International Law

Canadian Live in Caregivers - Also known as Nannies...

By immlawyer

Great article in the National Post on the trials and tribulations for Filipina nannies who leave their own families 10,000 km behind to care for someone else children.

Excerpt:

It's a bleak January morning in a Don Mills cafe when Elena Bautista explains why she left her husband and young daughters in the Philippines five years ago to look after someone else's children in Canada.

"I came here for the future of my kids," says Bautista. "It's for a greener pasture."

Bautista is one of tens of thousands of Filipina nannies who have come to Canada in search of a decent salary and a better life. Like many of the nannies, she hopes her family will one day be able to follow her to Canada. But there's a deep personal cost to her plans.

...Eight million Filipinos work overseas today, lured from home by developed world wages. Ten per cent of the country's population is abroad. They send back an estimated US$16-billion each year -- remittances are one of the most fruitful sectors of the Filipino economy and account for about 10% of the national gross domestic product.

More than 6,000 Filipinas arrive in Canada under the federal government's live-in caregiver program. They make up more than one in five female immigrants to Canada and more than nine out of 10 of the live-in caregiver program's participants.

...

Pratt's research suggests there is a very high school drop-out rate among Filipino kids who come to Canada. There is a "profound sense of family dislocation" because of the length of time mothers are separated from their children -- as long as eight years in some cases. When the children arrive, the mothers frequently work long hours or have multiple jobs, making it more difficult to re-establish family connections. Their children also feel obligated to leave school and get out into the workforce as early as possible to help make ends meet.

Unfortunately, Arcelie Laoagan's quest for a greener pasture ended with her murder in this city; hopefully her dream to bring her family to Canada will not die with her.

Full post as published by Canadian Immigration Blawg on March 03, 2008 (boomark / email).