On our bookshelf tonight, one family's quest to escape crippling poverty the only way they could

by leaving their children behind to find work abroad. And Avaaz is back. She recently spoke
with author Jason de parle about his book. A good provider is one who leaves tracing three
generations of a single family across the world. De parle begins by telling how he first met the
family in the Philippines.

I was interested in life in shanty towns, not migration, migration was the farthest thing from my
mind. And I wanted to move in with a family try to see slum life up close. And I found a family
to move in with and so I went to a nun who lived in this community and asked her to help me
find a family to live with. I thought she would go and screen families and take me to meet one
but instead, she walked me through the shanty town and just sort of auctioned me off on the spot
found a fan. First person she approached, woman said, no, no, no. And the second one, no, no,
no. And the third was too frightened to respond. And that was the one that I wound up moving in
with. And tell me about that. Fam. Turned out that while I wasn't thinking of migration,
migration was the way the family survived. The mother home with five kids and her husband,
was a guest worker in Saudi Arabia, go off on two year contracts come back, every two years see
the family for a month or two and go back abroad. And she was raising the kids on the money he
sent back, which was 10 times as minimal pay to do the exact same work

10 times as paying to go live abroad into different countries and send money back. This is Tita
and Emmett, she didn't notice. Yeah, yeah. And how unusual was that arrangement, the more
you dug into it.

Tita was one of 11 kids in her family, nine went abroad, or had spouses who did and now there's
a second generation of cousins, 45 or so cousins, and maybe I think, last count 23 or 24, had
gone abroad. The Philippines is the country in the world where the government does the most
promote migration, remittances, the money that people sent back, or 10% of the GDP and
migrations to the Philippines. What cars once were to Detroit, it's the Civic religion.

As you begin to dig into this, and you're spending sort of day to day life with this family. You're
talking about a very big issue, right? It's migration, people travel all over the world and send
remittances back. It's not just people from the Philippines. But what are you seeing day to day in
terms of the impact it's having on the family, how does it affect how they live, how they relate to
one another.
They were one of the few families in the slum area that had a toilet. So if you want a tangible
example of what migration meant to them, meant they could put a new roof on their house, and
then they could have better walls, it meant they could have indoor plumbing. Eventually, it
meant that their middle daughter Rosa Lee, the one I became closest to could afford if barely to
go to nursing school. And that's what allowed her intern to go abroad and eventually make it to
the United States. So migration was more than a source of income. It was ultimately a vehicle for
transformation or salvation for this family.

You talked to about putting the context putting this family's experience in the context of sort of
global migration, right? It's a very intimate look at this one family. But what did you learn sort of
more largely about how and why people move?

The moment let's call the lightbulb moment for me when I really understood the importance of
global migration was when I discovered research that had shown remittances, the money that
people send home are three times the world's foreign aid budgets combined. Migration is the
world's anti poverty program. If you believe that people should get up and help themselves, that's
what they do when they migrate. It had a profound impact not only in the Philippines, but once
all across the world.

We are, of course, having a lot of national conversations about immigration, right here in the
United States. And I wonder having followed this family over multiple generations, having sort
of put them in the context of the way the rest of the world moves. How are you processing the
conversations we're having here right now?

I think there's a lot of pessimism in the United States about the prospects for assimilation. I
mean, certainly on the part of people who don't like immigration, they'll say, the problem is
immigrants aren't assimilating the way they used to do they, they're not learning English. They're
not fitting in. But even among I think, people who are middle road or even some somewhat
supportive of immigration, they often worry will this generation assimilate the way immigrants
of the past did? And you know, no one family can stand for everyone in a country of 44 million
immigrants. But what I found was that for this family and a substantial number of immigrants,
the powers of American assimilation remain profound, formidable. I mean, this family achieved
in three years the kind of assimilation that used to take three generations house in the suburbs,
kids on the honor roll, you
know, in another interview, you were talking about this family story, and you said, what you put
what you took away from their story, personally, was that immigration in America is actually
working much better immigration as a whole is working much better than a lot of people give it
credit for what did you mean by that? Well,

as I said, there's 44 million immigrants. So everybody's got a different story and one can't stand
for everyone. But I think we've been so focused on illegal immigration and on the crisis of the
border at the border, that we've forgotten that three quarters of the immigrants in the country are
here legally. Among new immigrants, the our our image of immigration is often still one of
Latino immigration, whereas among new immigrants, Asians dominate. Most come middle class.
Now the majority have college degrees the majority live in the suburbs of among new
immigrants. So I think it's the reality is often very different than the crisis coverage that drives so
much of the news cycle.

emigration is a powerful force in the Philippines millions of Filipinos have moved away as of
2015 about 10% of the population was living outside of the country this massive exodus has
major consequences not only for those who leave but also for those left behind emigration
directly shapes the Philippine economy workforce and society many Filipinos move abroad
seeking Economic Opportunity and when they find it they often send money back to their
families these financial transactions are called remittances and they are an essential building
block of the Philippine economy accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country's GDP people
who receive remittances often make critical investments with that money buying food housing
and education this steady flow of foreign money acts as a form of insurance helping people
weather regional and domestic financial crises however dependence on overseas workers makes
the Philippines more vulnerable to forces outside of its control like if foreign governments
restrict migrant labor or if the value of a foreign currency drops reducing the benefit from
remittances emigration also affects the Philippine workforce the government promotes
immigration as a way to combat unemployment arguing that more people leaving the country
means more opportunities for those who remain and with fewer jobseekers and less
unemployment employers will have to raise wages to compete for labor but there's no evidence
that this is the case instead some experts argue that emigration creates brain waste at least a third
of Filipinos who move overseas have some college education yet work in menial jobs or jobs
unrelated to their degree and emigrants who gain valuable skills abroad and return to the
Philippines often choose to leave again rather than put those skills to use at home with so many
people outside the country the social structure inside changes to the majority of immigrants are
women many leave to pursue professional opportunities that may be harder to find at home and
emigration can provide an escape hatch for women who are stuck in unhappy or abusive
marriages and unable to divorce many families are left divided with spouses split half a world
away from each other though it may boost families financial prospects emigration disrupts
traditional family dynamics with one parent absent for long periods of time many Filipino
children can miss out on parental guidance and support and other family members may need to
take on the responsibility of providing care emigration affects different Filipinos in different
ways many see it as a path to prosperity but the lowest income Filipinos can't afford to migrate
and even then making the move is no guarantee of financial success nevertheless emigration still
benefits millions in fact the Philippines recognizes migrant workers day celebrating their
important contributions every June 7th it's an annual acknowledgement of how this movement
abroad shapes life back home

#1 Reason : Career Growth or Career Development

Personally, i worked in the Philippines 5-6 yrs

before deciding that i want work abroad

I can still remember all of my supervisors.

and some officemates.

My industry is post production, yes in the Philippines it is competitive

too many skilled workers.

But it is entirely different when you work abroad

and when you're exposed to a foreign country, naturally, you will really step up on your game
too.
You will discover some skills that

you will be surprised that you already have.

It will be improved through the people and through the process that you are exposed with.

Number 2 is Financial Freedom or Better Compensation

This is a very serious and critical reason why we are working abroad.

Okay! I remember now my salary in the Philippines.

Of course you are working, because you need money.

You will expect that your compensation is like twice, thrice or if you are lucky 5x (or more) than
your basic salary in the Philippines or your local country.

Employers are willing to pay that price is because ---

of your SKILL! (not being self indulgent but that's why we are hired even in local companies)

You are expected to pass that skill or that knowledge to the locals of that foreign country.

Chances are when you work abroad, your salary will be higher.

Number for is Independence.

When you work abroad you will discover more about yourself.

Something like... you will cook for yourself

You will cry for yourself.

You will know your strength , your weaknesses.

And you that you will be very dependent of yourself

You will discover of who you really are! heart

Number 5 reason is of course to support your family.

It is related to my number 2 reason,

of course when you have better compensation automatically you can support your family.
When we have more budget and we have the financial freedom to ourselves it's also good for us
to share that to our family.

Even just simple bills, insurance etc.

Im not sure if this footage is usable.

Just a reminder, that be sure that your keeping for your savings.

That's also a reason why you are working in abroad is to save up for you future.

Welcome. Nowadays, it is very common to see most of the people from my home country
wishing to work overseas. The question is why most of the Filipinos have the urge to work
abroad. Please be informed that everybody has his or her own different reasons for working with
foreign employers.

Nine lack of public support for local entrepreneurs. If the government is treating o f W's as
modern heroes, it may not be giving enough recognition and support to Filipinos who are striving
to start a small business. Although entrepreneurship will help the country create more jobs and
obtain economic development. There are actually government laws and programs that aim to
help small Filipino entrepreneurs and micro business owners. However, these are not adequately
implemented enough to cater all Filipinos who want to start a business in the Philippines instead
of working abroad. Aside from the government, the masses are sadly not giving due honor and
recognition to Filipinos who reject to work abroad and who instead risked everything to create a
living in their home country. There are even instances that Filipinos are being ashamed to be
called Maccabean, or martyrs, one who strives to create wealth out of the Philippine resources

eight government supports Oh f double US government have already acknowledged the

importance of OFW s Overseas Filipino workers. Oh f W's are now covered by better labor
protection, better health care and insurance plans. Also, they are considered as the nation's
newest breed of heroes because they are pumping in billions worth of dollar remittances to the
Philippines.

Seven opportunity to travel and experience abroad. working overseas gives you the best
opportunity to travel and experience life abroad. It gives you the opportunity to discover new
places and people a chance to meet other people learn their culture, traditions and ways of life. In
addition, working abroad gives you an opportunity to see the other side of the world with your
own eyes, then taking pictures of your own adventures and showing them off to your friends and
relatives back at home.

Six discrimination experienced when applying jobs locally. Alongside with the reality and
another sad fact that local job applicants have to deal with are the instances of discrimination in
the hiring process both with the private and government agencies in the country. Employers tend
to choose the best but how do we define best are their favorite candidates locally known backer
approach, but they're not necessarily the most qualified for the jobs. Of course, there are also
companies and agencies that are fair enough to their job applicants. However, we can't deny the
fact that there are employers who are discriminating hopeful job applicants. This process often
leaves the qualified applicants to choose the option to go abroad and look for better work
opportunity.

Five, enhanced career and professional marketability globally. Nowadays, the world is so very
competitive that having a global experience will give you a big Career Edge among other
professionals. Having a worldwide perspective not only broadens your horizons but also offers
you a unique understanding of the skill sets required in a global economy. Furthermore, it can
demonstrate to future employers that you have the ability to adapt to diverse workplaces.
Whether you like it or not, your skills and experiences are always accounted for

pressure from the family and peer influence. If you're not coming from a wealthy family having
severe economic burden and considering your role within the family breadwinner. Such
pressures gives you a perspective that working abroad seems to be the only way out. Another
thing also is when most of your friends have already flown to work abroad and they're having a
good time. Somehow it gives you the insecurities and with the right invitation you are enticed to
follow them.

Three unstable economic condition. Many Filipinos are already becoming hopeless to see the
country's economic condition attain significant progress. Let's face it, again having a corrupt
government mismanagement of the country's assets gross inefficiency in government functions
and other things that stop an entire country from developing due to self interest in greed. What
else can we expect from these? Every one of us will always be fresh straited with such condition
for we know that we will not grow under these circumstances, there has been already a long
standing lack of confidence in the government's effort to secure a better future for its citizens that
many Filipinos have to make their own actions by seeking better opportunities in overseas

two high unemployment rate in the Philippines. Every year, many are eager to graduate from
college with the hope to finding a well compensated job. But unfortunately, with less available
jobs and declining work demand in the market, a number of college graduates are now only good
enough to work at fast food chains, supermarkets or some other minor roles less than the true
value of the graduates abilities. High unemployment rate and less job opportunities for new
graduates are unending problems in the country. These increase the competition among Filipinos
who are looking for available jobs in the country. With such high competition for career
opportunity. Some applicants are desperate to have a job that they are willing to get paid for
lower salaries and not enjoy benefits as long as they're a security of tenure. Sad to say these will
make most of the employers and businessmen grab such inequitable condition that keeps their
businesses save labor cost and earn more profit, one higher income and salary.

One of the main reasons why Filipinos are willing to go abroad for work is the low average
salary and benefits offered by local employers in the Philippines. Jobs that are in demand and
should have a fair compensation such as nurses, engineers, accountants and other professionals
are inadequately paid compared with the compensation that are waiting for them abroad. Even
for skilled workers, such as house maids and other laborers are well compensated and abroad
than the professionals in my home country. The truth may hurt but let's face it, being employed
abroad and doing the same work that we do in the Philippines provide us double or more income
and salary than being employed in our own land.