"COLLEGE degree holder leaves for work as caregiver, nurse or domestic helper for a few more dollars' worth of compensation compared to the slave wages that could be had at home if work can be found in the first place, and as soon as she leaves househusband takes up with another woman or to the bottle, whichever tragedy is convenient.

That is only the stereotypical sob story, but there is more to the overseas Pinoy workers' experience than meets the eye or makes the newspapers, save of course if the dispatch is from IPS...

THE ARTICLES deal with various aspects of the migration story...but it is the children's stories that tug at the heart hardest."

"THE STORIES are very interesting and helpful for the work that we are doing."

"I AM sharing them with seafarers I am working with, I would like to share a copy with the seafarers for them to read in the 'Star Cruise Virgo'

"A GOOD resource material for policymakers as well as researchers on overseas Filipino workers.''

I AM positive the book will be of great assistance to people especially involved in caring and ministering to this often neglected sector of Philippine society.''

MILLIONS of people from the Philippines, a small archipelagic country in South-east Asia, can be found in more than 100 countries across all continents. They work as sailors, staff in hotels and on cruise ships, domestic workers, engineers, nurses, teachers, musicians, construction and factory workers. Filipinos are among the world's most globalised nationals, contributing to many other economies apart from their own.

But much of the reportage about them has tended to focus on labour and consular matters, and views them as economic resources. Often left in the background is the human side of migration — what it means for the workers, their families, their children, the country that loses them, and the societies that host them.

This collection of articles — which follows Filipino workers in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East — explores the lives they build away from home, with a special focus on reproductive health and sexuality.

'Risks and Rewards: Stories from the Philippine Migration' is a lens through which to assess the gains and costs of a country's labour migration policy — and holds rich lessons for other nations and societies as well.

To learn about how to get copies of the book, please drop us a line at:

ipsasia@ipsnews.net

or

ipsasia@loxinfo.co.th