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| Filipino kids in Vigan, Philippines. They begged me to take their picture |
I don’t just like to write about what I see in certain places and then drop the country as I move on to the next. There are some subjects that deserve revisiting, and one that sort of jumps out at you in Hong Kong is the Philippines. Why the Philippines? You’ll notice it if you spend a little bit of time here. You’ll not only run into a lot of Filipinos but you’ll find many money wire stores that advertise sending remittances back to the Philippines. Some have Philippine flags on the front of the store. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that Filipinos constitute the largest group of foreign workers in Hong Kong.
Why? Not hard to figure out. The Philippines is relatively close, English is widely spoken in Hong Kong and almost universal in the Philippines, you can visit Hong Kong without a visa, where as most places require an application process. While I was in the Philippines, the most popular Filipino movie was Apat Dapat, Dapat Apat whose plot involved several female friends who go to Hong Kong to work as domestic servants. (When I was in the Philippines I was watching a TV show when some ads for foreign work opportunities flashed across the screen. I was taken aback at one which was for Hong Kong domestic help, and the position required a college degree. Kind of reflects poorly on job opportunities in the Philippines when they can demand a college degree to get a job as a maid.) As I write this, I’m in a pub eating lunch and the entire wait staff here is Filipino.
Filipinos have become the modern day versions of Jews and Chinese. In every European and Middle Eastern country you used find a population of Jews who filled an economic niche. Likewise, Chinese and Chinatowns can be found all over Asia which they often owned many businesses and were brought in originally as laborers. The same was also true of Indians during the British Empire who went to work in Guyana, Fiji, or Africa. Filipinos are filling that role today. Not only can you find Filipinos in Hong Kong, but also in Saudi Arabia, and throughout Asia. If I were a betting man, based on what I saw in the Philippines, I would bet that you see Filipinos follow the same course in these countries over the next several decades. They come in as laborers and end up owning businesses and having a higher standard of living than the local population. And, like the Jews and Chinese before them, they will probably end up getting the short end of the stick by locals if they become too successful.
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| You see a lot of this in Kowloon |
Filipino Hong Kong laborers aren’t the only thing that was the impetus for me writing this. I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that there has been an explosion in the number of Filipino bloggers and websites. As a percentage of the population, they seem far more represented online than you would expect. While I wasn’t something I had considered, in hindsight it makes perfect sense. Working online is basically the same thing as working overseas, without the overseas part. You can have an international audience, earn US Dollars, take advantage of technical training, and do it all under the radar of local officials and not have to leave your family. Based on the small sample of nerds I saw in the internet cafes and game rooms in the Philippines, they have a core of an internet culture on a par or better than other countries in the region.
The Philippines has been slower than most of SE Asia in developing, but I think it probably holds more potential then other countries in the region, in the long run. People however, have been saying that since Marcos fell. If they can overcome their political problems and corruption, I think they might be the next Asian tiger.
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thank you for the kind words and great insights. the comments were honest but not scathing =] thank you for the vote of confidence, for not joining the bandwagon of those who have written off the possibility of a prosperous Philippines.
this is a very good read for Filipinos, especially our leaders. sometimes, oftentimes, we have to shove a mirror to our faces so we can see what needs repair and actually do something about it- somethings desensitization and/or eons of powerlessness have made us unable to.
safe journeys always! do come back to the Philippines soon, Philippine Airlines notwithstanding =]
Hi gary! :) glad to have come across your blog. It is worth-reading and the photos are just awesome!
Your observations on the current state of my country validate mine. My friends are even establishing their businesses and working in Guam and Saipan. It’s quite difficult to do that here in the Philippines because of the lack of opportunities plus the corruption. I am glad however that you shared your intelligent and positive foresight. Filipinos need this kind of encouragement.
Based on what you wrote about yourself, I figured that you must be a very important man :) You are so blessed. I’ll be visiting your blog often. God bless your travels! :)
Hi there :)
The reason why the Philippines develops so slow is because of the corruption of government officials. The lure of fast money for oneself, family, mistresses, etc., only buries the so-called dedication of actually working to develop the country.
You have also pointed out a sad thing about how a lot of Filipino overseas workers think: “Being a domestic helper would be OK,” though, it’s understandable (this might require explaining but I won’t… for now).
I think I have written enough, sorry, hehe!
And thanks for the compliment (the Philippines being the next Asian tiger).
Hi!
Thanks for your kind words and honest insight about the Philippines. I share a lot of your observations. However, I don’t believe that corruption is the reason why we are poor. Corruption is more a symptom of a disease called “lack of national pride”. If we are more proud of ourselves as Filipinos, our college graduates wouldn’t go to Hongkong to be maids, our teachers wouldn’t go to Singapore to be domestic helpers, our doctors wouldn’t work as nurses in the US and our officials wouldn’t fatten their pockets with government money. If we are just a little bit more proud of ourselves, we would be one of the richest countries in Asia! We have a lot of natural resources and a very high literacy rate– ingredients of a prosperous nation. Instead, we waste our time explaining to the world why we are poor and waiting for the west for compliments when all we have to do is look around and tell ourselves that we have a really nice country. The only problem we really have is self-image, if we manage to solve that one day then we will not only be an Asian Tiger but the World’s dragon!
I’m Filipino myself, and I’ve known Gary for quite sometime. He is a very smart person and his observations are correct. I’m in the military and travel a lot as part of my dury or for leisure. We are everywhere. My mom just visited me here in Germany and while we were traveling we found Filipinos that live here are own businesses.