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Imagine a world without Filipinos
Abdullah Al-Maghlooth | Al-Watan, almaghlooth@ alwatan.com. sa

Muhammad Al-Maghrabi became handicapped and shut down his flower and
gifts shop business in Jeddah after his Filipino workers insisted on
leaving and returning home. He says: "When they left, I felt as if I
had lost my arms. I was so sad that I lost my appetite."

Al-Maghrabi then flew to Manila to look for two other Filipino
workers to replace the ones who had left. Previously, he had tried
workers of different nationalities but they did not impress
him. "There is no comparison between Filipinos and others," he says.
Whenever I see Filipinos working in the Kingdom, I wonder what our
life would be without them.

Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers - 1,019,577 -
outside the Philippines . In 2006 alone, the Kingdom recruited more
than 223,000 workers from the Philippines and their numbers are still
increasing. Filipinos not only play an important and effective role
in the Kingdom, they also perform different jobs in countries across
the world, including working as sailors. They are known for their
professionalism and the quality of their work.

Nobody here can think of a life without Filipinos, who make up around
20 percent of the world's seafarers. There are 1.2 million Filipino
sailors.

So if Filipinos decided one day to stop working or go on strike for
any reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across
the world? We can only imagine the disaster that would happen.

What makes Filipinos unique is their ability to speak very good
English and the technical training they receive in the early stages
of their education. There are several specialized training institutes
in the Philippines , including those specializing in engineering and
road maintenance. This training background makes them highly
competent in these vital areas.

When speaking about the Philippines , we should not forget Filipino
nurses. They are some 23 percent of the world's total number of
nurses. The Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing
colleges and institutes, from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each
year. Many of them work abroad in countries such as the US , the UK ,
Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates , Kuwait and Singapore .

Cathy Ann, a 35-year-old Filipino nurse who has been working in the
Kingdom for the last five years and before that in Singapore , said
she does not feel homesick abroad because "I am surrounded by my
compatriots everywhere." Ann thinks that early training allows
Filipinos to excel in nursing and other vocations. She started
learning this profession at the age of four as her aunt, a nurse,
used to take her to hospital and ask her to watch the work. "She used
to kiss me whenever I learned a new thing. At the age of 11, I could
do a lot. I began doing things like measuring my grandfather' s blood
pressure and giving my mother her insulin injections," she said.

This type of early education system is lacking in the Kingdom. Many
of our children reach the university stage without learning anything
except boredom.

The Philippines , which you can barely see on the map, is a very
effective country thanks to its people. It has the ability to
influence the entire world economy.

We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them
but also by learning from their valuable experiences.

We should learn and educate our children on how to operate and
maintain ships and oil tankers, as well as planning and nursing and
how to achieve perfection in our work. This is a must so that we do
not become like Muhammad Al-Maghrabi who lost his interest and
appetite when Filipino workers left his flower shop.

We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos
around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.


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