MANILA, Philippines- Icar Yves Buchorno Perdido didn’t expect that the video of her husband bidding farewell to their five-year-old daughter would reach millions of Filipinos on social media. The heartbreaking footage, which has amassed over 7 million views as of this writing, clearly shows the hardships OFW parents had to go through just to give a better future for their family.
In her interview with CNN News, Icar disclosed that she and her husband had worked as OFWs for the past 7 years. Despite having two kids aged 5 and 3, the couple continued working abroad and left their children under the care of their parents. But this year, Icar decided to give up her job and stay in the Philippines for good to take care of her kids. Meanwhile, her husband had to continue working at Maldives.
As Perdido’s husband was about to take his flight, his 5-year-old daughter Ain started crying hysterically and begged him to stay. The tearjerking moment was caught on video and quickly became a trending topic on social media.
However, several netizens pointed out that Icar should have left their kids at home to avoid such incident. But for Icar, bringing her kids to the airport to say goodbye to their father enables them to express their emotions.
“Mahirap din naman po yung minsan nababasa ko sa comments ba’t sinama pa yung mga bata pero para sa akin chance nila yun na ma-express nila yung emotions nila kasi kapag iha-hide mo kasi sa sarili mo na aalis ka, hindi nila alam. Pag uwi mo din, di rin nila ma-feel,” Icar told CNN.
Icar is among the many Filipinos hopeful that the Duterte administration will be able to provide jobs in the country in order for OFWs to return home.
“Alam ko nakikita yan at alam ni President Duterte kaya siya din mismo naghahanap din siya ng paraan para tayong mga Pilipino di na tayo magtratrabaho sa labas ng bansa para yung mga anak naten di na malulungkot,” Icar added.
Watch the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDG7KI8WVo8
Where do most OFWs work?
According to the 2015 Survey on Overseas Filipino, there are about 2.4 million Filipinos working abroad. Saudi Arabia (24.7%) remained the top destination for OFWs, followed by United Arab Emirates (15.5%), Hong Kong (5.9%), Kuwait (5.8%), Singapore (5.7%) and Qatar (5.5%).