[Paulit ulit kong paksa ito sa aming mga hamak ng blag, at wag sana kayong magsawa: ang pinagkaiba ng Pinoy na PR at citizen at Pinoy na Work Visa holder ay nauna lang ang mga PR at maparaan ang mga ito. The WV holder is just a permanent-resident-in-waiting. Salamat sa inyong pagtangkilik! Thanks and acknowledgment for the photos to stuff.co.nz! ]
IT’S NOT OBVIOUS AT FIRST, but looking closely, you can see the two sides of every Pinoy community in New Zealand. Usually in church, but also in community gatherings, sportsfests, and Filipino holidays.
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Confident, outgoing and willing to socialize with everyone. These are the citizens, permanent residents and those on their way to becoming one. they have the confidence of people who have conquered the challenge of their lives, or those who’ve mastered their environment. And why not? after all, these kabayan have carved out a new life for themselves and their families, banished the fear of poverty pollution and political unrest that has become commonplace in the Inang Bayan.
The OFWs, temporary visa holders and guest workers are a quieter bunch. They tend to stick together, try not to attract too much attention, and don’t socialize as much, and if they do, it probably won’t be too much with the other group. Oh yes, they’re friendly as any other Pinoy, they fight just as hard on the basketball court, and the bayanihan spirit courses through their veins especially during Semana Santa, Misa de Gallo and during calamitous times back home in the Philippines.
Just don’t ask them how long they’ll be staying or if they’ll be buying a house soon. If at all, you’ll get non-committal answers, stares that look more hurt than anything, and faces that won’t open up again. That’s how large the divide is when talking to PRs, and talking to WV kabayan.
But is there really that much difference? Think about it kabayan : on either side of the passport, Pinoys are hardworking, law-abiding, team-players who speak above average English compared to the rest of their Asian migrant counterparts. We’re not being boastful, it’s just the reality that if you ask the typical employer who among a wide selection of workers of various races they’d choose from, based on reliability, durability and loyalty, I’m willing to bet you our week’s minimum wage (I’m kidding, it’s a little more than that) that Filipinos will end up the easy favorite.
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Year after year, records will show you that among work visa holders, Pinoys continue to apply for and receive approvals for working here. It is both market forces and brand preference. The healthy demand for Filipino workers has been sustained most of this century, and the intangible “human factor” (our tendency to smile, get along with others) doesn’t hurt.
But you have to wonder: why aren’t more Filipino guest workers (or those from any other country) becoming permanent residents?
It’s getting exasperating across the board, across many roles and across many industries. No one underestimates the contribution work visa holders make, in some cases their loss would cripple whole industries. Think of any industry where temporary workers make a major contribution. Now imagine if these same workers found it too hard to stay here, for whatever reason. Would that help or harm New Zealand? It’s too simple an argument, but in the end workers from overseas stay only if they’re wanted.
Not complaining, but guest workers (not just Filipinos) are sometimes treated as though they are a burden to the host country. They add wealth to the nation, but they don’t participate in the benefits. They pay taxes but do they participate in receiving services? Through their consumption they fuel the growth of the economy, but they are often considered as an “invisible” part of society, almost better seen than heard.
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Babalik po ako sa original eksena ko kanina. Over the years, in Pinoy Mass sportsfests, Independence Day celebrations, natutunan ko nang hiwalayin (sa isipan ko) ang Pinoy na taga rito na (kabayan A) at Pinoy na nangangarap pa lang na pumirme rito (kabayan B). I got used to the differences, and I used the difference to explain to myself how I saw these two groups of kabayan behave.
But you know what kabayan? There is really no difference, as I said earlier. Both kabayan A (from the first group) and kabayan B (from the second) are contributors to NZ life. Both have the same values, hopes and dreams. Both love the Philippines AND New Zealand
And both deserve to stay here.
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There are multiple efforts to make it easier for our kabayan work visa holders to stay here permanently. Via easier requirements. Via more visa pathways. Via a general law granting permanent residence based on the number of years worked here.
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It is going to take some time for this to happen. Matagal tagal pa bago ito maipasa bilang batas or regulasyon sa Immigration NZ.
In the meantime, since so many of our brother and sister Pinoys are already working in jobs that are essential to the New Zealand economy, and Kiwis aren’t interested in these jobs, as proven time and again, and as it would be counter productive to uselessly train new workers over and over again (as Pinoys who fail to get visas have to go home, and try to come here again) as workers who replace Pinoys often don’t stay in the jobs they train for, I have a simple proposal kabayan.
Why don’t we have visas that have longer visa periods, like say five or even seven years?
It’s a win-win. It would give the worker more stability in planning his or her life and family, and employers would not have to continue looking for and training new workers.
In the meantime, we wouldn’t abandon the idea of permanent residence. Longer visa periods would just be a more immediate way of helping improve the situation.
[ By the way, by its own admission, the Government’s policy of requiring temporary visa holders to go home after three years to “maintain a bond” with the visa holder’s home country (also called the “stand-down period“) was a failure, so insisting on that doesn’t help anyone. ]
So many details, but you get what I mean. If you like our idea, please approach your local Member of Parliament, or even your local Council. Please talk to your immigration adviser about it, if you have one.
They say the most powerful thing in the world is an idea whose time has come. Hopefully for our kabayan, this can be one of those ideas.
Thanks for reading, mabuhay!
I love your consistent advocacy of the cause of Filipino migrants. But sometimes there are statements that I feel like don’t promotes kindness, respect and understanding among different cultures, and facts-based journalism. For example, to say that we, Filipinos, have above average English than our most Asian counterparts could hurt other people’s feelings and fuels racism amongst us. It is also subjective depending on who is saying and the audience – most people are too civil and wants to win hearts at the cost of truth.
I understand Phil. I guess it’s bias on my part and I sometimes fail to see the misunderstanding it may cause. But unfortunately our English proficiency really is based both on facts and anecdotal evidence. It’s a vestige of our colonial and American commonwealth eras. But I respect the point you’re trying to make, and I’ll remember it in future posts. Thanks for the comment!
A agree 1,000%!!! Well said, Noel!
Thank you NZ Snow!
Tumpak! At pasok sa banga. Not all ofw’s who come over here really wants to be a NZ resident or citizen. Marami dyan they just want to work until the time they save enough and settled everything. Without visa limitations or stand down period okay lang naman to be on working visa for ten years or so basta alam mo you can stay at walang fear na mag babago ang rules ng immigration. It is the security to stay further and work that cause anxiety to most Filos that aren’t PR.
Thank you so much for your intelligent insight Deprobbie. Indeed iba iba ang needs at pananaw ng dumadayo rito, NZ government just has to be fair to all. Cheers and mabuhay ka!