Documenting the Diaspora
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Mia Albano
Albano has an upcoming documentary called They Only Remember Us At The End Of The Month: Experiences Of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
“It is so easy to dehumanize people because of their work and the lengths that they go to survive and provide for themselves and their families,” says Albano. “OFWs are an important group in the global economy. They deserve to have their stories preserved not just for the Filipino diaspora but for everyone who wants to learn why the world is the way it is today.”
The Las Vegas resident recently returned from Korea and the Philippines where she interviewed OFWs. She listened to stories about years of painful separation from family members. What stood out most for her were the stories of loneliness, missing family and what’s familiar.
“I talked to Filipinos who haven’t seen their families for two to four years, even up to 25 years!” she says. “And those who can see their families, they only see them once a year for a few weeks. Imagine having a child you only see for three to four weeks every year for 25 years! Parents get vacant looks from children who grew up never knowing them as parents.
Mia Albano during a recent trip to the Philippines where she interviewed OFWs for her documentary.
“I have learned of sexual abuse, especially in domestic work, as well as appalling labor violations and near-sweatshop conditions, with no one to turn to for help,” recounts Albano.
“I also heard stories of people using the skills and experiences as springboards for the precise better future they always dreamed about, and even new families created as OFWs met the loves of their lives.
“The stories of OFWs span the gamut of human experience, from the sublime to the painful. The narratives of the Filipino diaspora are worthy of being told, heard, and preserved so future generations may learn the impact that migrant work has had at different scales, from the interpersonal and intimate, all the way to the global and national.”
Albano says she felt very fortunate to be able to talk to the OFWs, especially some who told her they were not able to tell their own families in the Philippines about their experiences.
“Not only is it a blessing, and I feel very lucky to be able to do this kind of work, to listen to these stories because some of them said they didn’t feel comfortable telling their own spouses and children about what they’re going through. They don’t tell them how lonely and sad and depressed they’re feeling because they don’t want them to worry,” says Albano. “I’m glad to give them a space to talk freely about their experiences. It’s very special to me.”
Albano’s interest in migrant workers came from her own family’s history. Growing up in Northern California, she would listen attentively to stories of her father, Gil Abano, a migrant worker for seven years, who lived in the Northern Mariana Islands before making his way to California where Mia and her sister were born.
Mia Albano with her father, Gil, a former OFW who worked in the Northern Marianas Islands for seven years as a chef.
The migration stories of her father, relatives, and friends inspired Albano to preserve their voices to better understand the experiences of migrant workers in her community.
“I grew up listening to my father talk about Saipan, the work he did in Northern Marianas, and the memories and friendships he made there,” Albano recalls. “I became more interested in it academically during my last year of college at Berkeley in a sociology class about interviewing methods and chose to study the Philippine’s history of exporting human capital.” She eventually gravitated more towards the personal, interpersonal, and household-level dynamics of overseas migrant labor.
“I was interested in the intimate, everyday happenings and details people were experiencing. What were their lives like before leaving the Philippines? What motivated them to move abroad for work? Did the realities of working abroad match what they expected? How did relationships with family, friends, children, and spouses change by working abroad? How do they reflect back on their periods as OFWs? These questions are at the heart of my work.”
During her time at UC Berkeley for a degree in Geography, Albano she also studied global development at The London School of Economics, played bass in the university orchestra and jazz band, and presented her research at a Renaissance Weekend.
She intends to continue helping marginalized communities by working in international development.
Corin Ramos is a freelance journalist and vlogger based in Las Vegas. She vlogs about her journey growing up as a Filipino American, a single working mother and navigating her best life after 50 on her YouTube channel: youtube.com/@FilipinaUnfiltered
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