Filipinos count cost of remittance society
By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2005
MABINI, Philippines — For much of the past 15 years, Marcelino Abu has had neither a steady job nor a regular income that could support his three children. But for as long as he can remember, he has never been worried.
“We owe everything to my wife,” Abu, 49, said in a recent interview in this seaside town where he lives, 92 kilometers, or 57 miles, south of Manila. “If not for her, we would not survive.”
It is a familiar story. His wife, Yolanda Abu, has been working as a domestic helper in Rome for the past 15 years. She is one of the thousands from this town who work as maids in Europe, mostly in Italy. And Abu is one of many who stay at home, contentedly jobless because there is simply no need to work.
Posted on December 16, 2005, and filed under Stories, The New York Times / International Herald Tribune | Comments (3)
