Spending Mother’s Day 7,000 miles away

Mother’s day is one of the most awaited celebrations for Filipino families. It has become a tradition for a family to go out and spend time together. Mothers usually receive tight hugs, warm kisses and simple words of gratitude spoken or written in hand-made greeting cards. But when mothers are forced to work abroad to provide her children with a better future, they spend Mother’s Day alone, hoping to be with their children during this one special day. Bulatlat interviewed via online three Filipino mothers working in Canada. A mother’s longing Jocelyn Vergabera first left her family in 1984 to work in Saudi Arabia. At that time, she was not able to communicate to her children because they did not have cell phones back then. After her contract expired, Vergabera worked in Taiwan, then she applied to work in Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). Vergabera chose to work in Canada because she thought that she would be able to bring her family with her. But she later on found out that she could no longer bring her eldest son because he has already exceeded the maximum age limit. “I really regretted choosing Canada. I promised them that we would be reunited as soon as possible," she said. Vergabera added that she would have stayed and worked in the Philippines if she had a choice. “I miss kissing my children’s cheeks every day and watching them grow. I miss the words, “Mama." My heart shrinks every time they call me, “Mama" on the phone," said Vergabera, adding that she is very sad whenever her children are sick and there are special occasions because she could not be with her children for the last 15 years. Through the eye of the needle Leticia Capinpin is a single mother to five children. She has been working in a hospital in Canada for seven years as a midwife. She hoped to be reunited with her family there as promised by Canadian immigration. Until now, Capinpin is still waiting for the permanent residency application she filed four years ago. “All (the promise to sponsor your children) of that are lies, you will have to pass through the eye of a needle and then nothing happens," she said. In 2007, her eldest son was dropped from her application because he was not considered as a dependent by the Canadian Immigration because of a “gap in full-time study." Like Vergabera, she misses celebrating special occasions like graduation with her children. “My children feel angry because I am not there to accept it with them," she said. “Sometimes I feel sorry for myself and I just cry." “I have been a slave in Canada and still never granted freedom," she said. Filling the gaps Gina Miranda is a mother to two children. She was forced to leave them to work in Hong Kong in 1998 when the children were still at their very tender age. The following year, she went to Canada to work as a caregiver. Aside from working very hard to meet the needs of her family, Miranda also had to work very hard to bridge the gap between her and her two children. “(I) kept in touch with them through phone (calls), long distance, (and) chatting but it’s not enough to fill the gap," Miranda related. She said that during one of their conversations, one of her children asked her when they would be seeing her and when would they be coming over. Her heart was broken when they said, “We forgot your face already." But Miranda always keeps her children’s hopes high. “I’ve been telling them to be patient, that’s it’s almost there." But the truth is that she has been applying for permanent residency for eight long years now. Miranda wishes to have her permanent residency as soon as possible to be reunited with her family, once again. The celebration Siklab – B.C. (Advance and Uphold the Rights of Overseas Filipino workers) Chairperson Glecy Duran said that there are more than 100,000 Filipino women working under the LCP. Duran told Bulatlat that aside from separation from the family, Filipino women under the LCP are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse because the terms and conditions of the program require that they be tied to one specific employer. Last Mother’s Day, Vergabera, Capinpin, and Miranda celebrated with other Filipino mothers and women working under the LCP. “At the same time we advocate for genuine change in the Philippines and to put a stop to the Philippine government’s labor export policy so that we would not have to leave (the country) in the first place," Duran said. - GMANews.TV, Bulatlat.com