Literature On Diaspora and Migration

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.
0 10-July-2020
Study Guide in GE1 - Understanding the Self with Personality Development Module No.1_
STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. ___

5
DIASPORA AND MIGRATION

MODULE OVERVIEW
This module is intended to aide students through enlightening them on the interdisciplinary
program offered by the Migration and Diaspora Studies drawing on people's movement and
transnational settlement using social science and humanities perspectives.
In this modules, literary works on Diaspora and migration are delved into, including; an
essay by Patricia Evangelist- “A Borderless World”, short stories from Merlinda Bobis- “The
Sadness Collector” and Jose Dalisay Jr.- “The Woman in the Box”, lastly a poem by Ruth S.
Mabanglo- “Liham ni Pinay Mula sa Brunei”
MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain the cause and the effect

of the different social issues
through literary writing.
2.Value the essence of literature
for culture through the first-hand
experience of reading and
analyzing
literary piece in the Philippine
context.
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 10-July-2020
3.Develop a sense of connectivity

with social realities and
literature.
analyzing
context.
literature.


analyzing
context.
literature.
1.Explain the cause and the effect of the different social issues through literary writing.
2.Value the essence of literature for culture through the first-hand experience of reading and
analyzing literary piece in the Philippine context.
3.Develop a sense of connectivity with social realities and literature.
LEARNING CONTENTS
I. Literature on Diaspora and Migration
"Diaspora the movement or migration of a group of people, such as those sharing is

a national and/or ethnic identity, away from an established or ancestral homeland.”

Diaspora is not a new concept

T
for Filipinos; they

have been constantly connected to
migration, one of the interconnected
aspects of the
global workforce. Diaspora and
migration as common household terms
can be traced
back from the first overseas Filipino
farmworkers in Hawaii in the middle of
1900s to
the presently relocated skilled
workers and domestic helpers in the
Middle East
countries and various Asian countries.
Diaspora is not a new concept for
Filipinos; they
aspects of the

can be traced
1900s to
Middle East
Diaspora is not a new concept for
Filipinos; they
aspects of the
can be traced


1900s to
Middle East
Diaspora is not a new concept for Filipinos; they have been constantly connected to
migration, one of the interconnected aspects of the global workforce. Diaspora and migration as
common household terms can be traced back from the first overseas Filipino farmworkers in Hawaii
in the middle of 1900s to the presently relocated skilled workers and domestic helpers in the Middle
East countries and various Asian countries.
Filipinos are everywhere, they are scattered in different countries all over the world. Some
are temporarily working to provide for their families in the Philippines while many permanently
reside in the foreign countries other than their native land. Migration of Filipinos has become a trend
and an increasing number of leaving the country is remarkable. Filipinos leave the country to find a
better life in another country and to provide the financial support their family in the Philippines need.
Approximately 12% of the Filipino population live and work abroad. Each day, the number
continuously increasing. With the number of Filipino people leaving the country for a better living
conditions, not all of them are fortunate to make their dreams come true. Some overseas Filipino
workers, especially women, are underemployed, mistreated and exploited by their foreign
employers.
Migration and Diaspora Studies offers an interdisciplinary program drawing on social

science and humanities approaches to the study of the movement and transnational settlement of
people.
Migration involves the movement of people across borders. Migration is a key aspect of
human history and is informed by larger global economic, political, and social forces. Migration
Studies draws on social science approaches such as sociology, political science, history,
economics, law, and international affairs.
Diaspora is a term used to describe the dispersion of populations across borders and the
construction of an identity as a distinct community, in many cases invoking connections to a real or
imagined homeland. While diasporas have existed throughout history, in our globalized age, the
phenomena of communities that maintain transnational connections has become more prevalent.
Diaspora Studies is an interdisciplinary field in the humanities and social sciences, including cultural
anthropology, literature, music, art history, cultural studies, sociology, history, and film studies.
Migration and Diaspora Studies brings these different but interrelated approaches to the
study of migration and diaspora into dialogue with each other. The program allows you to study a
variety of topics involving the social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of the movement

and transnational settlement of peoples. Migration and Diaspora Studies fosters an engaged
community of academics, students, and practitioners to explore these issues
The term "diasporas" has no set definition, and its meaning has changed significantly over
time, which makes it very difficult to measure. IOM defines diasporas as “migrants or descendants
of migrants, whose identity and sense of belonging have been shaped by their migration experience
and background.” (IOM Glossary on Migration, 2019) While the term was originally used to describe
the forced displacement of certain peoples, "diasporas" is now generally used to describe those
who identify with a "homeland", but live outside of it. Definitions of "diasporas" also include not only
first-generation emigrants, but also foreign-born children of these individuals, as long as they
maintain some link to their parent’s home country. These links – whether cultural, linguistic,
historical, religious or affective – are what distinguish diaspora groups from other communities.
Normally, diasporas are characterized by most, if not all, of the following features:
 Migration, which may be forced or voluntary, from a country of origin in search of work,
trade, or to escape conflict or persecution;
 An idealized, collective memory and/or myth about the ancestral home;
 A continuing connection to a country of origin;
 A strong group consciousness sustained over time; and' A sense of kindship with diaspora
members in other countries. (Adapted from Cohen, 2008).
II. Literary works on Diaspora and Migration
II. A.
THE BORDERLESS WORLD
Patricia Evangelista
The Borderless World is an essay

pertaining to the mindset of Filipinos of
migrating and working
abroad in hope of a better life. It
highlights the need to give back to the
place that shaped who you are as a
person.
WHEN I was little, I wanted what many Filipino children all over the country wanted. I wanted to be
blond, blue-eyed and white.
I thought — if I just wished hard enough and was good enough, I’d wake up on Christmas morning
with snow outside my window and freckles across my nose!
More than four centuries under western domination can do that to you. I have 16 cousins. In a
couple of years, there will just be five of us left in the Philippines, the rest will have gone abroad in

search of “greener pastures.” It’s not an anomaly; it’s a trend; the Filipino diaspora . Today, about
eight million Filipinos are scattered around the world.
There are those who disapprove of Filipinos who choose to leave. I used to. Maybe this is a natural
reaction of someone who was left behind, smiling for family pictures that get emptier with each
succeeding year. Desertion, I called it. My country is a land that has perpetually fought for the
freedom to be itself. Our heroes offered their lives in the struggle against the Spanish, the
Japanese, the Americans. To pack up and deny that identity is tantamount to spitting on that
sacrifice.
Or is it? I don’t think so. Not anymore.
True, there is no denying this phenomenon, aided by the fact that what was once the other side of
the world is now a 12-hour plane ride away. But this is a borderless world, where no individual can
claim to be purely from where he is now. My mother is of Chinese descent, my father is a quarter
Spanish, and I call myself a pure Filipino — a hybrid of sorts resulting from a combination of
cultures.
Each square mile anywhere in the world is made up of people of different ethnicities, with national
identities and individual personalities. Because of this, each square mile is already a microcosm of
the world. In as much as this blessed spot that is England is the world, so is my neighborhood back
home.
Seen this way, the Filipino Diaspora, or any sort of dispersal of populations, is not as ominous as so
many claim. It must be understood. I come from a Third World country, one that is still trying mightily
to get back on its feet after many years of dictatorship. But we shall make it, given more time.
Especially now, when we have thousands of eager young minds who graduate from college every
year. They have skills. They need jobs. We cannot absorb them all.
A borderless world presents a bigger opportunity, yet one that is not so much abandonment but an
extension of identity. Even as we take, we give back. We are the 40,000 skilled nurses who support
the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-million seafarers manning
most of the world’s commercial ships. We are your software engineers in Ireland, your construction
workers in the Middle East, your doctors and caregivers in North America, and, your musical artists
in London’s West End.
Nationalism isn’t bound by time or place. People from other nations migrate to create new nations,
yet still remain essentially who they are. British society is itself an example of a multi-cultural nation,
a melting pot of races, religions, arts and cultures. We are, indeed, in a borderless world!
Leaving sometimes isn’t a matter of choice. It’s coming back that is. The Hobbits of the shire
traveled all over Middle-Earth, but they chose to come home, richer in every sense of the word. We
call people like these balikbayans or the “returnees” — those who followed their dream, yet choose
to return and share their mature talents and good fortune.
In a few years, I may take advantage of whatever opportunities that come my way. But I will come
home. A borderless world doesn’t preclude the idea of a home. I’m a Filipino, and I’ll always be one.
It isn’t about geography; it isn’t about boundaries. It’s about giving back to the country that shaped
me.
And that’s going to be more important to me than seeing snow outside my window on a bright
Christmas morning.
SUMMARY
The Borderless World is an essay pertaining to the mindset of Filipinos of migrating and working

abroad in hope of a better life. It highlights the need to give back to the place that shaped who you
are as a person.
II. B.
THE SADNESS COLLECTOR
Merlinda Bobis
And she will not stop eating, another pot, another plate, another mouthful of sadness, and she will
grow bigger and bigger, and she will burst.
On the bed, six – year – old Rica braces herself, waiting for the dreaded explosion –
Nothing. No big bang. Because she’s been a good girl. Her tears are not even a mouthful tonight.
And maybe their neighbours in the run – down apartment have been careful, too. From every pot
and plate, they must have scraped off their leftover sighs and hidden them somewhere
unreachable. So Big Lady can’t get to them. So she can be saved from bursting.
Every night, no big bang really, but Rica listens anyway.
The house is quiet again. She breathes easier, lifting the sheets slowly from her face – a brow just
unfurrowing, but eyes still wary and a mouth forming the old silent question – are you really there?
She turns on the lamp. It’s girlie kitsch like the rest of the decor, from the dancing lady wallpaper to
the row of Barbie dolls on a roseate plastic table. The tiny room is all pink bravado, hoping to
compensate for the warped ceiling and stained floor. Even the unhinged window flaunts a family of
pink paper rabbits.
Are you there?
Her father says she never shows herself to anyone. Big Lady only comes when you’re asleep to eat
your sadness. She goes from house to house and eats the sadness of everyone, so she gets too
fat. But there’s a lot of sadness in many houses, it just keeps on growing each day, so she can’t
stop eating, and she can’t stop growing too.
Are you really that bid? How do you wear your hair?
Dios ko, if she eats all our mess, Rica, she might grow too fat and burst, so be a good girl and save
her by not being sad – hoy, stop whimpering, I said, and go to bed. Her father is not always patient
with his storytelling.
All quiet now. She’s gone.
Since Rica was three, when her father told her about Big Lady just after her mother left for Paris,
she was always listening intently to all the night – noises from the kitchen. No, that sound is not the
scurrying of mice – she’s actually checking the plates now, lifting the lid off the rice pot, peeking into
cups for sadness, both overt and unspoken. To Rica, it always tastes salty, like tears, even her
father’s funny look each time she asks him to read her again the letters from Paris.
She has three boxes of them, one for each year, though the third box is not even half – full. All of
them tied with Paris ribbons. The first year, her mother sent all colours of the rainbow for her long,
unruly hair, maybe because her father did not know how to make it more graceful. He must have
written her long letters, asking about how to pull the mass of curls away from the face and tie them
neatly the way he gathered, into some semblance of order, his own nightly longings.
It took some time for him to perfect the art of making a pony – tail. Then he discovered a trick
unknown to even the best hairdressers. Instead of twisting the bunch of hair to make sure it does

not come undone before it’s tied, one can rotate the whole body. Rica simply had to turn around in
place, while her father held the gathered hair above her head. Just like dancing, really.
She never forgets, talaga naman, the aunties whisper among themselves these days. A remarkable
child. She was only a little thing then, but she noticed all, didn’t she, never missed anything,
committed even details to memory. A very smart kid, but too serious, a sad kid.
They must have guessed that, recently, she has cheated on her promise to behave and save Big
Lady. But only on nights when her father comes home late and drunk, and refuses to read the old
letters from Paris – indeed, she has been a very good girl. She’s six and grown up now, so, even if
his refusal has multiplied beyond her ten fingers, she always makes sure that her nightly tears
remained small and few. Like tonight, when she hoped her father would come home early, as he
promised again. Earlier, Rica watched TV to forget, to make sure the tears won’t amount to a
mouthful. She hates waiting. Big Lady hates that, too, because then she’ll have to clean up till the
early hours of the morning.
Why Paris? Why three years – and even more? Aba, this is getting too much now. The aunties
never agree with her mother’s decision to work there, on a fake visa, as a domestic helper – ay
naku, taking care of other people’s children, while, across the ocean, her own baby cries herself to
sleep? Talaga naman! She wants to earn good money and build us a house. Remember, I only
work in a factory... Her father had always defended his wife, until recently, when all talk about her
return was shelved. It seems she must extend her stay, because her employer might help her to
become “legal.” Then she can come home for a visit and go back there to work some more –
The lid clatters off the pot. Beneath her room, the kitchen is stirring again. Rica sits up on the bed –
the big one has returned? But she made sure the pot and plates were clean, even the cups, before
she went to bed. She turns off the lamp to listen in the dark. Expectant ears, hungry for the phone’s
overseas beep. Her mother used to call each month and write her postcards, also long love letters,
even if she couldn’t read yet. With happy snaps, of course. Earlier this year, she sent one of herself
and the new baby of her employer.
Cutlery noise. Does she also check them? This has never happened before, her coming back after
a lean meal. Perhaps, she’s licking a spoon for any trace of saltiness, searching between the
prongs of a fork. Unknown to Rica, Big Lady is wise, an old hand in this business. She senses that
there’s more to a mouthful of sadness than meets the tongue. A whisper of salt, even the smallest
nudge to the palate, can betray a century of hidden grief. Perhaps, she understands that, for all its
practice, humanity can never conceal the daily act of futility at the dinner table. As we feed
continually, we also acknowledge the perennial nature of our hunger. Each time we bring food to
our mouths, the gut – emptiness that we attempt to fill inevitably contaminates our cutlery, plates,
cups, glasses, our whole table. It is this residual contamination, our individual portions of grief, that
she eats, so we do not die from them – but what if we don’t eat? Then we can claim self –
sufficiency, a fullness from birth, perhaps. Then we won’t betray our hunger.
But Rica was not philosophical at four years old, when she had to be cajoled, tricked, ordered, then
scolded severely before she finished her meal, if she touched it at all. Rica understood her
occasional hunger strikes quite simply. She knew that these dinner quarrels with her father, and
sometimes her aunties, ensured dire consequences. Each following day, she always made stick
drawings of Big Lady with an ever – increasing girth, as she was sure the lady had had a big meal
the night before.
Mouth curved downward, she’s sad like her meals. No, she wears a smile, she’s happy because
she’s always full. Sharp eyes, they can see in the dark, light – bulb eyes, and big teeth for chewing
forever. She can hardly walk, because her belly’s so heavy, she’s pregnant with leftovers. No, she
doesn’t walk, she flies like a giant cloud and she’s not heavy at all, she only looks heavy. And she

doesn’t want us to be sad, so she eats all our tears and sighs. But she can’t starve, can she? Of
course, she likes sadness, it’s food.
Fascination, fear and a kinship drawn from trying to save each other. Big Lady saves Rica from
sadness; Rica saves Big Lady from bursting by not being sad. An ambivalent relationship,
confusing, but certainly a source of comfort. And always Big Lady as object of attention. Those days
when Rica drew stick – drawings of her, she made sure the big one was always adorned with pretty
baubles and make – up. She even drew her with a Paris ribbon to tighten her belly. Then she added
a chic hat to complete the picture.
Crimson velvet with a black satin bow. Quite a change from all the girlie kitsch – that her mother had
dredged from Paris’ unfashionable side of town? The day it arrived in the mail, Rica was about to
turn six. A perfect Parisienne winter hat for a tiny head in the tropics. It came with a bank – draft for
her party.
She did not try it on, it looked strange, so different from the Barbies and pink paper rabbits. This
latest gift was unlike her mother, something was missing. Rica turned it inside out, searching – on
TV, Magic Man can easily pull a rabbit or a dove out of his hat, just like that, always. But this tale
was not part of her father’s repertoire. He told her not to be silly when she asked him to be Magic
Man and pull out Paris – but can she eat as far as Paris? Can she fly from here to there overnight?
Are their rice pots also full of sad leftovers? How salty?
Nowadays, her father makes sure he comes home late each night, so he won’t have to answer the
questions, especially about the baby in the photograph. So he need not to improvise further on his
three – year – old tall tale.
There it is again, the cutlery clunking against a plate – or scraping the bottom of a cup? She’s
searching for the hidden mouthfuls and platefuls and potfuls. Cupboards are opened. No, nothing
there, big one, nothing – Rica’s eyes are glued shut. The sheets rise and fall with her breathing. She
wants to leave the bed, sneak into the kitchen and check out this most unusual return and
thoroughness.
That’s the rice pot being overturned –
Her breaths make and unmake a hillock on the streets –
A plate shatters on the floor –
Back to a foetal curl, knees almost brushing chin –
Another plate crushes –
She screams –
The pot is hurled against the wall –
She keeps screaming as she ruins out of the room, down to the kitchen –
And the cutlery, glasses, cups, more plates –
Big Lady’s angry, Big Lady’s hungry, Big Lady’s turning the house upside down –
Breaking it everywhere –

Her throat is weaving sound, as if it were all that it never knew –
“SHUT UP – !”
Big Lady wants to break all to get to the heart of the matter, where it’s the saltiest. In the vein of a
plate, within the aluminium bottom of a pot, in the copper fold of a spoon, deep in the curve of a
cup’s handle –
Ropes and ropes of scream –
“I SAID, SHUT UP!”
Her cheek stings. She collapses on the floor before his feet.
“I didn’t mean to, Dios ko po, I never meant to –“
Her dazed eyes make out the broken plates, the dented pot, the shards of cups, glasses, the cutlery
everywhere –
He’s hiccupping drunkenly all over her –
“I didn’t mean to, Rica, I love you, baby, I’ll never let you go –“ His voice is hoarse with anger and
remorse.
“She came back, Papa –“
“She can’t take you away from me –“
“She’s here again –“
“Just because she’s ‘legal’ now –“
“She might burst, Papa –“
“That whore - !” His hands curl into fists on her back.
Big Lady knows, has always known. This feast will last her a lifetime, if she does not burst tonight.
In the best known work of Descartes, Meditation of First Philosophy, he discussed that it is
only in doubting the knowledge one obtained and collecting a true and well supported beliefs
through emperical evidences can one achieved a well reason conclusion. A conclusion that is
genuinely by one’s self and not by other people. In his statement “for once in your life, doubt, as far
as possible, all things”.
SUMMARY
The short story, The Sadness Collector is about a girl named Rica who has problems while
growing up with her father because her mother works overseas as a domestic helper. After her
mother left for Paris she use to send different gifts to Rica just to show her love and presence. To
divert Rica’s attention, her father told her a story about a big lady who eats sadness away from
houses at night. Her dad told her that if the big lady eats all of their mess, the big lady might grow
too fast and burst, so Rica has to be a good girl and save the big lady by not being sad. Ever since
her mother left, Rica would be so eager listen to all of the sounds at the kitchen and waiting for the
big lady to show up. One night, Rica heard noises again and because of the story that her father
made about the lady who eats sadness, she became nervous and afraid that the big lady might

burst but unfortunately it wasn’t even the big lady at all, not even her aunties. But it was only her
drunk dad. Rica told her dad about her hesitations and her thoughts about the noise she heard and
argued with her dad that it was really the Big Lady. But maybe, because of her dad’s guilt about
making a story and about his wreck less actions, he said sorry and assured Rica that big lady can’t
and won’t get her away from him, and to top it off she assured Rica that he really loves her. But due
to her young mind, Rica tends to wait patiently for Big Lady to appear. Merlinda Bobis “The Sadness
Collector” was basically revolves on the theme of diaspora and a young girl that name Rica who is
lack of affection by her parents and a Big Lady that eats sadness.
The following are the basic literary concepts of The Sadness Collector:
PLOT
The plot structure is about the losing of a home by some major reasons, such as separation
from each other. The techniques of writing is very stylistic and focuses on sociocultural realm of
Merlinda's story. The climax of the story is the part wherein Rica’s father was drunk one night and
unintentionally struck her. Rica during that time was really sad in a way where she seemed about to
give up. The confusion with regards to the photos her mom sent her and the depression felt by her
father seemed more than they can handle. In the end, they only have each other which prompted
her father to say “she will never take you away from me”.
SETTINGS
The settings of the said story is revolves around in the house of Rica and the Paris where her
mother work as a domestic helper.
CHARACTERIZATION
The characters of this story are Big Lady, Rica, Father and the Mother.
SYMBOLISM
The symbols being used in this story are as follows:
 BURST- which is big lady getting Rica from her Father.
 PARISIENNE WINTER HAT- in which the mother gave to his daughter Rica and wanted her
to go to the Paris.
 “Shes licking a spoon for any trace of saltiness” - means the tears of Rica.
 “Rica was not philosophical at all” - this means Rica was gullible.
 Pots, plates, cups and glasses- heart/ container of feelings
 LETTERS- decrease of attention
 PICTURE- mother’s new life
METAPHORS
The metaphors of this story are as follows:
 “To Rica, it always tastes salty, like tears, even her fathers funny look each time she asks
him to read her again the letters from Paris.
 “Like tonight, when she hoped her father would come home early, as he promised again.
 “She likes sadness, its food.
GENRE
The type of genre that the author used in the story is in a narrative form. In which, the sadness
collector is a type of short story.
The story represents the importance of the specific roles played by each of the members of a
Filipino family. It is evident that a mother and a father in a Filipino family tends to have a very distant
role to perform in the household. The father should be the breadwinner while the mother should stay
at home taking care of the kids. In the story The Sadness Collector they have seemed to break
tradition. The mother went to Paris to work and actually be the bread winner while the father,

although still working, stayed at home with Rica. In the absence of the mother, the Filipino
perspective that the mother is the best person who can look out for the welfare of her child/children
was represented in the story seeing Rica as a confused and disturbed child because her mom is not
by her side. The father was so hard to connect with Rica because of the reason that it was hard for
himself to accept the fact that he had to stay with his child which is for him is not his real role.
Seeing this situation, I can say that a Filipino family tends to be more patriarchal and breaking this
tradition seemed to be, for the many, ruining of the family. What is also evident here in this selection
is the perspective of the very big role played by the mother in the Filipino family, they keep family
ties and a child without a mother by his/her side tends to grow out of the way, being an incomplete
person inside.
II. C.
THE WOMAN IN THE BOX
Jose Dalisay Jr.
Soledad Cabahug was returning to Manila from Jedah. Like thousands of Filipinos, she had
worked overseas, first in Hong Kong then later in Saudi Arabia. Like many others, she was
desperate to leave, eager to provide for her family back home (especially for her three-year old son,
born out of an affair with a member of her employer’s family). Out of desperation, she takes on her
sister Aurora’s identity in order to secure a permit to work abroad.
However, like so many other Pinoy OFW’s, she would return home in a wooden box.
Tagged with the name Aurora V. Cabahug, the woman had died from a mysterious drowning. Her
sister said she was a strong swimmer.
Meanwhile in her hometown of Paez, her sister, the real Aurora V. Cabahug, known affectionately
as Rory, was singing at the Flame Tree. Just as her sister wanted a better life, she did too. She
wanted to be just like the nation’s songbird, Regine Velasquez, minus the disappointing love affairs.
After spending time entertaining customers, putting up with their off-key singing, lascivious glances,
and feeding them the snacks on their lap, Rory has yet to catch a break. Asked to sing at a
politician’s party, she seizes the opportunity to give her best show, only to be given a fat envelope
of…handkerchiefs and a few measly bills. However, the even leads her to meet Nick Panganiban,
an international piano player who leads her to an opportunity to sing in Saipan.
Before any plans can be made, she must first entertain her “prized client,” Vice Mayor Tennyson
Yip, the district’s hottest bachelor, who chose Rory as his favorite source of entertainment.
However, Walter, a member of the police squad with a mysterious past, hears word that a dead
woman arrived. Certain that it was not Rory’s corpse, since he had seen her the night before, the
officer heads out to give her the bad news. With the assistance of the Vice Mayor’s contacts, Rory
and Walter head to the capital to pick up the body. On the road, they reflect on their past: Rory
remembers her uncomplaining pious sibling, Walter thinks of the affair and the criminal case that
cost him his marriage and sanity.
Rory, at first, did not miss Soli, after all, her sister was five years older and was more like a maid
than a relative. Soledad had never made a fuss, though she remembered a jealous glance when
their mother had given her the music box. She wonders if Soli would of stayed had her mother given
the toy to her elder sister instead. Maybe she would not have wanted for anything.
The baby of the family, Rory had been given greater opportunities and consideration while Soli
seemed happy enough to fade into obscurity. However, when a recruiter comes to their area, it was

clear that Soli was not content to be left behind. In a move that shocked everyone, she rushes off to
Manila and later Tsuan Wan to work as a domestic helper. She shocked the town even more when
she returned home pregnant, keeping the child’s father a secret. Her baby was named Nathan. He
was her child with the 17-year old son of her employers. In her return, she bought a house for her
sister and son. She has great dreams for them. Unfortunately, her savings begin to dwindle and she
must again leave, borrowing her sister’s passport since she had left her previous job under
questionable circumstances. She finds employment in Jedah to work for a royalty, no less. She
wonders about the rumors of the abuse of domestic helpers, but after meeting Princess Loulwa and
her children, who will be Soli’s wards, her worries dissipate. Despite the strict laws and cultural
differences, she learns to enjoy her time there. She becomes friend with Meenakshi, an Indian maid
from Kerala whom she met in the airport. Meena urges her to accompany her to meet Yusuf, the
Prince’s assistant who later claimed after their death that the women had run away after stealing a
fountain pen.
Soledad returns home in a wooden box. Her body is claimed by her sister and Walter. Her coffin is
left in the van, stolen by Jose Maria Palumbarit, an ex-con whose dead father and brother enjoy
making ghostly appearances, especially during lovemaking. He discovers the corpse and tries to
dispose of it, hoping that he could finally get his wife that television set she has always wanted.
Storm clouds hang heavy in the sky.
Three days later, their bodies are found floating in the river. Soli’s already water-damaged body
endures another drowning, sinking the mystery of her death even further.
But maybe there never would have been any answers anyway. After all, just as the coroner’s in
Jedah asserted, “…unless they happen to be…people of consequence” (194) no investigation is
done.
Just like the thousands of Filipinos who leave the country to find hope, many find themselves an
invisible minority, nameless and abused, fading into obscurity…another random name in the paper,
another familiar yet unknown face.
All that is left is a faded photograph of Soli, the wind blowing ripples in her veil, smiling with the sea
at her back.
SUMMARY
"The Woman in the Box", the title of the first chapter of the second novel by Filipino writer Jose
Dalisay, Jr., recounts the story of Aurora Cabahug's journey as a corpse in a casket from Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, to her home country. Aurora was one of millions of Filipino workers scattered all over
the world who left the Philippines in droves in order to bring home the dollar, or riyal or whatever
currency can fill empty pockets. Lacking sufficient source of income at home, they were swayed into
working day jobs abroad to earn enough for a few years and then come home to live the Filipino
dream. There's a profession for every determined person. These were the maids, cooks, drivers,
dancers, plumbers, draftsmen, welders, able-bodied seamen, and other purveyors of sundry
services and trades who had left their kitchens, pigsties, classrooms, fruit stands, videoke bars,
shoe factories, and vulcanizing shops in search of better jobs—in roiling sea and burning sand, from
Singapore to Stockholm, London to Lagos, Riyadh to Reykjavik, in backstreet bar and oil rig, in
nursing home and cannery, in wave after leaping wave across all the seas and oceans that ringed
their island. In exchange for financial gain, they had to make the sacrifice of leaving their children,

spouses, parents, siblings, and friends. They had to brave the discrimination and abuses that some
intolerant foreigners heap on them. Sometimes Filipino women who were taken in as domestic
helpers were maltreated by their employers. Along with hard-earned dollars, some were unlucky
enough to also earn bruises, scratches, and marks of flat iron on their back. Some had to escape
their place of work and run to the Philippine embassy to report the physical assault and torture they
suffered under their cruel employers. One also hears of news reports of a Filipina leaping from a
high building in order to escape male employers who were about to rape them. The government,
instead of creating attractive jobs at home, was complicit in this diaspora. Grateful for the cash that
their Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) bring home, the government hailed them as bagong bayani
(modern-day heroes). Their sacrifices and martyrdom were a big factor in bolstering the economy.
Those who were hardworking and lucky managed to come home moneyed and triumphant. But
some 600 of them—the likes of Aurora Cabahug who was dead from a mysterious drowning and
Filemon Catabay who was beheaded for some reason—yearly arrived in Ninoy Aquino International
Airport in boxes, sealed tight and properly tagged with names and other identifying information.
____________________________________________________________________
II. D.
LIHAM NI PINAY MULA SA BRUNEI
Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo
Ako’y guro, asawa at ina.

Isang babae—pupol ng pabango, pulbos at seda,
Kaulayaw ng batya, kaldero at kama.
Napagod yata ako’t nanghinawa,
Nagsikap mangibang-lupa.
Iyo’t iyon din ang lalaking umuupo sa kabisera,
Nagbabasa ng diyaryo uma-umaga.
Naghihintay siya ng kape
At naninigarilyo,
Habang kagkag ako sa pagitan ng kuna at libro,
Nagpapahid ng lipstick at nagpapatulo ng gripo.
Hindi siya nag-aangat ng mukha
Umaaso man ang kawali o umiingit ang bata.
Hinahatdan ko siya ng brief at tuwalya sa banyo,
Inaaliw kung mainit ang ulo.
Wala siyang paliwanag
Kung bakit hindi siya umuwi magdamag,
Ngunit kunot na kunot ang kanyang noo
Kapag umalis ako ng lingo.
Ayaw niya ng galunggong at saluyot,
Kahit pipis ang sobreng inabot,
Ibig pa yatang maghimala ako ng ulam
Kahit ang pangrenta’y laging kulang.
Ako’y guro, asawa at ina.
Isang babae—napapagal sa pagiging babae.
Itinakda ng kabahaging
Masumpa sa walis, labada’t oyayi
Kahit may propesyo’t kumikita ng salapi.
Iyo’t iyong din ang ruta ng araw-araw—
Kabagutang nakalatag sa kahabaan
Ng bahay at paaralan,
Ng kusina’t higaan.
May karapatan ba akong magmukmok?
Saan ako tatakbo kung ako’y malungkot?
May beerhouse at massage parlor na tambayan

Ang kabiyak kong nag-aasam,

Nasa bintana ako’t naghihintay.
Nagbabaga ang katawan ko sa paghahanap,
May krus ang dila ko’t di makapangusap.
Humihingi ng tinapay ang mga anak ko,
Itinotodo ko ang bolyum ng radio.
Napagod yata ako’t nanghinawa,
Nagsikap mangibang-lupa.
Noon ako nanaginip na nakapantalon,
Nagpapadala ng dolyar at pasalubong.
Nakahihinga na ako ngayon ng maluwag,
Walang susi ang bibig ang isip ay bukas.
Aaminin kong ako’y nangungulila
Ngunit sariling kape ko na ang tinitimpla.
Nag-aabang ako ng sulat sa tarangkaha’t pinto
Sa telepono nabubusog ang puso.
Umiiyak ako nung una,
Nagagamot pala ang lahat sa pagbabasa.
Ito lamang ang sagot,
Bayaang lalaki ang maglaba ng kumot.
SUMMARY
Ruth Elynia S. Mabanglo also known as Ruth Mabanglo is a Filipina poet living in Hawaii, she
worked there as a University professor.
She wrote “Liham ni Pinay mula sa Brunei” to raise awareness to the younger generation, especially
young women, in
Topics concerning roles of men and women in the society. This poem breaks the barrier of the
common misconception about the norms that we believe and follow about the roles of women. To
further understand the poem we must know the elements of poetry that is present in this particular
piece, this will help us understand the dynamics Ruth Mabanglo used to express her insights about
the topics relating to women discrimination. Liham ni Pinay mula sa Brunei is made up of five
stanzas and each stanzas has different numbers of lines. The poem has rhythm which means that
there is a rhyme scheme present in the poem at the end of every line.
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Diaspora and Migration has become a trend for Filipino people to find a better life in a
foreign country. Some people would permanently live or they will just temporarily reside and work in
another country
REFERENCES
Literature on Disposa and Migration
Pangasinan State University. (2020). Literature of diaspora and migration.

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/pangasinan-state-university/literature/literature-on-diaspora-and-migration/
19769411
Pangasinan State University. (2017). Literature of diaspora and migration.

https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/pangasinan-state-university/society-and-literature/literature-on-diaspora-and-
migration/19864470

Pacoma, M. A. (2020). Mapping the “home”. A literature review on Filipino migration and diaspora.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342620212_Mapping_the_’home’_A_literature_review_on_Filipino_migration_an
d_diaspora
The Woman in the Box by Jose Dalisay Jr.
Dalisay, J. (2011). Soledad’s sister. https://lookingforlola.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/soledad%e2%80%99s-sister-by-jose-

dalisay/
A Borderless World by Partricia Evangelista
Evangelista, P. (2010). A borderless world. http://pinoy-tabularasa.blogspot.com/2010/10/borderless-world-by-

patricia.html?m=1
Liham ni Pinay Mulabsa Brunei by Elynia Ruth S. Mabanglo
Mabanglo, R. S. (2009). Liham ni pinay mula sa brunei. https://exclusivelyowned.blogspot.com/2009/02/liham-ni-pinay-

mula-sa-brunei-phil-lit.html?fbclid=IwAR0HtYNcoAEk01-z7VatsPxwv1e3j-9oZZxlFuEpXqRQuS3bWeGrZUWvT14

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FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. ___

DIASPORA AND MIGRATION

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Explain the cause and the effect

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

3.Develop a sense of connectivity

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

Explain the cause and the effect

I. Literature on Diaspora and Migration

"Diaspora the movement or migration of a group of people, such as those sharing is

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

Diaspora is not a new concept

for Filipinos; they

global workforce. Diaspora and

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 5

back from the first overseas Filipino

Migration and Diaspora Studies offers an interdisciplinary program drawing on social

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 6

II. Literary works on Diaspora and Migration

The Borderless World is an essay

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 7

Or is it? I don’t think so. Not anymore.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 8

Every night, no big bang really, but Rica listens anyway.

Are you there?

All quiet now. She’s gone.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 9

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 10

That’s the rice pot being overturned –

Her breaths make and unmake a hillock on the streets –

A plate shatters on the floor –

Back to a foetal curl, knees almost brushing chin –

Another plate crushes –

The pot is hurled against the wall –

And the cutlery, glasses, cups, more plates –

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 11

Her throat is weaving sound, as if it were all that it never knew –

Ropes and ropes of scream –

“I SAID, SHUT UP!”

“I didn’t mean to, Dios ko po, I never meant to –“

He’s hiccupping drunkenly all over her –

“She came back, Papa –“

“She can’t take you away from me –“

“She’s here again –“

“Just because she’s ‘legal’ now –“

“She might burst, Papa –“

“That whore - !” His hands curl into fists on her back.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 12

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 13

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 14

Storm clouds hang heavy in the sky.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 15

Ako’y guro, asawa at ina.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 16

Ang kabiyak kong nag-aasam,

Literature on Disposa and Migration

Pangasinan State University. (2020). Literature of diaspora and migration.

Pangasinan State University. (2017). Literature of diaspora and migration.

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 17

The Woman in the Box by Jose Dalisay Jr.

Dalisay, J. (2011). Soledad’s sister. https://lookingforlola.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/soledad%e2%80%99s-sister-by-jose-