* This is the first story of our series on migration conversations.
For every migration story, there is someone who leaves and someone who gets left behind. For every migration story, there is a feeling of loss, of love, and of hope.
Our stories are different, but the same. What's yours? #UsapTayo
When Emma met Jayvee, it was love at first sight - for Jayvee, at least.
“When I first saw you, I knew you were the one,” he shares with Emma.
Emma, on the other hand, laughs and replies, "I didn't like you when I first met you...You were wearing an all-orange outfit."
While the attraction wasn't exactly mutual in the beginning, the two eventually began a relationship that would span for more than 17 years.
However, when the couple hit the 14-year mark, Jayvee had to make a difficult decision. For the sake of his future with Emma, he decided to pursue a nursing career in Melbourne. Emma, who was working as a teacher, shares that she didn't cry the day Jayvee left. She instead tried to embrace whatever challenges they were about to face.
17 years and counting. Source: Emma Ocampo-Ramis
"I don't want you to see me cry. I don't want to add any more burden on you," she says to Jayvee, then laughs, "Two days before [you left], you were crying endlessly."
Jayvee's tears continued to flow as he began his life in Melbourne. He shares that his time alone in Australia was hard, saying to Emma, "We've been away from each other for two years. It was difficult because I was used to seeing you every day."
But things eventually looked up when the couple got married, and Emma was granted a partner visa to Australia.
Jayvee shares that while the visa process was long, expensive and emotionally exhausting, the day it was granted was one of the happiest of his life.
However, Emma admits that being away from her family has been difficult. Swallowing back tears, she shares that she misses her parents, and dreads the thought of having to go back to the Philippines just because a family member gets sick or passes away.
She says though that she relishes her new life in Melbourne, sharing with her husband, "We're partners. I want to achieve the same things you do."
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