A great number of Filipinos are now working or residing in many countries around the world. This number is estimated to be in the vicinity of ten million. With little or no chance of getting employment in the country, thousands more are taking chances of going out in search of the so-called greener pasture. Indeed many are risking their little savings and their lives going to turbulent lands such as the Middle East and Africa. Some are even taking out loans just to finance their moving abroad. Even the depressing stories of death and maltreatment of Filipinos in foreign lands do not deter their fellow Filipinos from trying their luck. Kung mamamatay ka rin lamang sa gutom dito sa Pilipinas, e di mamatay ka na lamang habang nakikipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa. (It is better to die taking chances abroad rather than to die of hunger in this country!).

Many stories of Filipinos abroad have been made into movies. Their experiences have become the theme of songs and other forms of literature. Their hopes and dreams have become the subject of writers. Their predicament have been the topic of summits and legislative inquiries. Yet some of them feel neglected and alone.

Majority of these Filipinos abroad are overseas contract workers. A large percentage are domestic helpers. With the billions of dollars they send back home, they are called modern heroes. And why not? It is because of them that the economy has become resilient. A large portion of the country's international reserve is contributed by the earnings of these OFWs.

As more and more Filipinos go abroad, they bring with them their culture. If they don't share it consciously, foreigners will just as well notice it anyway. For domestic helpers, their wards will surely be influenced by it. Then there are the Filipino priests, nuns, and ministers who are sent to take care of the needs of these Filipinos. In Europe for example, stories have it that some churches are filled mostly by Filipinos. Is this a reverse colonization of some sort? Far from it maybe and it remains to be seen what impact this may bring. One writer asked, what happens if all the Filipino workers and domestic helpers around the world get organized and stage a strike? Will it paralyze the operation of some palaces and factories?

In the United States, the Filipinos are becoming a political force to reckon with at least in some counties and cities. There was a time when someone with a Filipino background became the governor of Hawaii.

At the end of the day a question is to be asked. Is the continuing policy of sending Filipinos abroad good or bad? Is this a part of God's design that someday Filipinos will rule the world? Let us listen to the OFWs themselves...