Pinay's vlogs about OFW life in Dubai get up to 2.1M views

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A middle-aged woman handing out salon leaflets to passers-by in the middle of a sweltering day on Al Rigga Road. Another woman carrying bags of rice sweets or hot lunch asking you to buy one. A newcomer Filipino losing the meal she prepared for work the following day to someone in their crowded, shared apartment unit.

The list goes on. And all caught in a vlog by a 35-year-old mom from Cavite who, like the stories she tells, has had her share of the travails, enabling her to genuinely portray the roles such that some got up to 2.1 million views.

OFW journey

“Pinili ko at ng team ko na mas mag-focus i-feature yung buhay ng isang OFW abroad para mas makita ng viewers yung buong journey ng isang OFW, at ma-feature din yung iba’t ibang work na meron sa abroad na kayang gawin ng bawat Filipino para kumita. Marami ang nakaka-relate,” said Gretchen Grace Gordillo, a batch 2014 mass communication graduate from Far Eastern University (FEU). 

(My team and I chose to focus on the life of an overseas Filipino worker so that viewers can understand the whole journey. We also feature the different odd jobs that Filipinos do to make money. Many can relate.)

“Pinakikita sa series na ito yung kalawakan ng mararating ng pangangarap. Ikaw na lang pipili kung ano ang gusto mong maging at kung paano mo ito tatahakin. Personally, gusto kong makita dito yung struggle and success, from being jobless to being hired, para ‘wag mawalan ng pag-asa ang mga kapwa OFWs ko. At bonus pa dito na maipakita na ang bawat Filipino dito ay nagtutulungan,” added Gordillo, who counts among Dubai’s community of top content creators and influencers.

(The series tells viewers how far one can get chasing a dream. It’s up to them what they want to be and how they can reach it. I, personally, want to see the struggle and success from being jobless to finally getting a job. This, so that viewers who are in the same shoes, would not lose hope. It’s an added bonus to show how Filipinos here in Dubai are helping each other.)

“My page is all about the realities of an OFW, who faces hardships but still wouldn’t give up. I dedicate my page to my fellow OFWs, who are confronted with trials like I do. Never stop dreaming. One day we won’t notice that we are already hugging the life we have dreamed of,” said Gordillo, who came to Dubai in 2016 and started vlogging initially through a Filipino video production house, Tbon, in 2021.

Stories

Other stories, meanwhile, include an OFW who borrowed a friend’s clothing so she could be more presentable at a job interview; another is about an OFW having an illicit affair; still another tells the story of an OFW offered a suspicious-sounding “part time” work by a fellow Filipino preying on newcomer-jobseekers. 

There were also scenes about an OFW waiting for her turn at the laundry machine in their apartment unit in the wee hours, and another one having a great time at an ukay-ukay (hand-me-down) store.

“These are the real OFW stories we see happening around us every day – from being a newcomer renting a bedspace, to losing food in the ref and looking for work. It’s about the total adjustment of a Filipino living in a different country,” said Gordillo in a mix of English and the vernacular.

Trending

The vlog now has 120,000 followers on Instagram and close to 100,000 on Facebook. Some short stories, running an average of five minutes, had up to 2.1 million views. 

“They went trending because they were real-life accounts portrayed by people who had lived through the stories themselves,” said Gordillo, who has had to pawn her branded accessories and jewelry when she was jobless. 

“Sanglaan was the key. Sanglaan 101 (Pawning was the key. Pawn time 101),” she said. 

Gordillo was already a familiar face when she arrived in Dubai, having been a regular at TV sitcoms and noon time shows back home. This, she said, could partly explain the big number of followers and views.

“I was full of dreams when I got here. I left an entertainment industry in the Philippines for a brighter future,” said Gordillo, who could easily pass for a model with her mestiza looks. —KBK, GMA Integrated News