By Vir B. Lumicao
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| Consulate officials pose with the contestants in the drawing and poetry contests |
Art-minded overseas Filipino workers in
Guia Mae C. Ico from the Filipino Image Society won the grand prize in the drawing contest while Gemma Lauraya, president of the National Organization of Professional Teachers Hong Kong Chapter, topped the poetry-writing contest.
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The event was described as a success, despite being constrained by safety protocols to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The twin events were aptly themed “Bangon Manggagawa sa Kabila ng Pandemya” (Rise despite the pandemic, Worker) and featured the talent of the OFW participants in both visual and literary arts.
“We celebrate this day in recognition of the valuable contributions and sacrifices of our overseas Filipino workers,” Consul General Raly Tejada said in a speech delivered by his deputy, Germie Aguilar-Usudan.
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ConGen Tejada said Migrant Workers Day is a celebrated by virtue of the enactment or RA 8042, which aims to advance the well-being of OFWs, their families, and specially distressed overseas workers.
“The PCG organized the contest “to encourage the Filipino creativity and ingenuity through sketching and expressing their ideas clearly and effectively through writing,” ConGen Tejada said.
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| Guia Mae Ico with her obra that won the grand prize in the drawing competition |
The 21 aspiring poets and 18 artists who participated in the poetry and drawing contest adhered to the theme and expressed their views about Covid-19, the impact of the health crisis on their own and their family’s lives, as well as their hopes.
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The strength of a migrant worker in the face of great challenges is evident in their work: from the bleakness and uncertainty brought about by the virus as it initially ravaged the Chinese city of Wuhan and then crept into Hong Kong and other places in early 2020, hope helped her keep her nerves as the disease hit her relatives and friends back home.
Ico, who was adjudged as the best in the drawing contest,
depicted
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| Noemi Manguerra's piece that depicts the virus being trampled took second place |
In second prize was Guhit Kulay’s Noemi Manguerra whose drawing
shows a domestic worker joining other members of
Third-place winner Jacklyn Evangelista, a pencil portraitist
also from Guhit Kulay, depicts a boatload of masked
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On all three winning drawings, the sun shining in the sky represents hope in overcoming the crisis as society joined hands to combat the virus.
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| Jacklyn Evangelista's depiction of unity amid the pandemic won 3rd place |
Angst caused by the pandemic as OFW mothers separated from their families by the need to build a better future for everyone is palpable in the poems, but hope, as in the drawings, was the underlying thread that kept the worker intact, body and soul, in the face of the pandemic.
Lauraya’s winning entry, “Pagbangon sa Pandemya,” expounds on the virtues of “bayanihan” (helping hands) and national unity, to help the country rise above the crisis.
Lauraya combines her adeptness in the national language with anti-pandemic slogans to come up with prosody that lends smoothness to her verses:
Bayanihan para sa ating Inang Bayan,
Buong mundo sa krisis ng pandemya ay lumalaban.
Sa panahong ito tayo
ay pantay-pantay
Walang mahirap, walang
mayaman
Sandigan ang Diyos, We
pray as one.
Katatagan sa kabila ng takot at pangamba
Buhay at kalusugan
pati kaligtasan ng pamilya
Ngayon ang bakuna ay
naririto na.
Alisin ang takot,
huwag mawalan ng pag-asa.
Palawakin ang
kaalaman, We heal as one.
The former teacher urges the modern-day heroes to stay on the right path as they earn bread for their families and renew their hope in order to overcome this dark episode:
Itaguyod ang pamilya sa marangal na
paraan.
Sa likas na talino at
sipag mong taglay.
…
Bagong pag-asa ang tanging hiling
Anumang unos malalampasan
natin.
Magandang kinabukasan
paggising natin
Second placer Amelita Jr. Alba’s winning piece, “Bangon Manggagawa sa Kabila ng Pandemya,” affirms her resolve in fighting Covid-19 as she expresses her hope of reuniting with her loved ones in the near future.
Lugmok man at pag-asa ay pansamantalang
naantala,
Sa pagsubok ng
pandemya ako ay di madadala
Bagkus pagtitiis ko’t
sapalaran ay pag-iigtingin pa
Para sa pamilyang
naghihintay sa akin tuwina.
She urges her fellow OFWs to take care of themselves but remain firm and armed with prayer:
Kahinaan ay ipagwalang-bahala, katatagan ating ialsa
Alalahanin lagi ang
ating mga pamilyang umaasa
Na naghihintay sa
ating pagbabalik bukas makalawa.
Third-prize winner Margie Cataina Belardo’s poem “Pinoy Tayo, Matatag, Palaban” shows OFWs’ fear for the safety of their loved ones as the pandemic began to take hold across the globe.
Ano itong ganap, sa mundo ay lumaganap?
Nagdulot ng takot,
takot sa pagkatao mo’y bumabalot
Pangamba at kaba para
sa pamilyang sa iyo ay umaasa
Umaasa na sa isang
umaga, ikaw ay makasama, mayakap, madama.
But Belardo, representing Happy Hearts Isabela Federation, advises her fellow migrant workers not to lose hope and keep pursuing their dreams:
Masdan mo ang liwanag ng araw na nagbibigay pag-asa
Pag-asa na dapat
tayo’y lumalaban sa pagsubok
Pagsubok na sumusubok
upang tayo ay pilit na ilugmok
Ngunit ito’y hindi
dahilan para itigil ang bawat pangarap na nasimulan.
The winners received cash and prizes in kind donated by sponsors from the Filipino community.
The twin competitions were held under the auspices of the Consulate and managed by Welfare Officer Virsie Tamayao of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Lauraya's winning entry in full:
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| Gemma Lauraya's poem on fortitude won the grand prize |
Pagbangon sa
Pandemya
Bayanihan para sa ating Inang Bayan,
Buong mundo sa krisis ng pandemya ay lumalaban.
Sa panahong ito tayo ay pantay-pantay
Walang mahirap, walang mayaman
Sandigan ang Diyos, We pray as one.
Katatagan sa kabila ng takot at pangamba
Buhay at kalusugan pati kaligtasan ng pamilya
Ngayon ang bakuna ay naririto na.
Alisin ang takot, huwag mawalan ng pag-asa.
Palawakin ang kaalaman, We heal as one.
Mabuhay ka, manggagawang Pilipino!
Sa mga kamay mo nakasalalay paglago ng bayan mo.
Itaguyod ang pamilya sa marangal na paraan.
Sa likas na talino at sipag mong taglay.
Saludo kami sa’yo, Bayani kang totoo.
Malasakit sa isa’t-isa at solusyon sa problema.
Iwasan ang sisihan bagkus ay magtulungan
Sumunod sa batas para tayo’y maging ligtas
Sa COVID-19 tayo ay maka-iwas.
Anumang unos malalampasan natin.
Magandang kinabukasan paggising natin
Adhikain ng pangulo makalikha ng trabaho
Sapat na proteksyon at serbisyong totoo.
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