Did you have a memorable mother’s day? I hope everyone has. You might agree with me that we should also celebrate Father’s Day, right? I am sure it is. In addition, the role of father is not easy either.
You may now be thinking of a personalized gift for your dad, perhaps a special gift package or a unique gift for him, such as watching along with his favorite sports game live.
But you might wonder how you can celebrate this special occasion if the Father himself is working abroad. How can you enjoy if you are not together? How can you as a parent feel the satisfaction of being honored and respected by your sons, your daughter, and your wife? If you haven’t been out with your family for quite a while, I guess you won’t imagine how difficult it is.
The well-being of a Filipino overseas worker, OFW, as we are commonly called, is really difficult. But you might be surprised if I tell you the ways that OFW we celebrate Father’s Day here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in particular. As far as I know, while Saudi nationals don’t celebrate Father’s Day at all, expats like us who believe in it somehow celebrate it in silence. How? I will tell you how.
In Saudi Arabia, the weekend is Thursdays and Fridays. Yes, it is not on Saturdays and Sundays as we usually follow from our countries. Father’s Day is celebrated on the third day of June in most countries of the world. Except for some countries like Australia, which is celebrated on the third Sunday of September. The question now is how and when do we celebrate the OFW in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Father’s Day.
OFWs, particularly in Saudi Arabia, can generally be grouped into two, the first group being OFWs whose families stay with them, and the second group being workers who have no family with them.
Let me talk about the “family state” first. As I mentioned above, we do it “in silence”. We celebrate it at home with my children and my wife. A simple dinner with our favorite chicken “Tinola” is one of our favorite dishes where the chicken is minced into smaller pieces, boiled, mixed with salt, garlic, ginger slices and sliced green papaya. Then each of my children gives me their gifts. Each of them kisses me on the cheek. Of course, I also have a special kiss from my wife. Then we watched the TV show “TFC” together. This is done on royal father’s day. Some families go to restaurants and invite their best friends to dinner with them.
Now, the “single status” celebrates it differently. With new cell phone technology, SMS messages, voicemail, and video mail play the primary role in receiving Father’s Day greetings from loved ones. The cell phone business is really booming here in Saudi Arabia. It has overtaken the popularity of long distance calls and greeting cards in the mail. Sending greeting cards by email took over. Being able to communicate with your loved ones on Father’s Day is enough for them to celebrate Father’s Day. The personal touch that cell phone and internet service is giving them somehow eased their loneliness.
There is one more method that OFWs do to celebrate Father’s Day, it is a group celebration. There are several Philippine sports and community charities that host this special event not on the actual third Sunday of June, but rather on a Friday. It is the Friday before the actual day or the Friday after the actual father’s day. The reason for this is that Friday is a weekend in Saudi Arabia, as I mentioned earlier, so most Filipinos can attend this meeting. Each member gives their share, be it money or some food. This is usually done in the Philippine embassy complex, places where they hold their sporting events, or hire a community rental complex, which we call “Estaraha” in Arabic term. Is this method effective? I think it helps. Relieve your loneliness for your loved ones. I know this because I experienced it before. Seeing someone from your own country in a different land gives you strange feelings of happiness.
In conclusion, wherever you are, being with your Father and your loved ones and being away from them, does not prevent you from transmitting your respect, affection and love. The important thing is that you do your best to get in touch with him and make sure he understands and feels it. No other gift can replace the true love and care you can give her. As for parents like us, let’s do our best to fulfill our duties and responsibilities as Parents. If we pour out our love to our children and wife, they will surely return it to you. Every day, even if it’s not Father’s Day!
Happy father to all!
