After years abroad, an OFW’s Christmas homecoming

For Reimar Basaen, this year’s Christmas is different.

After spending years away from home, the 35-year-old food service manager working in Laos has returned to the Philippines just in time for the holidays. 

A day before he came home, Basaen told GMA News Online that he would arrive in the Philippines on Christmas Eve at around 4:45 p.m. – hoping to make it home to Tarlac in time for Noche Buena despite the expected holiday traffic.

He said the homecoming was a surprise, one he had quietly planned and waited years for.

Basaen has worked in Laos for six years. Before moving abroad, he worked as a restaurant manager at a fastfood chain in the Philippines. The decision to leave was practical.

“Mataas ang offer compared sa Philippines,” he said, referring to the better pay and stability that awaited him.

(The offer was higher, compared to what I got in the Philippines.)

Life in Laos, however, did not come easy at first.

“It was difficult in the beginning,” Basaen said. The country was unfamiliar and less developed than what he was used to. There was no public transportation, which meant he had to learn how to ride a motorcycle just to get around.

Communication was also a challenge, with less than half of the population speaking English – which made staff management difficult in his early years.

'Takot kaming lahat'

One of the hardest periods came during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Basaen found himself stuck far from home, uncertain about what would happen next.

“Takot kaming lahat,” he said.

(We were all afraid.)

Being in another country during a global crisis was frightening, but support from his employer and encouragement from his family helped him get through it.

His last visit to the Philippines was in 2022. Before that, he has not gone home since arriving in Laos in 2019. Pandemic-related travel restrictions initially kept him from returning.

Even before becoming an OFW, Basaen said work kept him away from home during the holidays. From 2017 onward, assignments meant missing Christmas with his family.

This year’s return carried added weight.

“Masaya (ako),” Basaen said. His family did not know he was coming home. The visit was planned as a surprise, particularly for his parents.

His last attempt at a surprise homecoming did not go as planned, making this one even more meaningful.

What he looked forward to most was simple. Time with family and seeing his parents – whom he rarely got to be with because of work – mattered more now than ever.

Over the years, he watched from afar as they grew older, his nieces and nephews grew up, and even the neighborhood back home changed.

These changes, he said, made him feel that coming home is long overdue.

Basaen admitted that working abroad meant accepting difficult sacrifices. The hardest part was being away from family, especially as his parents aged. There were many moments when he considered giving up.

“Many times,” he said. What kept him going was necessity. “I need to, for my future and for my family.”

Living overseas also reshaped how he defined home. “Home is where I find peace,” he said. 

Over time, it became less about the place and more about people and moments of calm, whether in Laos or back in the Philippines.

Even if back home for a brief period of time, Basaen said he now values small things more. Time spent with family stands out most.

Asked what he wished Filipinos understood about being an OFW in Laos, Basaen described the experience as both difficult and fulfilling.

Life there, he said, can be less stressful in terms of the environment, though challenges often come from people rather than the place itself.

For OFWs who unable to come home this Christmas, his message was simple. “You can find home with friends and people you care about,” he said.

After the holidays, Basaen plans to return abroad. Despite the changes he has seen in the Philippines, he believes adjusting back here permanently would be difficult for now. Working overseas, he said, remains part of his life.

For this Christmas, however, he is home – and for Basaen, that is enough. — JMA, GMA Integrated News