Did you have a memorable Mother’s Day? I hope everyone has. Perhaps you will agree with me that we should also celebrate Father’s Day, right? I’m sure you do. Also, the role of a Father is not easy either.

You may now be thinking of a personalized gift for your dad, perhaps a special gift pack or a unique gift for him, like watching him along with his favorite live sports game.

But you might wonder how can you celebrate this special occasion if the same Father is working abroad? How can they enjoy if they are not together? How can you feel as a Father the satisfaction of being honored and respected by your sons, daughter and your wife? If you haven’t been away with your family for quite some time, I guess you can’t imagine how hard it is.

Well, being an Overseas Filipino Worker, OFW as we are commonly called, is really hard. But you may be surprised if I tell you about the ways in which the OFW celebrates Father’s Day here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in particular. As far as I know, although Saudi citizens do not celebrate Father’s Day, all expats like us who believe in it celebrate it in silence. As? I’ll tell you how.

In Saudi Arabia, the weekend is Thursday and Friday. Of course, it is not on Saturdays and Sundays as we commonly follow from our countries. Father’s Day is celebrated on the third day of June in most countries of the world. Except in some countries like Australia, which is celebrated on the third Sunday of September. The question now is how and when do we OFWs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia celebrate Father’s Day?

OFWs, particularly in Saudi Arabia, can generally be grouped into two, the first group being those OFWs whose families stay with them, and the second groups being those workers who have no family with them.

Let me discuss “Family Status” 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”, it is one of our favorite dishes where the chicken is cut into smaller pieces, boiled, mixed with salt, garlic, sliced ​​ginger and sliced ​​green papaya. Then each of my children gives me his gifts. They each give me a kiss on the cheek. Of course, I also have a special kiss from my wife. Then we watch the TV show “TFC” together. This is done on the actual father’s day. Some families go to restaurants and invite their best friends to have dinner with them.

Now, the “Bachelor Status” celebrates it in another way. With the new cell phone technology, SMS messages, voice mail and video mail play the main role of receiving father’s day greetings from your loved ones. Cell phone business is really booming here in Saudi Arabia. It has surpassed the popularity of long distance calls and Greeting Cards in the Post. Sending greeting cards by email took over. Being able to communicate with your loved ones on the actual Father’s Day is enough for them to celebrate Father’s Day. The personal touch provided by cell phone service and the Internet somehow eased his loneliness.

There is one more method that OFWs do to celebrate Father’s Day, it is a group celebration. There are several Filipino sports and community charities that host this special event not on the third Sunday of June, but on a Friday. It is the Friday before the actual father’s 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 above, so most Filipinos can attend this gathering. Each member gives their part, be it money or some food. This is usually done at the Philippine embassy compound, places where they hold their sporting events, or they hire a community complex for rent, which we call “Estaraha” in Arabic term. Is this method effective? I think it helps. Relieves your loneliness for your loved ones. I know because I experienced it before. Just 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, care and love to them. The important thing is that you do everything you can to get in touch with him and make sure he understands and feels it. No other gift can replace the true love and care that you can give him. As for Parents like us, let’s do our best to fulfill our duties and responsibilities as a Parent. If we pour out our love for 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!