Why I think OFW’s are NOT the “new heroes”

Before I become another “Malu Fernandez”, let me explain.

Most of the members of my clan are OFWs in Austria and the US. My sister works in Austria. I’m not against OFWs. I’m against the way the government markets “working abroad”, leave their families for dollars, which the government needs to show that the “economy is growing”.

Here’s my point: If the OFWs are the “bagong bayani” (new heroes), what do you call:

• the nurse who decides to work in baranggays and serve the poor instead of the Americans?
• the construction worker who helps (literally) build OUR nation for minimum salary?
• the factory worker who helps increase our export production?
• the 8-hours-a-day professional determined to stay in the Philippines and be the nations backbone, thus preventing “brain drain”
• the small entrepreneur, who in the midst of financial difficulties, decides to stay even if they can go somewhere else abroad, and help create jobs.

How would you call them? Aren’t they heroes, too?

There’s something wicked in the way the government “exalt” the OFWs. The OFWs become the “easy money” type of thing. Because of the OFW phenomenon, what the government does is to encourage more people to go abroad instead of focusing on developing our own industries, creating jobs — real ones, not just in papers, and making programs that will improve the lives of our workforce. 

The OFWs are NOT the new heroes. They ARE heroes the way other workers back home are heroes for the sacrifice they — we — give for the sake of our families and the country.

Now, start throwing the stones.

Gone… for a while

I love blogging. It has been my online self for more than 7 years now since I started my first blog. For some personal reasons — where I found myself confused and disoriented in life, I’m going to have to take an indefinite blogging break. I will have an online (and offline) personal solitude, an isolation.

So, to my readers — if there’s indeed any — I will be gone for a while but hope to come back blogging again, not very soon, but sure will return.

God bless you all.

-Arnold

Books, books…

I have a stack of books in front of me. I’m not a reader, really. But I feel I need to develop this skill to improve on several aspects of my life.

Titles on my desk include:

Fusion: Turning First Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of your Church (by Nelson Searcy)
Going All The Way (by Craig Groeschel)
Next Generation Leader (by Andy Stanley)
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (by John Maxwell)
Its not about me (by Max Lucado)
Facing Your Giants (by Max Lucado)

Apple cult

Back from the holiday blog haitus.

Recently, a friend of mine got a new Macbook. I commended him and said “Welcome to the cult!” I don’t know where that came from, but as soon as I said that, I suddenly realized that since I got my first Apple product — a first generation Mac Mini — 2 years ago, I started to have a religion-like-cult experience:

* I started to join bloggers in their Windows-bashing crusade
* Buying products from our own — “iPod is definitely a priority over other MP3 players”
* I always crave for that newly released Apple product.
* I read Apple themed blogs, I discuss with the Apple based communities.
* Lastly, and certainly not the least, I started to think that my Mac is always right.

If I’m heading towards destruction, I need to be saved!

Purpose-driven chicken

Purpose-driven life adherents will love this picture (via Keren Tan). It all started with Purpose-driven Church, then Purpose driven life, purpose driven youth ministry… who knows there will be purpose driven libraries and purpose driven cars in the future. :D

For today, we’ll have purpose driven chicken.