This thesis described the context of poverty that Filipinos are living in, but more importantly drew attention to the strategies that many employ to improve their lives. Chapter Three discussed Filipinos’ resilience and ability to endure difficult situations (Seeberg, 2012; Briones, 2009; Yea, 2004). While such spirit has enabled Filipinos to overcome an abundance of obstacles, it may also be correlated with a cultural tendency to smile in the face of adversity whilst simultaneously conceding that the problem is too big to solve, as discussed above, and therefore accepting that the odds are against them. This acceptance was portrayed in Chapter Five where some of the participants felt that working hard
would not enable them to rise above their marginalised position. This sentiment may have consequently led some Filipinos to seek an ‘easy’ resolution to their position, such as getting married and having babies, or migrating despite the high risk of trafficking (Brunovskis and Surtees, 2012; IOM, 2008; Martin and Callaway, 2011; Langberg, 2005).
Given the multitude of factors oppressing the interviewees in Samar the sense that people are fighting a losing battle can be overwhelming, and survival strategies are consequently short term. People often said “If I’m lucky” rather than “I’ll do it”, and tended to be short-sighted in their planning, thinking of today or ‘this year’ as primary, with little consideration to life in several years’ time. Filipinos had a sense of having no control over the conditions of their fate as, for instance, they could not fight the corrupt political elites, their livelihood could be destroyed by a typhoon next month or there was a chance their family or the police might sell them. Therefore the perceived most rational thing to do – within these conditions – is to ‘live in the now’ and do the best they can today. People’s existence has been largely subsistence-based so investing time and effort into studying for the future, especially when no one around has higher than elementary education, becomes an almost unfathomable option (NSCB, 2012; NSO, 2011). For someone who is not sure if she will be alive in three years’ time, it is difficult to see the point in spending what might be her last three years of life studying. It makes more sense, therefore, to spend effort in acquiring enough money for today and to think about tomorrow’s needs tomorrow. In this context, when that ‘lucky chance’ comes along to earn ‘easy money’ as a well-paid domestic maid in Manila, poor Filipinos are prepared to take it.
Chapter Four detailed the conditions facing rural migrants who successfully reached Manila without becoming victims of forced labour, and found that Manila did not provide the anticipated ‘easy money’. Internal migrants in Manila have pressure from families in the provinces to send money home (Saith, 1997; Samers, 2010). The surplus of labour in urban centres means finding a job can be near impossible, especially for those who are low-skilled (Hakata, 2013; Mojares, 2013; Todaro, 1980). If they are lucky enough to find a job, the minimum wage is barely sufficient to cover costs of living and commuting let alone enough to
provide for families in the provinces (ILO, 2011). Finding oneself unemployed after migrating to Manila creates the link where internal migration can become international migration. In this context compelling stories of successful overseas Filipino ‘remitting heroes’, as they were labelled in Chapter Three, making $15 an hour as construction workers or domestic helpers in Dubai, becomes even more aspirational (Omelaniuk, 2005). Many of those I spoke to in Manila knew the risks associated with international migration and had heard the horror stories of abused Filipinos abroad, but were not deterred from seeking work overseas as it appears to be the only feasible escape from a marginalised position of economic stagnation. Over the five months I spent living in the Philippines, every single Filipino I spoke to expressed their desire to migrate, either internally or internationally depending on their economic situation. Eventually I too became convinced that migration was the only way out.
Each of my interview participants was a survivor of trafficking. The participants employed unique survival strategies at each stage of their migration/ trafficking experience, providing examples of the agency migrants can exert despite being in vulnerable, exploited and forced situations, as discussed in Chapters Two and Three (Rao, 2011; Doyle and Timonen, 2010; Omelaniuk, 2005; Parrenas, 2011). Domestic workers, for example, are largely invisible from society and labour protection laws due to their employment in unregulated private spheres (Munck, 2008; Briones, 2009) but are able to tactically manoeuvre through unequal social, economic and political structures and earn respect (Rao, 2011), increase their self- esteem, and provide a livelihood for their families back home (Omelaniuk, 2005; Doyle and Timonen, 2010). For those in a trafficking situation there is often less flexibility to transcend an exploitative situation, however, the participants in this study strategically navigated their circumstances to regain control of their lives. For the interviewees the decision to migrate, even when people did not want to leave their village, demonstrated a courageous survival strategy. Leaving one’s hometown for the first time to enter an unknown city in order to provide for family or increase status shows great determination. Likewise, escaping from a brothel or junkshop, whilst faced with multiple abuses and with limited resources, required strategic planning, as the case studies from Chapters Four and Five
revealed. Bernard, for example, begged his trafficker every day to let him go, while enduring constant psychological and physical abuse, until he finally relented on the condition that Bernard’s brother stay and work. Joena and Anda saved every peso they earned and waited patiently for an opportune moment to run away. Niki was rescued by a worried citizen who notified the DSWD, as were Mariel, Marie-Lisa, Carlotta and Brenda, who escaped before they reached the brothel as concerned members of the public notified the police. Once the participants were back in their villages and they understood that migration was too risky a method to alleviate their poverty, they recognised the need to adjust their survival strategies; although some people later resort back to migration, as will be discussed below. These examples illustrate how poor Filipinos have navigated migration processes with the limited recourses they have available, in order to transcend their marginalised position. For those who survived a trafficking experience, they are often faced with new obstacles which arise as consequences to trafficking.