Per latest reports, around 11,000 OFWs have been evacuated out of Libya while there are still about 34,000 Filipino workers who need to be evacuated to safer territories. The Philippine authorities and representatives in Libya and nearby states are hard pressed to move these number as quickly as possible inspite of the great risk that they have to go through because both the pro and anti Gaddafi forces are spread along these possible escape routes.
To be diplomatically correct, it is best to defer my personal comments about the embattled Libyan leader and how he managed the
petroleum dollars which evidently did not become a blessing to his country and his people that's why they have this widespread revolt.
But by reflecting on this current event, it only underlines the necessity for our OFWs to
save as much money during good times because you can never tell what would happen next, because who would have thought that Libya would go down in history with this bloody revolt. In fact from what I have gathered, some OFWs have stayed in Libya for more than 10 years and they raised their family there because they found that country to be safe and peaceful. But that was before.
Saving as much money as possible during good times will determine one's welfare and survival when the bad times come. Even the Book of Proverbs tell us to "Go to the ant and consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." (source: Prov 6:6-8, NIV 2011)
The storing of provisions in summer and gathering of food at harvest have become so natural to the ants. No need for any commander, supervisor or ruler or nagging wife to pressure them to save as much, they just did it naturally, day in and day out, considering the fact that the ants are creatures of little strength. But what made these ants do that? It's because they are wise in their ways.
Your wisdom, your mind will make you do that. When a person is convinced that saving money during good times will benefit him much more than spending that hard earned money because he deserves it anyway - that person will surely reap the rewards in due time in its perfect season of plentiful harvest.
The number of OFWs in Libya alone has reached around 45,000 or maybe more, and assuming that each one of them saved P5,000 a month for the last 12 months they would have collectively raised P2.7 Billion thereafter. That P2.7B is enough to
put up a big bank like an OFW Bank. And that's only from the OFWs in Libya, and just imagine
if the other OFWs will join them.
But this is now water under the bridge because the bad times have come. The laptops and sleek TV set and the nice and overpriced house back home and the branded shoes and jackets and sunglasses and pricey electronic gadgets of the kids won't matter anymore when one does not have a source of income anymore. Just turning on the arm's length wide LED TV set and the 2-door stainless refrigerator is an added expense because of the high cost of electricity.
But one should not feel condemned because it's not the end of the road for you. Don't worry if you are left out empty after the last harvest season, just remember that after the harvest season where the fields turn into golden yellow, there always comes the planting season!
During the planting season, what you see is mud everywhere and the terrain is gloomy and it's not enjoyable to walk around, and the rainwater on the ground becomes smelly and just dirty. Life, after losing some golden opportunity for growth, may have much semblance and may feel like the muddy ground after the harvest time when the sky looks dark and dim all day long with no sunshine at all for several months.
But realize my friend that the absence of the bright sunshine and the heavy rain is just perfect to redistribute the nutrients on the ground and fertilize again the farmlands and make it perfectly ready to receive and germinate the seeds to make them sprout and grow them to become your next bountiful harvest in due season.
Therefore, do not fret when God allowed you to miss the last harvest season because what comes next is the planting season for you. And whatever and however you plant will always determine your next harvest. whatever seed you invest into this muddy soil is the seed that will soon give you your next bountiful harvest.
So every season, be it sunshiny or rainy, is
an opportunity for you. The planting season is
your opportunity to invest. And that investment may not be necessarily setting aside some money, but maybe it's more about making a firm decision as to how much and in what way can you save money on your next opportunity. And that next opportunity is coming.
To those of you who are not directly affected by these recent crisis in the Middle East, don't wait for such turmoil to come before you make up your mind to save some amount and make it your seed money when the next investment opportunity comes.
Just imagine if 500,000 OFWs around the globe decide to save an average of P5,000 per month for 12 months. That one year effort will raise some P30 Billion! Just imagine the huge business that our OFWs can collectively put up with that amount!
Doing it for the next 5 years, our OFWs can raise some P150 Billion! That amount can already create a business empire employing thousands. Just assuming that the P150 Billion will earn at least 9% a year, that's P13.5 Billion annual income.
But if the OFWs won't make up their mind and pursue these things, these will remain a dream, an imagined business, an imaginary income, a potential job and income generator by the thousands. Without any purposeful action on the part of the OFWs, these dreams will remain just an untapped potential even 5 years from now.
And our
children will be left condemning the government again for being unable to provide them the jobs they needed at home, and they will again be separated from their families to work abroad - thereby repeating your life's story again in theirs -- simply because we refused to do what is within our means during our our time.
But
today is never too late. Tomorrow is still an open opportunity. Let's make up our mind while the opportunity is still great. Kelan pa ba tayo magsimulang kumilos? Kung nasa US$180/barrel na ang petroleum? Pag nagkataon, tig P3,500 na ang isang sakong bigas noon.
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