Migrantik

Translated by Peter Dominique Mutuc

A reluctant Filipino migrant takes a savage journey of life in Australia, working two jobs and surviving on a diet of weed, booze and little else

Tony is one of millions of Filipinos scattered across the globe, working to send money back to his family. But unlike other migrants, he's no pushover at work and doesn't live in fear of losing his visa.

Squatting in the office with an Irish co-worker to save money, Tony hustles as a web designer and battles with a ball-busting Scottish boss during the day. At night, he washes away the loneliness and fights the enormous pressure with booze and weed, saving most of what he earns to send back home.

But the money from all the hard work never seems to be enough.

If it's not a new phone for his teenaged daughter, it's for a cousin's birthday or an uncle who needs funding for a business. Everyone 's counting on his salary. So Tony plugs away, seeking small comfort in video calls with his family, finding short-lived happiness in skateboarding in empty carparks, and diving deep into the dark side of Sydney — away from the posh lights of the Harbor Bridge and smack dab into the seedy suburbs.

Tony's life as a migrant begins to unravel as events come to a head, and he's forced to face the consequences of his actions.

Translated from Filipino by Peter Dominique Mutuc, Migrantik is told through the lens of economic, emotional, and occasionally actual violence.