ang pasko ni mina - sa israel, na walang pasko
“Pang-apat na Pasko na ito na hiwalay ako sa pamilya ko,” says Mina, and the note of wistfulness in her tone echoes the sadness and frustration of all the millions of other Filipino migrant workers who must spend this family-oriented season away from their loved ones.
Mina, 49, is only of the roughly 40,000 Filipinos working in Israel, around 80 percent of whom are women, according to the Philippine embassy in Israel. Most women are caregivers just like her.
Mina’s days in Israel are spent taking care of her 80-year old female ward - waking her up and putting her to sleep at the appropriate times, administering her medications, massaging, bathing and dressing her, and generally being the only companion to her elderly ward who is afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, and whose children have entrusted her to Mina’s care.
“Maayos naman ang trato sa akin, at pinagkakatiwalaan nila ako sa nanay nila,” Mina reveals. However, the loneliness she feels for her husband, two children and three grandchildren whom she left in the Philippines never leaves her.
For her efforts, Mina receives US$550 each month, or roughly around P25,000. Filipina caregivers in Israel also get free room and board from their employers. However, while Israeli law requires that caregivers be paid about US$1,100 for living in, they are often paid, like Mina, only US$550 to US$600. This is only half of what they are entitled to receive as live-in employees who work on a 24-hour shift, and even less than the approximately $850 minimum wage they are supposed to receive per month for a full-time job.
Despite getting less than what they are entitled to, many Filipina caregivers would rather stay in Israel. After all, they earn more than nurses, teachers, and other professionals in the Philippines. Apart from this, they also have to pay for the recruitment agency’s placement fees, and loans they accrued to leave the country. In Mina’s case, she paid a total P250,000 in fees to her agency before she left in 2005.
Homesickness is a fact of life for OFWs, but more so during the Christmas season. Mina readily admits to the things she misses most - the Christmas trees, carols blaring from the radio, tinsel and bright twinkling lights everywhere. Christmas is not one of the Jewish holidays, so the Filipinos bring their own Pasko with them.
"Pumupunta kami dun sa ilang Christian store na naglalagay ng Christimas decorations,” Mina relates. “Para kahit paano, nararamdaman naming na Pasko na. Yung iba sa amin, naglalagay din ng Christmas decorations sa bahay, pero tatanggalin din pag dumating yung mga may-ari.”
“Pag Pasko, nagpa-party kaming mga magkakaibigan,” Mina continued. “Nagluluto kami ng Filipino food, tapos nagvi-videoke, nagsasayawan. Yung ilan sa amin, nagdadala pa nga ng mga alaga nila. Gustong-gusto ng mga alaga naming sumama, kasi ang saya ng Paskong Pilipino. Yung iba, naka-wheelchair, naka-saklay, pero nagsasayawan kasama namin.”
Mina underscores the importance of a large, organized and supportive Filipino community in Israel. Being together keeps them all grounded, and helps them to feel that, even though they are miles away from home, they have a piece of their country with them.
“Kami-kami rin lang ang nagkakasama at nagkaka-hingahan ng mga problema,” she reveals. This organized community ensures that there are activities where Filipinos in Israel can meet and bond with each other. There are social activities such as Christmas parties, beauty pageants, basketball tournaments, concerts and shows. There are two weekly newspapers for Filipinos. During the Christmas season, some Filipinos go on a guided tour of the holy places in Israel.
Of course, the season can also become a burden to Filipinos who are living abroad. “Kailangan mas malaki ang ipadala mo pag Pasko, lalo na para sa mga bata,” she says. Since workers in Israel are legally entitled to a yearly 12-day vacation leave, a few Filipinos take the chance to go back home. “Ang mahirap lang pag uuwi ka sa Pasko, mas marami ang aasa na mag-uuwi ka ng pera at pasalubong. Sa huli, madaming Pilipinong umuuwi sa Pilipinas ang nauubos ang lahat ng naipon nila, kasi inaasahan na ikaw ang gagastos ng lahat pag uwi mo.”
Thus, many Filipinos opt not to go home, in spite of their yearning to be with their loved ones. They prefer to save the money they would otherwise spend on plane fare and the inevitable expenses in the Philippines. Mina relates that for these Filipinos, the Christmas season means the rush to fill, and send home, balikbayan boxes to their families in the Philippines.
“Pinakamalaking gastos dito pag Pasko, yung padala at saka yung shipping ng mga balikbayan box,” she said. “Syempre kahit paano, gusto mong maramdaman ng pamilya mo na kasama ka nila kahit wala ka dun. Saka dapat may bubuksan yung mga bata.”
Another expense during the Christmas season - cellphone load. “Syempre, tatawag ka ng tatawag sa bahay pag Pasko. Naku, minsan iyakan kami ng iyakan sa telepono, pag naririnig mo na andun lahat sila, tapos ikaw lang ang wala,” Mina reminisces.
For Mina and millions of other OFWs, the Christmas season is one of the most trying times of the year. In this season, they are confronted with endless proof of their solitude and isolation. And it would be doubly harder, if not for the social and emotional support they receive from other Filipinos in the same plight. And yet, they know that being away from their families is one of the costs that they have to pay for leaving the country.
"Sino ba ang gustong umalis? Kung meron lang bang disenteng trabaho sa Pilipinas, maghahanap pa ba kami ng trabaho sa malayo?” muses Mina. And she gazes with longing, out to where she thinks her family sits and waits for her.