Probably one of the most difficult feelings in the world is being away from your mother for such a long time. For the Sto. Domingo children, close to three decades was the time spent apart from their beloved mother.
Just last April 2, 2011, we learned of Nanay Irene Sto. Domingo’s situation in the Middle East. At 76 years old, Nanay Irene is in a nursing home in Saudi Arabia. Back in 1985, Nanay Irene decided to try her luck in the Middle East and flew there to work as a seamstress. In the 26 years that Nanay Irene stayed in the Middle East, she was only able to come back home to the Philippines five times. The last time she was able to come home was 11 years ago when her daughter Irene go married.
Upon returning to Saudi that same year, Nanay Irene began to encounter problems with her employer. She was not given her salary and aside from that, her passport and documents were confiscated. In 2001, Nanay Irene contacted her son Vergel to let him know that she had left her employer. She also told Vergel not to worry about her as she was alright.
From then on, Nanay Irene became “TNT” or Tago ng tago , a term used to describe OFWs whose work documents have expired and supposedly should’ve been sent home. In short, Nanay Irene went into hiding.
December of last year, things started to go south for Nanay Irene. To monitor her mother, Vergel would call Nanay Irene every hour. Vergel noticed a change in Nanay Irene’s voice as it started to become hoarse. During this time, Nanay Irene had grown tired and had asked her son to bring her home already.
Just this last March 31, Failon Ngayon brought Nanay Irene’s situation to OWWA Administrator Carmelita Dimzon. The aim was to bring home Nanay Irene, who had already fallen ill. Vergel and his sister Irene were also able to talk to their mother who seemed to lose hope on being able to come back home. The Sto. Domingo children told their mother to be safe and told her that they were doing all that they could to bring her home.
Only a week later, Nanay Irene’s children got what they had wished for. With the help of OWWA, Nanay Irene was given an Exit Visa and she was finally scheduled to come back home.
“Sobrang saya! (So happy)” was all that Irene could say, and Vergel said that he already wanted to put time on fast forward. The joy and excitement was more than evident when Vergel and Irene were on their way to the airport to welcome their mother home.
Riding a wheel chair and visibly tired and weak, Nanay Irene was greeted by Vergel and Irene with a tight embrace. After 11 long years, Nanay Irene is home once again. Much like the warm welcome that Nanay Irene recived at the airport, she was also given the same loving welcome at home from grandchildren that she’s met for the first time.
Once back home, memories of her first born son Jun flashed back to Nanay Irene. The memories were bitter, because in 2002, Jun was the victim of a fatal accident. Nanay Irene couldn’t help but burst into tears as she looked at the photo of her late son. Probably what makes the memories all the more painful for Nanay Irene is that she was not able to come back home to the Philippines for her son.
“Gustong-gusto kong umuwi, talagang wala akong magagawa at wala akong pera...talagang masakit at hindi ko nakita ang bangkay ng aking anak. Nung ikinasal ‘yan, hindi ko nakita pagkatapos, nung nawala siya, hindi ko din nakita. (I really wanted to come home, but there wasn’t anything that I could do, I didn’t have any money. It hurts that I didn’t see his remains. When he got married, I wasn’t there, and then when he died, I wasn’t there either.)”
Nanay Irene was a widow, so it was a bigger sacrifice for her to go abroad. Of course, she did not want to leave her children behind, but she had no choice because there was no one to help her with the finances. Because of this, her children are more than thankful for the sacrifices that she had to go through.
Because of her age, there are many things that are affecting Nanay Irene’s health so she had to undergo some checkups. It was revealed that she has started feeling different aches and pains in her body. At her age, Nanay Irene should be taken care of already and should not be working anymore.
As a little celebration for Nanay Irene’s 75th birthday, Failon Ngayon helped put together a little gathering for the Sto. Domingo family. This gathering would bring Nanay Irene together with the children that she was away from for such a long time and her grandchildren that she has never seen before.
Tears streamed down Nanay Irene’s face as the emotional get together went on. At age 75, Nanay Irene said that she has nothing left to do but enjoy life, something that she was not able to do for the past 26 years. To keep her busy, Failon Ngayon gave Nanay Irene a sewing machine, a simple gift for someone who deserves to enjoy her life.
For Nanay Irene and her children, there is probably no better moment than now, being together and not having to worry about being far away from each other again.
Update from abs-cbnnews.com
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