The balikbayan king and queen

Ace Tamayo

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They used to be the dreamers, the ones left behind. But they came back home exactly like the ones they resented.

They used to be dreamers, the less privileged, the ones who were left behind. 

 

They used to wish for their time to come. That one-day they would be called the lucky bastards, the ones leaving on a jet plane, working abroad, living the life of a dollar earner.

 

They were the critics of the haughty balikbayans they just picked up from the airport. The ones who gossiped about the who, the how, the where, and the why. They were the envious dreamers, the minority, who swore to god that if their time would come, their feet would remain on the ground.

 

Yet as fate would have it, as their time arrived, they came back home exactly like the ones they resented.

 

As soon as their plane touched down the Manila International Airport, they searched for their signature sunglasses in their signature bag before they grabbed their other signature carry-on luggage in the compartment.

 

They wore the trendy fashion from abroad and flaunted all the jewelry they got on the way back. The women put on some more make-up while the men tucked in their polo shirts to hide their flab.

 

They fought their way in line at the little duty free store to buy two more bags of ‘imported chocolates.’ They realized that the ones they bought half-priced at Target were not enough. They needed more for the kids, the uncles, the aunts, and the neighbors. They needed to impress. 

 

And with their four extra large balikbayan boxes, they walked out the exit doors and down the ramp of the arrival area with their heads held high. They heard familiar voices screaming their names. They knew it was show time.

 

They were no longer the peasants who waited. The new balikbayan king and queen have arrived.

 

The claustrophobic kingdom

 

They worked hard for all these, they said. All the flaunting should be justified. So they forged on with their act and greeted their family and loved ones.

 

All the usual praises were said. That the balikbayans looked better yet the ones who stayed looked exactly the same. That it must have been the fresher air abroad that made the balikbayans’ skin glow. That it was definitely the money the balikbayans worked hard for that made them look like they could buy anything and anyone they asked for.  

 

But blood was still thicker than water. And so both sides brushed off the veiled insults and laughed their way to the family van where others waited.

 

They left the airport at rush hour yet the family driver still passed by EDSA. It was raining and so it followed that more than half of the 23.8-kilometer highway was a parking lot filled with honking cars. And despite the heavy rainfall, beggars were still on the sidewalk and vendors were in the middle of the road selling sampaguita, cigarettes, and peanuts. It only took a few seconds before the balikbayans lashed out their disgust and how lucky they were to get out of this mess.

 

The frankness of every word said in that fifteen-passenger van made the ride claustrophobic for everyone except the tactless balikbayans. Everything the balikbayans saw was ugly, dirty, and disgusting. They compared every beautiful thing they saw abroad to every dreadful thing they saw back home.

 

“This country is corrupt with no one following any law,” the king said. Yet his queen directed the driver to cross over the yellow lane and overtake the buses. Both thought that they might as well be part of the mess. They might as well be the law.

 

The family got home physically harmless yet emotionally drained. Both sides were exhausted from venting out all the hate and hearing them in return.

 

But the arrogance just started. The worst has yet to come. The king and queen were done with loathing their kingdom but they haven’t started belittling its people.

 

The pretentious family

 

It all started with the English language and how it seemed to be the smartest language on earth. That it was when one spoke in English, he or she was instantly smarter than the other who spoke in Filipino.

 

The balikbayan king and queen also brought their teenage son and daughter who were raised in Caloocan until the family migrated two years ago. Unfortunately, both children were as pretentious as their parents. 

 

When it was time to re-introduce the teens to their cousins, the queen ordered: “Speak in English, anak. Show them how smart you are.” And despite their perfect grasp of the Filipino language, both teenagers spoke in broken English with a fake accent as instructed. The other cousins were more grammatically correct.

 

Then it was time to degrade the jobs of the ones who were working. That despite one’s profession, be it a nurse, a lawyer, or a call center agent, nothing could compare to any job one could get abroad. That it was as if there wasn’t any respectable job left back home.

“Yes, Ate,” answered one of the queen’s younger cousins. “I am very jealous. That’s why I’ve been fixing my papers to go abroad just like you. It has always been my dream.”

 

But one of the queen’s braver nieces answered, “I am still happy with my job, Tita.”

 

“But you’ll be happier abroad,” the queen hastily replied. “More money. More dollars. I’ll even find you a foreigner boyfriend.” Like it was every Filipina’s wish to wed a foreigner and live ‘The American Dream.’

 

The braver niece remained silent while the queen’s younger cousin was all ears.

 

And while the insensitivity of the balikbayans continued to fill the house, all the king and queen could hear were their truth. Some were convinced and some were just amused.

 

They knew that they were exaggerating their reality but who didn’t? Every other balikbayans before them did. And for more, who would want to hear their sad stories? Who would want to hear their woes? No one. Not even them.

 

The vicious cycle

 

It was their time to shine just like the other balikbayans who came before them.  

 

But they did not realize that they became more arrogant than the ones they resented before. That their dream to be better and the dollars they earned swallowed them whole. And at some point, it was not hard for them to admit that they found satisfaction in the fact that they were better off than the ones who were left behind.

 

But who could blame them? They were just a result of a vicious cycle that the unfortunate some but not all balikbayans became especially after all the dreaming, sufferings and dollars involved.

 

And worst, they forgot that they used to be dreamers, the less privileged, the ones who were left behind.

 

But the act was already too flawless to cut. The characters were already established. And as long as the envious dreamers still exist, blinded by the exaggerated truth of the new balikbayan king and queen, the show would go on and the cycle continues. – Rappler.com

 

Ace Tamayo is a journalist and an Australian Clarion awardee. He is currently pursuing his law studies at the TC Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Ace is a balikbayan who still believes in the beauty of the Philippines and the Filipino people. Follow him on Twitter @AceATamayo

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