(Note: with slight editing, this post originally appeared in Filipino Migrant News entitled “Why OFWs can relate to the Squid Game”, please click https://www.filipinonews.nz/featured/ofws-squid-game/ for the hard copy version. Thank you and selamat for the confidence and continuing support Mel Fernandez, FMN publisher and Filipino-Kiwi Hero Awards founder!)
TATAPUSIN KO muna ang Squid Games bago ko magblag o pagusapan sya sa harap ng kabayan at kapwa OFW. pero di ko na mahintay , baka malimutan ko ang marurupok na nabuong opinyon tungkol sa runaway world-wide Netflix hit na ito, na napanuod na ng daang-milyon kahit saan sa mundo. Bakit naman, tanong ng Tanging Yaman kong tagapagbasa (Precious Reader)?
[We were going to finish the entire Squid Game series first before saying anything about it to fellow kabayan and OFWs, but later felt that we couldn’t wait before our humble opinions about the runaway worldwide Netflix hit turned into fragile, half-forgotten memories. Why the urgency, readers?]
Ang dahilan ay, napakaraming similarity at reminder na ang biyahe o journey ng mga Squid Game contestant ay maihahalintulad sa paglakbay ng migrante o OFW sa labas ng Pilipinas.
[ The reason is: there are many similarities and reminders that the adventure of the Squid Game contestant is similar to the journey of the OFW. ]
Desperation. Let me explain first the difference as well as the similarity. Many OFWs have completed a basic course, an apprenticeship, or picked up some experience before embarking on a job abroad. They’ve prepared a good part of their adult lives for this, and are aware of the risks and rewards involved. For them, it is a calculated risk, and on balance it’s worth it.
The contestants in Squid Games are almost 100% deeply in debt, have little or no way out of their indebtedness, and have nothing to lose by trying out for the Games, except (perhaps unknowingly) their lives. For most of them, living the reality of their financially compromised lives is probably not worth living, and as one of the early episodes show, knowing what the consequence of failure would ultimately not deter them from joining.
OFWs and migrants certainly aren’t anywhere near the level of desperation of the Games, but when you think about it, a lot rides on that one job that the kabayan signs up for: the money borrowed for the placement and the travel expense, the immediate and long-term future of the family that the OFW has almost surely started and committed to support, and the pride and expectations of friends and family that our guest worker / migrant cannot let down without great shame and disappointment.
There’s certainly a lot of drama in the TV show, but when you put the stakes side-by-side, is the desperation really that different?
Rewards of success/ cost of failure. again initially the difference is so great as to almost laugh at the comparison. life or death versus earning in dollars? getting your brains blown out versus living one plus years away from family? Hardly comparable.
but when the viewer pauses to really really think about it, the contrasts start to dissolve: in return for a few years of hard work, the kabayan worker earns triple, quadruple, up to ten times the amount in whatever job he or she would’ve worked in an equivalent amount of time back home.
this enhanced income would provide enhanced shelter, basic needs and a standard of living beyond what the previous gen could only dream about, and if fruits of the labor are invested responsibly, extended well beyond the present generation.
On the other side of the coin, the costs of failure don’t look pretty. Going back home with little to show for it, going back to zero, and having to face family and friends answering the question: with everything going for you, what went wrong?
***** ***** *****
Yes, the Squid Games winner would become a multi-millionaire, winning in Korean won the equivalent of US$38 million, but considering that only one out of nearly 500 contestants will make it, and each game is literally a life-or-death situation, the rewards really aren’t that great.
Really, can you quantify or put into monetary terms the most priceless thing there is, human life itself?
Conclusion : The reward-or-punishment situation, although in different worlds, is about the same. Sky high rewards, but terrible costs.
High learning curve, learning on the fly. In the Games, the contestants need to learn in the blink of an eye what the game is all about, how to avoid catastrophe, and to learn to achieve the goal. Every step is not only learning, but gaining on your fellow contestants and achieving one step closer to the objective. You must not only be fast, but also be decisive, in short perfect in planning and execution. All this, in a hostile, unfamiliar environment.
Sound familiar?
Many of our kabayan around the world are thrown into strange lands where no English is spoken. The culture and language, not to mention weather, way of doing things and even work habits are all new to them. The need to adapt and do well is constant and ever-changing, and to survive means adjusting all the time.
This is why it is easy to relate for the OFW / migrant watching Squid Games. Each world, in its own way, mirrors the other.
As we mentioned earlier, we haven’t finished watching the whole series. We’ve heard a spoiler here and there but overall it doesn’t detract from our enjoyment: we know it will still be a visual delight, and more importantly, a beautiful story to watch.
thanks for reading, mabuhay!
