Star Cinema’s Sana Maulit Muli is the most honest film I’ve ever watched about migration. This Aga Muhlach-Lea Salonga movie is about two lovers who were driven apart by the exodus of many Filipinos to the United States in the 1990s. Agnes (Salonga) started out emotionally dependent on her ambitious boyfriend Gerry (Muhlach). When Agnes obtained her green card, Gerry encouraged her to move to the US so that she could be more independent and so he could focus on pursuing his career in the Philippines.
A year and a half later, Gerry flew to the US to be with Agnes. However, she was no longer the needy Agnes that he knew. She had become an assertive and independent career woman. And while Agnes thrived as a real estate agent in the land of opportunity, Gerry could only get temporary odd jobs that were not in line with his abilities.
I can attest that this story is an accurate depiction of what happens to migrants in high-income countries, being a former immigrant myself. There are many Filipinos who succeed in countries like the US. But there are also those who need to have two to three jobs to make ends meet. That’s because certain states or provinces have tax rates that are higher than others. When taxes are high, the prices of housing, electricity, water, commodities, products, and services are more expensive.
Businesses don’t like high taxes. So they either move somewhere else or they exercise extreme caution when expanding their operations. This will most likely stifle job growth in the highly taxed state/province, which will then lead to less production of goods and services. High demand for such limited resources will keep their prices expensive. Thus, a Filipino immigrant can live a third-world lifestyle even in a first-world country.
No one explained to me how this economic principle played out in the West while I was an immigrant. Actually, a lot of what I heard from fellow immigrants were half-truths that would have destroyed my life even if those Filipinos didn’t mean to harm me. Here are some examples:
Half-truth (HT): Businesses are always hiring in (state/province)!
Whole truth (WT): Those businesses are always hiring because their employees are always leaving. The workers are quitting because they’re moving to another state/province where they will get to keep much of their income, thanks to the lower taxes and lower costs of living.
HT: There are so many jobs to choose from!
WT: Some states/provinces offer better job opportunities than others. Read the paragraphs above as to why this is so. In some states/provinces, many of the available jobs could be way below your skill set. Because many employers are looking for those who have Western degrees and work experiences, a lot of immigrants will have to do temporary odd jobs first (e.g., dishwasher, janitor, food server, etc.) even if they were professionals in their countries of origin. And they might have to do blue-collar work far longer than what they expect.
HT: There’s nothing wrong with being a blue-collar worker. Don’t be so proud, we all started out this way!
WT: Yes, there’s nothing sinful about being a blue-collar worker if you’re good at being one and if investing your time in those odd jobs will not make your other skills regress. This pandemic has taught us that blue-collar workers are the backbone of public health. So if your talents lie in a different kind of work, please move aside for those who can excel in manual labor lest you cause some major public health crisis.
HT: If you don’t like it in (state/province), you can always move to another state/province.
WT: Hold your horses! Every state/province has its rules on how an immigrant can change his status from being a permanent resident to a citizen. The chances are that you can become a citizen only after remaining in the state/province where you were sponsored for a certain number of years. If your American or Canadian spouse petitioned you, you will have to go through a different set of hoops to prove that you got married to have a life together, not just to gain permanent residence. Therefore, you can be stuck for years in a state or province with limited opportunities.
HT: It’s great to raise a family in (high-income country) because it’s a Christian nation.
WT: While religious liberty is still stronger in the West compared to most of the world, its citizens have been electing officials who are chipping away the freedom of religion and are abdicating their duty to protect those who can’t defend themselves. For example, in certain states/provinces, relatives are allowed to pull the plug on their sick grandparents who can no longer cough up enough money to satisfy their greed. And if they can do that to grandma, they can do it to you. Moreover, Western governments are beginning to crack down on people who express politically incorrect beliefs, no matter how accurate they are. Can you guess which subpopulation of citizens are voting to legalize such atrocities? Bingo.
According to the World Economic Forum, more manual and repetitive jobs will be automated so that companies can cut costs. That is an ever-growing reality because of the COVID-19 crisis’ economic impact. Migration will be more common because people will travel more frequently in search of work. Those who have rare advanced skills will most likely thrive in such a competitive world. So yes, blue-collar workers are saving us from COVID-19. They are our modern heroes. However, the times are changing. And while this is painful to admit, the truth is that their jobs will be given to artificial intelligence in the near future. So pray hard first before abandoning your in-demand profession here in the Philippines for manual labor in a wealthier country. Who knows, your advanced skills could be a ticket to most green pastures, which might not necessarily be in the West.
(Photo from Canva)
Plus in first world countries life is basically work-home, work -home. Pay bills . Repeat.
Nice write up Annie!😊