Yolanda Romero’s story sounds familiar to many other Filipinos whose goal of working abroad is to provide a better life for their family.

Yolanda crossed half the world, to Morocco in Africa, to work as a manicurist at a salon in Rabat and eventually at the Moroccan port city of Tangier.

A single mom, Yolanda endured the hardship of working overseas even with a meager salary because she wanted her two kids left in the Philippines to finish school.

She left when her kids were still in high school, but now she proudly says that the two have finished college.

She is now her own boss.

Yolanda shared she left her former employer last year and built a small salon at her rented home, attracting former clients and generating thrice her previous salary.

“Ang kinikita ko noon sa salon maliit kumpara sa ipinangako sa akin noong una kong pasok. Ngayon, salamat naman at ang kinikita ko sa small business ko triple pa sa suweldo ko ngayon (I got meager pay compared to what was initially promised to me. I’m thankful that now, my earning is thrice higher than what I get from my previous employer),” she told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

“Mayroon na rin akong business ID. Direkta ‘yong mga kliyente ko kaya marami rin akong natutulungan kasi marami na talaga akong kilalang Moroccan (Now I have a business ID, too. My clients visit me directly that’s why I’m also able to help other Filipinos because I know a lot of Moroccans),” she added.

Yolanda said the Moroccans, in general, are kind and civil to work with, rarely does she get news about migrants getting subjected to physical abuse unlike in other host countries.

She, however, admitted that her first few years working in a foreign land was fraught with difficulties.

“Isipin mo iniwan ko ang mga anak ko, nangutang ako sa agency para sa PHP50,000 kasi wala akong perang pambayad. Sa pitong buwan nagbabayad ako niyan, ang suweldo ko diretso sa agency. After that, two months pa lang nakaka-sahod, nanay ko namatay (Imagine, I left my children, borrowed money from my agency because I don’t have money to shell out. Two months after that, my mother died),” she narrated.

She found out last year that her former employer failed to process her social security fund after 10 years of working for them.

“Hindi ako binigyan ng papel, nagtiwala lang ako noon at kumpyansa sa amo. Noong dumating ‘yong pandemic doon ko nalaman na wala pala akong CNSS (Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale) o ‘yong insurance nila (I just trusted them but when the pandemic came, that’s when we found out we don’t have a CNSS),” she said.

“Ngayon naawa ako sa mga taga-salon kasi naaalala ko ‘yong buhay ko dati sa kanila. Ako noon kahit may sakit ‘pag tinawagan ako walang excuse, may client ka, gagawa ka pa rin kahit nahihilo ka o inaapoy ka ng lagnat– lahat ‘yon pinagdaanan ko (I sympathize with my fellow Filipinos working in the salon now because I could see myself in them. Back then, even when I was sick, I don’t have a choice but to clock in, you need to work even if you’re burning up with fever– I went through all),” she added.

Yolanda said she endured these hardships for years because she was unaware of her rights. At one point, when she asked for a raise, her boss’ response was that she was not in her home country.

“For how many years nagtiis ako nang ganoon kasi hindi ko alam ang Morocco, wala pang Embassy noon para mahingan ng tulong (I endured everything because I don’t know Morocco, and at that time we don’t have an Embassy to turn to for help),” she said.

“Ang Moroccans mababait pero mahigpit sa pera. Bihira rin ‘yong amo na pagagawan ka ng papeles na bibigyan ka ng residence card (The Moroccans are kind but strict with the finances. It’s also rare that an employer would process your papers and get you a residence card).”

There is a Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Casablanca but with the reopening of the Philippine Embassy in Rabat, Yolanda is optimistic assistance would be easier to access for the over 4,000 Filipinos in Morocco.

Back when the North African state was still under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli, the Filipina said a visit from a delegation was understandably rare due to the distance from Libya to Morocco.

“Talagang kawawa ang mga Pilipino noon kaya salamat nalang at nagkaroon na ng Embassy dito, may malalapitan na kami hindi na kawawa. Kaya ‘pag may matinding problema mabilis kong naipapadala ang number ng Labor (office) at tsaka number ng Embassy (The Filipinos back then were pitiful that’s why it’s good that we opened the Embassy here. When there is a problem, I can easily refer them to the Labor office or the Embassy),” the business owner who is also a Filipino community leader in Tangier said.

Even with her newfound success in North Africa, Yolanda said she would continue to persevere, this time to fund the house she is building in the Philippines.

“Noong nasa Pilipinas, 17 years akong manikurista, mahirap kumbaga dino-doble ko na ‘yong kayod ko halos gawin ko nang araw ‘yong gabi pero ang kita hindi pa rin sapat. Thank God, ngayon nakatapos na ‘yong dalawang anak ko (When I was still in the Philippines, I worked for 17 years as a manicurist, it’s hard because even if I doubled my efforts, my income was not enough. Thank God, my kids have finished their studies),” she said.

“Hanggang ngayon magsisikap pa rin, para sa kanila ‘yong bahay na pinapagawa ko kasi hindi ko naman masasabi kung hanggang kailan ako mabubuhay at least may maiiwan ako sa kanila. Basta lahat ng pagsisikap ko para sa mga anak ko (I will continue to persevere because the house Being constructed at home is still for them so that when I’m gone, I have something that I can leave. All my efforts are for my children),” she said. (PNA)