Worldviews - OFW in Baku

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Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Baku, Azerbaijan

Dr. Ruben Z. Martinez

A friendly Baku airport personnel greeting you – “Kabayan!”, two local karaoke-restaurants, Reysha and Ichiban, serving “igado”, “dinakdakan”, “sisig”, “sinigang” and “bicol express” while listening to your favorite pinoy pop song, a local chapter of Couples for Christ, and weekend games of “tong-its”. Yes, there are Filipinos in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Baku, Azerbaijan has been unheard of in the past. Today, at least 2,000 families knows about it and can directly relate to it. They learned about it from their OFW family members or friends, who at one time worked in Baku. Most of these Filipinos, deployed from a third country such as United Arab Emirate, Turkey or Saudi Arabia, works in oil sector. Some of the big employers include British Petroleum, McDermott, and subsidiary industries servicing the needs of the offshore oil exploration. This include seaman employed in tender ships which provide logistics support to the offshore rig and a sales firm supplying the equipment and other logistical requirement of the offshore operation. One growing job market for Pinoy is the entertainment and the hotel and restaurant business.

The Azerbaijan Government has been increasingly alarmed with this growing presence of OFW that they included Filipino Nationals in their watchlist. It is also the reason, why I have to stay in the airport for 12 hours upon my arrival. Ordinarily, foreigners can secure a one month tourist visa at the airport consular office upon arrival. However, the local consultant tasked to provide me with an official invitation failed to deliver and as a result, I was held in the departure area for 12 hours and have to wait for them to rescue me. I learned that these policy, requiring Philippine Nationals to secure an official invitation, has been recently imposed by the Azerbaijan Government to Philippines Nationals seeking entry to the country. OFW presense has affected the employment of Azeri in multinational companies to technical and magerial post. Employers from Dubai and Turkey prefers the more skilled and industrious OFW. Aside from good command of the english language, OFW perform well in multi-tasked roles. Most importanly, OFW has the economic comparative advantage (it means cheaper).

OFW working in Azerbaijan are mostly professionals and occupy middle level and supervisory position. This includes medical doctors in company health care service, mechanical and safety engineers, sales and procurement managers and accountant. OFW are are also employed as chef in five-star hotels and restaurants and also waiters/waitresses. Not to be missed are the Filipino singers.

As a result of the growing number of Filipinos, enterprising Filipinos cashed in on this presence and OFW’s penchant for spending for good time, and established karaoke restaurant, Reysha and Ichiban. These restaurants serve rice with your favirite “ulam” or “pulutan”. Unfortunately, they don’t have “San Miguel Beer”. The local Xirdalan Beer is not as bad. You can even request the cook for a red snapper “paksiw”. Unfortunately, fresh fish for your favorite “kinilaw” is very expensive as it is imported from Dubai. You can order it in 5-star restaurants such as Hyatt, served as sashimi and sushi, prepared by Nestor, my favorite Kapangpangan cook. 

Through this karaoke-restaurant, OFW can belt out their favorite, which include the latest Filipino pop songs, american favorites including the ubiquitous  “my way”. One can hear Ilongo or visayan version of “my wee”. OFW in Baku comes from different regions of the country, from Mindanao, Iloilo, Bacolod, Antique, Cavite and Nueva Viscaya.  Aside from karaoke-restaurants, OFW congregate at the Catholic Church during Sunday. Almost half of the attendees are Filipinos. The church choir led by husband and wife team is predominantly a Filipino singing group, the gospel reading done mostly by Filipino volunteer, and so is the offering, through the efficient coordination of Tina, the church offering coordinator. Most of the active lay people are member of the local chapter of the Couples for Christ (CFC), an organization founded in the Philippines. The fellowship after the mass provides a venue for interaction among the OFWs and their families. Coffee, tea, pansit and cake is served during the fellowship. Interaction is lively and intense, as if they have not met for a long time. Church fellowship is weekends treat one looks forward to. Through this church fellowship, I met a chinoy (filipino-chinese) from Manila, an engineer from Cavite, a singer from Bacolod and Ilocos, a sales managers from Bayombong and Davao, and a Kapangpangan Chef working in japanese restaurant in Hyatt.

After the church fellowship, OFW find themselves in small groups of four or five, if not their families. This barkadahan also provides venue for interaction for some of the OFWs. Barkada sometimes engaged in friendly game of tong-its while waiting for their favorite sinigang being preprared by an Azeri cook (mistress of one of my friend). Drink beer or even go to aqua sports facility, with giant water slides and wimming pools during summer. Through this barkadahan, OFW  shares personal stories and in some occassions discuss issues confronting them and their families.

Most of the old timers have been in Baku for more that five years. Some has picked up local language and can speak Azeri and/or Russian. A number of kids raised in Baku are studying in the international school and are topping their class. One of which is Samantha, who not only tops in her Russian class but is equally talented and has performed piano recital.

The OFW community in Baku is an interesting story of solidarity, survival and challenge. Even as some of the OFW has found their own families in Baku, most have shied away from being assimilated into the Azeri culture and society and have chosen to retain their Filipino culture and identity. Even as some has found an Azeri or Georgian wife/girlfriend, they were not eager to be assimilated into the local culture. This is unlike the US and European OFWs, most of whom have assimilated with the local culture.

Far removed from their roots, their families and friends, the Filipino restaurants, the church, the religious organization such as the CFC, and barkada, offers venue for interaction among the Filipinos. The interaction all contributing to the creation and evolution of a Filipino diaspora in Baku, Azerbaijan.

WV Magazine, Volume 1, No. 1, May 2005

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