attitude when they got drunk. This incident was followed more than a week when my cousin tried to drive my tricycle to earn a day’s living but went home drunk. It could be remembered that I invited my cousin and his family to stay in my unfinished housed after they got evicted from their house. With the turn of events, I think I have to take actions on my cousin’s alcoholism.

The annual undas-long-distance management that almost got my father’s tomb “untented” due to the incessant rain back home.

My Bebeh’s continuous wooing for me not to leave him and thanking me for giving him one more chance with our very infant relationship is also worth writing.

I was also having difficulty in writing about my young sexual partner here whose skin color is very Barack Obama.

I also wanted to write about my reading about Mugen’s entries, old and new, and his changing of graphics. His back photo is giving me hard time to visualize his sexy body contour but what is more interesting are his entries.

Parang ang sarap nyang mahalin pero ang hirap dahil sa karuwagan nyang masaktan muli. I have been following his entries but I also plead guilty of my promise to read all his back entries.

Unlike Mandaya’s entries that kept me glued online to finish knowing his life story when I first read about his post, Pulsar’s is giving me a little difficulty to comprehend not to mention the rich vocabulary and the creativity invested in his writing, thus my need for more time to finish the voluminous entries.

Aside from providing me my favorite read, these two bloggers have one thing in common these days. Thay both are mending separate broken hearts and I feel for these two gifted people.

Last week, instead of reading, I focused my week-end in my bedroom makeover. I like my room now. Much better and I almost got tempted to take pictures and post it but I had second thoughts. It’s not worth, nothing unique and fancy.

I just hope I could compose and write more sensible things next time.

atasyem uli

Eto pa ang isang nakakabaliw na blunder.

On the recent execution of an OFW in Jeddah.


The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs maintained that the government assisted Jenifer Bedoya from the very beginning of the judicial process and exerted “last ditch effort” to save him.
“The problem is that the family refused to forgive [Bedoya],” Esteban Conejos, the DFA’s Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs said Monday said.

Even king is powerless

He explained that even the King of Saudi Arabia is powerless to grant clemency if the family of the victim refuses to forgive Bedoya.
Under Sharia’h law, Conejos said the crime of murder produces two effects: one is the public aspect of the case and the private right aspect of the case.
“The only way to address this issue is for the family to waive this right to ‘Quisas’--the right to demand the equivalent penalty--and forgive the accused in exchange sometimes for blood money. This has been the focus of assistance that the government extended to Mr. Bedoya. Unfortunately, the family adamantly refused in spite of all our efforts to reach out to them,” he said.
The DFA, he said, learned about Bedoya’s possible execution on the morning of the execution day.
No prior notice
“There was no prior notice of the execution. The moment the Royal decree of execution is issued, anytime he can be executed, and there was a strong possibility that they will carry the execution on that day,” he said.
Immediately, a consular team was dispatched to the prison to make representations with prison authorities if they could suspend the execution.
“And even in the place of execution itself, our consular officers were there. Our ambassador was calling the family--last ditch effort to save the life of Mr. Bedoya,” he said.
“To the last minute, we were calling the family. Our lawyers also called up the family and they said ‘No, we will insist on our rights’. Our ambassador was on the phone all the time, our consul general in Jeddah was also on the phone,” he said.

Eh kung talagang kumilos sila upang maisalba nila yung bilanggong pupugutan ng ulo, bakit sa mga report nila, ni hindi nila nakuha ang tamang pangalan ng OFW?

Pwe!