4.4 Long-‐Distance Mothering in Context
4.4.3 On Dealing with Technical Barriers
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to assist her. When the Skype call was fully set up, the employer told Joanne to just call her when she needs assistance. Joanne did not feel conscious about the way she talked to her children because she realized that her employer would not understand her anyway. However, she was compelled to watch the time and allowed herself one hour to talk to her three children. Although her employer didn't mind because they have another laptop to use, Joanne doesn't want to disturb the peace and quiet of the house because after all, Sunday is a rest day.
4.4.3 On Dealing with Technical Barriers
In using the computer in Wan-‐wan computer shop, one may have to master the skill of focusing on your own conversation with the other party you are trying to communicate with on the Internet. According to my participants, the headset's tiny microphone must be positioned just below the mouth so the reception can be clear. If not, people in the other end of your communication line will complain of the noise of other Filipinos using the portals, who usually cannot contain their laughter and emotions when video calling. Sometimes, the user also needs patience because the Internet may hang and lag. Because users are not too adept on using computers, the person in charge or the owner of the Internet shop troubleshoots the mediated communication. During my observation with Mildred, I used a portal beside her and she's complaining that her computer is lagging and her children are already waiting for her online.
The owner came to her and restarted the computer. Mildred called her children using her mobile to wait for a few more minutes.
In some instances, there is always a need for a particular technology-‐savvy member of the family to be present when the Skype call is being initiated. In Ellen's case, her brother serves as the techie person in the family and sets up the laptop prior to the Skype call. Otherwise, the call wouldn't be possible. During the time that the interview was conducted with Ellen, she
mentioned that she brought her laptop along during her day off, but she cannot Skype with her children because her brother was not around to set up the call. Ballagas et al. (2010) cites this as one of the significant problems in videoconferencing form of CMC. According to their research, the first and most apparent problem is the technical work that one needs to go into when doing
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a video call. It was often necessary for the most technically savvy member of the family to set up the videoconferencing system in the first place (Ballagas et. al., 2010).
This has also been one of Cathy's problems. Being a caregiver requires time, effort and full-‐attention to care for the elderly. Hence, Cathy has no chance to use her own laptop even after the elderly being taken cared of has gone to sleep. What she does is she brings her laptop along during Sundays and uses it in the park or in a restaurant with her USB Internet connection.
During her scheduled Sunday video call with her three children, Cathy would first send a text message to her mother. Cathy's mother is in her late fifties and does not know how to operate the computer. Her eldest child, a 10-‐year-‐old son is only starting to learn how to use the computer. Cathy's solution is to ask her mother to accompany her children to the nearest Internet shop and ask the store assistant to set up the video call. This is the same person who helped her son create a Yahoo! email account to register for Yahoo! Messenger.
Sometimes, the challenge on the use of computer-‐mediated communication rests upon the user and their technical knowledge. Take for example Nena who did not graduate from high school because of her lack of interest for learning. After dropping out of school, Nena left the northern province of La Union and started working as a housemaid in the urban areas of Metro Manila. There she met her boyfriend, got pregnant when she was 21, and they separated when her daughter turned two. Their separation was mainly because of her status in life. Her
boyfriend before was an engineer coming from an affluent family. His parents did not agree of his relationship with a housemaid. When Nena's daughter turned six, she left her in the care of her own mother and decided to work abroad for her daughter's future.
Nena, in her late ‘40s, is considered as a late bloomer in the Internet age. She started discovering this technology in year 2009 with her employer's persuasion. The desktop computer given to her remains untouched and was just accumulating dust. Her employer pushed Nena to learn how to use the computer for the purpose of communicating with her daughter, who now works as a nurse in Saudi Arabia and also a long-‐distance mother. The employer is aware of Nena's sheer happiness in loaning several prepaid phone cards just to talk to her daughter in
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Saudi and two grand daughters back in the Philippines. Oftentimes, her employer has been anxious with the amount of money Nena spends for her cellphone consumption, which usually amounts to NT$3,000-‐ NT$4,000.
For almost nine years, Nena only went to church for her day off and finishes her free day with some part-‐time work for additional income. She goes to the houses of her employer's friends to clean or iron clothes every Sunday. Nena refers to this as her raket (a Filipino slang for sideline jobs) where her employer’s friends “borrow” her to do some household chores. Only recently, with her employer's encouragement, Nena has decided to take a rest from her part time work during Sunday and started going to the computer tutorial program offered by the Philippine government in Taiwan.
4.5 'Tulay' Project: Long-‐Distance Mothers and Technical Know-‐How
Launched in 2004 in the Philippines, the Tulay Project was spearheaded by Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) and Microsoft Philippines for the benefit of the OFWs to provide them with trainings on basic computer applications. Tulay (which when translated to English means “bridge”) has been in charge of running several technology learning centers in Singapore and Malaysia in the year 2004, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the year 2005, Saudi Arabia in 2006, and Italy in 2007 for the OFWs in these countries (Orejas, 2008).
Lori Forman, director of Microsoft's community affairs program in the Asia-‐Pacific, Great China and Japan, pitched in this project to the former secretary of Philippine Foreign Affairs, Blas Ople in 2003. Tulay was inspired by Forman's Filipina housemaid, who chats almost every night since 2001 with her son. Forman, during the press briefings of this project, mentioned that
Figure 4 The set-‐up of Tulay Program in Taipei
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with the help of a webcam between them, the mother and son bridge the distance between two countries, and say endless I love you's to each ther (Orejas, 2008). This is where her idea of setting up an information technology training program for OFWs began.
All Tulay centers are funded by Microsoft's Global philantrophic community technology skills program called "Unlimited Potential." In Taipei and Hong Kong, the program is also being implemented by OWWA in partnership with the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training
Institute. Microsoft Philippines presented 25 million pesos in cash and 1.3 million worth of software to the Blas F. Ople Center for its expanded Tulay program in the year 2008.
In Taipei, Taiwan, the Tulay center is located at the Ugnayan, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Migrant and Immigrant Center, along Taipei Railway Station in Zhong Zheng District. The program is being set up by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) along with other programs like basic Mandarin and Nihongo class, dress making, computer repair, and accessory-‐
making classes. According to the former director of Labor Affairs Rodolfo Sabulao, an estimated annual budget of NT$ 280,000 was being allocated for these programs (Philippine Star, 2009).
Tulay centers are equipped with facilities where OFWs are taught during the first session how to create and use email, video conferencing and instant messaging, to facilitate long-‐
distance communication among OFWs and their families. Succeeding classes would include more advanced lessons like using Microsoft Office programs. Tulay's primary objective is to mitigate the social impact of working abroad using technology to connect with OFWs and their families. In Ortiz' (2008) report, an OWWA official mentioned that one of the main problems encountered by OFWs is the lack of communication between them and their families. Hence, Tulay helps maintain family connections and enables OFWs to have the chance to communicate with their families.
When Tulay was launched in Hong Kong, a report was published quoting one graduates of the program who said that the training has been a big help for them to learn how to use the Internet. “Before when we use cellphone, it incurs high expenses on our part, but if we use Internet it's free,” says the OFW. Another graduate shares her experience of learning how to use
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the webcam when communicating with her loved ones back home. The webcam bridged the distance for her to see and follow the health condition of her child born with cerebral palsy in Hong Kong. Her child died year 2008.
Tulay runs every Sunday with a morning (10:00 AM-‐12:00 NN) and afternoon (2:00 PM-‐
5:00 PM) sessions. Since the center where the workshop is held has only twenty computer portals, only twenty people can register for each session. OFWs and Filipinos married to Taiwanese can sign up for this program. The teacher and the assistant are most often than not OFWs who hold college diplomas. The first session is entitled for a participant to be considered as a graduate of the Tulay program, he or she needs to finish nine sessions and take the final exam. Although many may not complete the nine sessions due to other commitments and priorities, MECO organizes a graduation ceremony for all the Tulay participants to cap off the program.
Nena's own testimonial to the Tulay Program proves beneficial to her. She shares:
"My employer tells me to use the computer because it will save me money, but before, I don't know how to use it. I just stare at it. Now, after my first lesson from Tulay program, I have my own email and I can use Facebook.
Only Facebook for now because I still have to get acquainted with the web camera and the program where you can call (JDU: Skype?). Yes, Skype. They say it's good."
Nena is now able to view the pictures of her daughter in Saudi Arabia. Her daughter tags her on most of the pictures and Nena comments on them. In this research project, Nena, Lisa, and Mildred are participants of the Tulay Program. Both Lisa and Mildred graduated earlier from the program, while Nena is still attending several more sessions during the time of the
interview. Other informants are well aware of this program and other various workshops offered by MECO. However, because some have part-‐time work and undocumented informants refuse to join for the fear of getting caught, not everyone can take advantage of these activities.
Although not all participants have finished college, they all confirmed that tinkering around the
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computer or laptop enabled them to learn how to use the Internet. Since secondary education also allowed them to gain knowledge over the more technical terminologies, it made computer learning easier for the informants.
The interview with Nena was conducted before the Tulay workshop begins in the afternoon. She said one time her daughter posted something on her wall that she would not usually hear from her when they talk on the phone. She showed me what her daughter wrote on her Facebook wall and it read, "Ma, I am so lucky that you are my mother." Nena reveals that there are some things you can talk about on the Internet that you cannot really say personally through the mobile phone. Upon reading her wall post, Nena told me how she was in tears after.
She now commits her entire Sunday to learn more about using the Internet so the next time she talks to her daughter, it would be a real mothering time online, with web camera.
Technologies improve communication across distances and help foster a greater sense of family togetherness (Ballagas et al., 2010). Interactive technologies like the computer have been designed to serve the purpose of mediating intimacy within strong-‐tie relationships (Vetere et al., 2005). The computer and Internet technology at the present enriches mothering, a role that presupposes intimacy. Furthermore, the findings reflected a pattern of children’s computer usage which is dictated usually by the mothers. They only access the computer when needed, such as part of school project, or when asked by mothers. This shows that long distance mothers still take part in the household by disciplining and mothering despite geographical distance.
4.6 The Deviant Case of the Undocumented Long-‐Distance Mothers
TNT is a Filipino abbreviation for "tago nang tago" or "hide and hide." TNTs are the undocumented Filipino migrant workers whose contract has expired but still opted to stay in their country of employment by means of hiding. Another situation in which migrant workers become TNTs is when they encounter unwelcoming employers that make them decide to run away. They move out of their employer's residence and stay in a friend's (also a TNT) boarding house while in search of possible employers.
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TNTs maintain good relations with fellow TNTs because they rely on each other for referrals of employers who need part-‐time domestic helpers. Most employers would hire part-‐
time domestic workers to clean their houses once a week or once a month for two to four hours.
After being referred to several employers, TNTs look for a place they can rent on their own, with the help of a fellow Filipino who works legally. Sometimes the employers themselves offer their help to TNTs in looking for a place to stay.
45-‐year-‐old Lyn hails from the northern province of Cagayan. Before coming to Taiwan in 1999, she worked as a peddler, selling fruits and vegetables in the market. Lyn got pregnant at a tender age of 15. As curious teenagers in their third year high school, Lyn and her boyfriend decided to continue the pregnancy. They have three children, a 28-‐year-‐old son, 26-‐year-‐old daughter, and their youngest is a 25-‐year-‐old son who has never gone to school because of his speech disability. Both the eldest son and the daughter finished college degrees. The eldest son works as a security officer in Manila and is married through civil rights. Lyn has a one-‐year old grandson with her eldest son. Lyn's daughter, who is now pregnant and lives in a nearby town in Cagayan, looks after her younger brother.
Overtime, Lyn's husband became an alcoholic and refused to work. She cannot bear to see her drunk and disorderly husband and the situation of her children. Lyn just have enough money in order to get by everyday. With the help of a recruiter, Lyn processed her documents for Taiwan in year 2000. She pitied herself for not finishing school but this inspired her to work hard and provide her children with good education. Her contract went for three years under a considerate employer and she only had the chance to come home when her contract ended in 2003.
When she went back to Taiwan in 2004, Lyn was not as fortunate as the first time. She was given a new employer with whom she has encountered several problems. Lyn took care of three children, all in primary school, who cannot converse in English. Because of the language barrier, the children would mock and shout at her. Lyn recalls, "I felt really bad at that point. I was crying because my own children don't even treat me the way these strangers do." Lyn talked to her
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employer about this problem. The employer addressed this by asking Lyn to look after her old mother who lives alone. Lyn transferred to the mother's house but as luck would have it, the old mother had a slight dementia, causing her to be unruly at times.
"She shouts and she gets angry all the time. She keeps on calling her daughter, telling her I'm no good. So when her daughter reported me to the agency, the agency told me to just be patient or I will lose my job. But after two months of staying with the old lady, I had enough. One night, I was not able to sleep. I thought of getting my suitcase and packing. I always sleep beside the old lady so when she heard me get up, I just told her I'm having a bad headache and I’m getting my medicine. When I got back, I have already packed my stuff and slept near the door to plan for my escape. After few hours, when I think that a-‐mah has already fallen asleep, maybe that was two or three in the morning, I got up quietly, prayed, and rushed to the door. I hailed a taxi and went to my friend's boarding house. While inside the taxi, my cellphone was ringing and it was her daughter calling. I didn't answer the call. I know I still owed them money but I didn't care," narrates Lyn who has been an undocumented worker for seven years now.
Lyn's friend, also a TNT, gave her a place to stay for a week and helped her find employers.
Lyn has different employers everyday and cleans for three to four hours for each house. Her work schedule depends on the preference of each employer. There are employers who prefer mornings, there are some who wants her to clean in the afternoon. She arranges her schedule to fit with every employer. During holidays or when the employers inform Lyn that they will go out of town, she does not work for until the employers get back.
Assumingly, with the undocumented migrant workers interviewed, one can gather that they are being paid relatively higher given the several number of employers that they can have.
Some TNTs are paid NT$250 per hour and work for three to four hours for every employer in a given day. In total, some TNTs earn NT$7000 to NT$8000 weekly, sometimes even more.