Tearful reunions as OFWs arrive to spend New Year in PHL


After months or even years of working abroad, some Filipino workers will be home to greet 2018 with their loved ones.
A report by GMA News' Bernadette Reyes on Balitanghali on Tuesday said OFWs have been arriving at the are Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in droves to welcome 2018 in the Philippines.
Two of these were Michelle Lazada and her boyfriend who will finally spend some time together after missing each other for two years due to conflicting schedules.
"Fifteen days lang po. Sulitin na lang 'yung 15 days. Sobrang happy kasi sa two years, ngayon lang kami nagkita," Lazada said.
Unlike the couple, Riza Vidanes will be unable to spend January 1 with her three children but vowed to make the best of her three-day break with them.
"Kahit saglit lang, makauwi lang talaga, makita 'yung mga bata. Kahit hindi na talagang eksaktong Pasko. Basta lang makapag-spend ng Christmas dito sa Pilipinas kahit papano. Kasi iba talaga ang Pilipinas," she said.
But with every arrival is a departure, and Rose Arzadon hopes that her leaving before the New Yea will be one of the last trips she'll have to make.
"After five years, maybe hindi na ako aalis," Arzadon said.
For Dina Chan, getting to spend one Christmas with her children after 10 years of being an OFW may not be enough, but will have to do for now.
"May anak ako, pero hindi ko gaano nakakasama. Mabigat. Ganun talaga. Alam naman niya yun. Mahal na mahal ko siya kahit hindi kami laging nagkakasama, kahit na iniwan ko siya ng matagal," Chan said. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vietnam condemns China's 'brutal behavior' in fisher attack ---- Agence France-Presse

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam's foreign ministry condemned on Wednesday China's "brutal behavior" during a violent attack on Vietnamese fishers in the disputed South China Sea. The 10 fishermen were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars' worth of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands -- an archipelago in the resource-rich waterway claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Vietnam "resolutely protests the brutal behavior of Chinese law enforcement forces against Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels operating in the Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam", foreign ministry spokesperson Vietnam Pham Thu Hang said in a statement, using the Vietnamese term for the Paracel Islands. "The above actions of Chinese law enforcement forces seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty" over the archipelago, the statement said. Four of the Vietnamese crew were taken to hospital on Monday
Read more

Africa roads are world’s deadliest despite few cars ---- AFP

ADDIS ABABA: Africa has the fewest roads and cars of any region, and yet the largest ratio of vehicle deaths, caused by the usual suspects — unsafe habits, speeding and drinking — but also poor infrastructure, scant rescuers and old cars. As everywhere, speed, alcohol and not wearing a seat belt or helmet are among the main causes of death and injury, say experts. But in Africa, where there are 620 traffic deaths every day, these problems are compounded by bad roads, outdated vehicles, minimal prosecutions and a shortage of emergency services. A recent World Health Organization report found that Africa surpassed the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia — which recorded the most road deaths — with a record ratio of 19.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021. Home to only around four percent of the world’s automobiles, Africa accounted for 19 percent of road deaths last year. “What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa,” said Jean Todt, a former head of the Internati
Read more

Russia captures town after 2 years of Ukrainian resistance --- Reuters

Russian forces now control 98.5% of Luhansk, 60% of Donetsk MOSCOW: Russian troops on Wednesday took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022. The advance of Moscow's forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia's vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it. Ukraine's eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town to avoid encirclement by Russian troops and "preserve personnel and military equipment". The Russian defense ministry did not mention Vuhledar in its daily battlefield report. Russian Telegram channels, however, published video of troops waving the Russian tricolor flag over shattered buildings. The town, which had a population of over 14,000 before the war, has been devastated, with Soviet-era
Read more