ABSTRACT
The transnational social field is constituted not only by those who migrate abroad, but also by those who remain, or who are left behind in their own countries but remain closely connected to those living abroad. In 1970, Gracia met and married Romeo, a high school dropout from the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon who was working in a shoe factory in Marikina. The life history of Gracia presented in the chapter clarifies the situation of contract migrant workers and their families remaining in the Philippines. Regarding the importance of empathy for solidarity and political actions, Curato, based on research in the post-disaster community in Leyte, discussed the potential of the emerging public sphere made possible by the “affective agency” of disaster victims, who are capable of carrying out political action by sharing emotions such as sorrow, misery, and pity.
