The Philippine Diaspora

UNIT III
The Philippine
Diaspora
How do Filipinos abroad feel about their
situation? Often, Filipinos believe that
when one leaves the Philippines, one's life
will automatically prosper and be better
than those one left behind. That is not
necessarily true. There are many problems
that Filipinos go through when they are
abroad, and the most common is probably
a deep aching for home. Here are a few
readings to give you a peek at what it
might be like should you decide to live or
work in another country.
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
Millions of Filipinos have left the Philippines in

order to look for greener pastures abroad. It is
startling to discover that the biggest segment of
Asian-Americans in the United States is
composed of Filipino-Americans. There are also
Filipinos going as far as the Middle East and
Australia, working as healthcare workers,
teachers, entertainers, accountants, engineers,
electricians, mechanics, chefs, and domestic
helpers. This trend will continue on into the
future, unless there are better job opportunities
here in the country. This reality has been called
the Philippine Diaspora, and comes with societal
consequences.
This is a story about Vince who is a
Filipino and is currently living in
Honolulu, Hawaii. He is observing the
people around him at the Honolulu
International Airport. He seemed to
have eyed at his “kababayan” or
fellow Filipinos. Vince mentions the
fact that when Filipinos are going back
to their families in the Philippines,
they bring so many balikbayan boxes.
These boxes are filled with canned
goods like SPAM and Libby’s Vienna
sausage, designer jeans (new or hand-
me-down), travel sized bottles of
But Vince also points out that these items
inside the balikbayan boxes can be easily
purchased at Duty Free which is outside
the airport. Vince also mentioned a story
that was told by his older sister Jing,
wherein an engineer talked his roommate
into checking him in as an excess baggage
which was cheaper that a round-trip fare.
But the man died of hypothermia. Vince
didn’t buy the story and said that there
were too many loopholes. It was a “turban
legend.” Jing said that, “You’re missing
the point, brother.” “It’s not the
mechanics that matter.” “It’s about
drama. The extremes a Filipino will go to
There are many Filipinos working
abroad and sacrificing to give
their families a better life. I
salute them for being courageous
enough to face the different
cultures and traditions and
accepting it, being brave enough
to leave home, and not being with
your family to celebrate
birthdays, weddings, and
anniversaries.
GUIDE
QUESTIONS:
1. Why do Filipinos Love
balikbayan boxes?
Filipinos love balikbayan boxes
because for them it means that it
is the love of the sender through
the “pasalubong” or gift, where it
contains many things like
appliances, clothes, perfume,
shampoos and many other things
that are branded and came from
2. What do you think the
boxes symbolize? Why do they
seem to be more important
than their contents?
I think it symbolizes as love
for the family and friends.
Balikbayan seems to be
important than their contents
because it means to the
Filipinos that you will always
remember them even though
3. When the narrator notes the
Filipino-ness of the balikbayan
boxes, what does he feel toward
his fellow Filipinos?
For me, I think the author feels
proud towards his fellow Filipino.
In this story he shows that we
shouldn’t be ashamed of being a
Filipino Citizen because he
elevated the good attitude of
Filipino towards culture and
family even in a small things like
remembering them through
4. What do you think is the real
message behind the anecdote
of the “turban legend”?
I think the real message of the
anecdote is that Filipinos will
always love their families by
remembering them. Through
that balikbayan boxes, it can
say that love will always
prevails even though you are
far away from each other.
6. Do you think that Filipinos who live
or work abroad suffer from
homesickness? Explain your answer.
In the Philippines there is a saying that,
“Iba pa rin talaga kapag nasa sariling
bansa.” And because of that, I think
they suffer from homesickness. In my
experience, my Aunt who works in
abroad is always saying that they
misses us and she always wanted to go
home. Because she struggles to
express her feelings because of the
language barrier towards foreign
people and most importantly, family is
always the best listener and adviser on
7. Do you think when the Filipinos are
abroad, they are proud of being a
Filipino? Why or why not?
I think that Filipinos who are in abroad
are proud of being a Filipino. Because
OFW or even Filipinos who migrated in
a certain country, they always apply
the culture of the Filipino in other
foreign people, like for example when
they are raising a foreign child, they
accept or treat him as her own child or
as part of a family by teaching him our
culture like being courteous to the olds
and many other things and that’s only
8. The title “Turban Legend” is a play on
words to a phrase “urban legend”. What
does “urban legend” mean? Why was it
change to “Turban Legend”?
In Merriam Webster Dictionary, Urban
legend is a story about an unusual event or
occurrence that many people believe is true
but that is not true. And I think it is change
to turban legend because in my own opinion
the anecdote is said to be true about
Filipinos about balikbayan boxes but
because of story of Jing that has many
loopholes or unexplained things it makes the
anecdote unbelievable and looks like an
urban legend.
9. What is the significance of the
story?
The importance or essence of the
story is that in the Filipino
culture, Family are the most
important thing on earth that
should always be remembered
even though you are miles away
from them. The things in the
balikbayan boxes that are
expensive is not only a “gift” but
it represents the love of the
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
-MARICEL M. EVILLA

The Philippine Diaspora

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UNIT III

Millions of Filipinos have left the Philippines in

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