Skip to main content

Diaries of a Migrant Worker I

April 10, 2009
9:59 PM
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

There has never been a day since I got here that I have never wished of being home. I guess the aloneness that I have always wanted hasn’t really been working out for me. Homesickness, whether I accept it or not, has crept up on me and the most important question that I have asked myself for at least a million times hasn’t been answered yet. I am still wondering why God has allowed me to be here.

Being here was my choice and I have to accept the consequences of my decision. But unlike most people have accused me of, I am not here for the money. NO, DEFINITELY NOT! I decided to come here to be alone… to run away… to move on… and to forget the memories that have haunted me for so long. I came here to forgive and be forgiven with the hope that when I go back everything would be alright; that I would be able to completely take away all the hatred that I have been hiding all these years; that I would be able to accept things as they are and have compassion for those that I have been feeling indifferent with.

But instead of finding the strength to do all the things that I came here to do, I discovered a ton of weaknesses that did not only confuse me but also overwhelmed me. It’s as if I am a dried river who has lost all its richness and all its beauty only to be remembered through the remnants of the fresh water that once flowed through it. I feel like a lamp which has lost its oil. My fire is about to die out.

It’s sad, really. It’s miserable not knowing what to do and where to go. It’s depressing to live a life without a purpose, without an inspiration. It’s cruel to subject yourself to interrogation and torture when you don’t even know the right questions to ask. But even so, I can’t make myself regret the decision to leap into a life full of promises. The only question left to ask is – “shall I hold on to those promises?”

Fight or Flight. Is there still a reason for me to fight? Do I have enough strength to defeat what has come and what is about to come? Or is it time for me to fly away and escape again? Does running away mean that I am defeated? Is flying away an act of cowardice in a sense that I refuse to face the challenges? Or is it a courageous act of accepting that I have lost the fight? Questions… questions… where will I find the answers?


-Yana-

Comments

  1. wow dai, this is very touching and enlightening. there's so much truth and honesty here. the beauty of writing your feelings and your thoughts out is that it helps you clear your mind about things. I hope you'll find the answers to your questions.

    ReplyDelete
  2. this is a very touching and enlightening piece. there's so much truth and honesty here. the beauty of writing is that it helps you clear your thoughts. i hope you'll find the answers to your questions.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:55 AM

    ang song ako madedicate nimo norin kay kanang naa bitaw line nga too many questions, but the answers are so few...:)

    bitaw, kaya ra na oi...lain2x man ta ug dagan sa life. lain imo, lain ako pero life gihapon silang duha, hehehe....sori2x...basta, payts ra na



    krishna

    ReplyDelete
  4. Vianney,

    bitaw vian.. bunga man ni sa sapot, frustrations, ug uban pa.. hehehe... yeah.. i hope i'll find the answers soon.. hehehe... and sakto ka vian.. writing it out really helps.. so murag makabasa pa ka ug daghang ingon ani.. hehehe.. amardz!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Krishna,

    baya! anonymous ka jan! hahaha.. bitaw woi.. k ra ni.. fight3x.. go3x.. hehehe...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Letter to Elisha Joelle Samarah

My Dearest Elisha, I promised myself that I would write about this day since the very first time I saw your cute tiny face at the Intensive Care Unit in the hospital where I delivered you. I told myself that I would chronicle the events so you would understand how great God is in your life and how you have come to be a miracle in your father and I's lives. However, I cannot tell you everything now for the story of how you came to be is too long for you to understand at the moment and too difficult for me to explain in writing. But, I'm going to try nonetheless, soon, little by little, and hopefully, the chronicles would be complete when you are old enough to comprehend. For now, let me just remember the sweetest yet the most difficult day of my life.  Your father and I did not expect you to come at that point in our lives. I, especially, wanted to achieve a lot of things and did not even think about settling down anytime soon. When I found out that I was pre...

Better Than Ever

While I was riding on a taxi yesterday, I heard someone on the radio greeting his friend (whose name happens to be the same as mine) an advance happy birthday. My sister beside me laughed and said, “It sounds like it’s really for you.” I gave out a grin and suddenly remembered that my birthday is going to be next week. I couldn’t understand if I would be happy because I’ve been blessed with another year again or be dejected because of the fact that I am getting older. But looking at what I was before and what I have become now, I couldn’t help but be grateful and be blissful for the blessings that God has given me. I was born on August 18, 1986, the last of the four children of a couple struggling to keep their marriage. While growing up, I was aloof from all the members of the family and I was always left at home. I was not the typical child who recreates with friends. I was a home buddy and that made me a very shy person who lacks self confidence. The only friend I had was the te...

I Also Know How to Feel

Whenever I look at my nieces and nephew, I could not help but envy them with the kind of life that they have now. They belong to a happy family with their parents genuinely showing them their love and affection. They are not deprived of things that could develop their full potential and they are being raised and molded into a godly character. Thinking about how fortunate they are with their parents, I look back and try to remember how I was as a child. I try to remember what I was like, who were my playmates, which were the things I valued the most and what were the circumstances that made me who I am today. I try to think, but I could not remember anything. It's as if, every memory of my childhood has been erased. A case of selective amnesia? I remember during one of my classes in college, one of the lessons was about personalities of human beings. I could no longer recall the exact lesson but I remember understanding why I am not able to recall anything from my childhoo...