Hi all,
There’s been a lot of discusion lately about careers, business,
wages, opportunities, finances in general. I’d like to ontribute
my own five cents…
Two weeks ago about a hundred Orchidians dropped by to take a
look at pictures I posted of Philippines jewelry workers:
http://www.fcq.com/Workers/ . The handful of actual written
feedback amazed me… one said they look ok, not starving or
miserable at all… the working environment while dust filled
from grinding was normal and in fact is good because of the ‘open
air thing’ (actually they don’t have enough money to complete
their shop). There may have been one condemnation, but on the
whole the preception was that that kind of life was not so bad.
So ok, maybe they are not fundamentally unhappy. But these
people own nothing except the clothes on their back, neither TV,
car, ref, aircon, house. If they don’t have contract work for the
week, they may have to make do with just plain porridge (boiled
rice) for food. Imagine them imagining how terrific life must be
for people here.
When I go home, I shall show them letters from Orchidians…
about how tough it is financially to be in the jewelry trade here
despite having everything that they (Philippine workers) are
missing. They don’t know about the kind of stressses and pressure
you go through here.
Above text is just a short introduction… My purpose for writing
now is to suggest the idea of introducing workers and shopowners
of third world countries directly to you guys. I can take care
of introducing you to real people in the Philippines, without any
condition at all on your side or theirs. I can help and advise
you on how to go there, get around, etc. I may ask for email
addressses from back home if there is some interest in this idea
to give to you. (Our dear host Ganoksin might do the same for
workers in Thailand)
But what for?
a) Business… anything you can do, these people could do at
probably 1/30 the cost. Fedex, email, and the WTO (World Trade
Organization) will soon make it feasible to subcontract jobs
there.
b) Lifestyle… imagine having a hideaway in the Philippines
where the folks are really nice, the beaches a wonder, and for
bachelors, the women make ideal wives. The Philippines pride
themselves as a very hospitable people… and you’ll see how true
it is when you go there. And most Filipinos understand and can
speak English. (surprised?)
c) Economy If you had to spend to go away on vacation, what
better way than to just combine business and pleasure. If you
lived there for long periods, you’ll probably find yourself
spending significantly much less for your personal needs.
d) Mental and emotional enrichment… going abroad would expose
you to different perspectives in life. It might also make your
present problems look much less significant.
e) Carrying the business side further, if you’re very good at
this… you can be like a lot of foreigners who have established
big export firms in the Philippines some with thousands of
workers.
f) As for my own personal motivation… let’s just say that
there’s really no shortage of people around the world who are
happy if they can contribute anything no matter how small to
making this world a better place. Please tell me this is ok.
I guess I’ve written enough for a first shot, if anybody’s
interested and have questions, I’ll just take it up from your
replies.
Regards,
Melvi