You Just Have to Laugh
Manila is a cesspool. Talk about smog and traffic congestion;
talk about over population and you are talking about Manila.
Turning a two-lane highway into a five-lane highway
is an everyday occurrence. Let's see, how does that happen?
Take what was intended to be two lanes and
squeeze three cars in and then take both curbs, easy!
Talk
about crime and corruption and you are talking about Manila.
The simple, peace-loving, God-fearing, farmer from the province
wants his children to have a better and different life than his.
After all, it is almost the 21st century.
So the (many) children head off for the city only to find
unemployment,
corruption, discrimination and inequity.
Filipinos are one of the most highly educated people in Asia.
Many go to college and many achieve baccalaureate status.
What good does an education do when there are no jobs
and
the pay is "peanuts?"
What would you do if you lived in a cesspool? You leave.
You
move. You go someplace else. I would.
Thus there are Filipinos everywhere. I was in Singapore shopping
at a downtown mall on a weekend and I noticed Filipinos everywhere.
Meandering Filipinos window shopping, socializing and eating.
Once I was waiting for a train at the Spanish Steps subway station
in Rome when I realized that many Filipinos lived there too!
I was curious and asked one young woman why there
seemed to be so many of them all at one time.
She informed me that because it was Sunday they had taken
the day off and that were returning to their place of work.
Most
of them were domestic and service workers.
I remember reading an article in Filipinas Magazine about several
cases of abuse among the domestic workers in Hong Kong.
It may be an escape from the cesspool, but in some cases
it is like jumping from the frying pan to the fire.
I also remember reading in a Malaysian newspaper's
classified section wanted ads for domestic help.
They had Malaysians, Vietnamese, Cambodians,
Laotians and Filipinos; but what was so astounding is
that
the going rate for Filipino domestic help was the lowest!
Is it a matter of choice between a low
standard of living to a worse standard of living?
Or
is it just the freedom of choice?
Not all have been met with this terrible fate and not to say
that there aren't many domestic workers who are in total bliss.
Many have truly succeeded in getting a better life for themselves.
There are many Filipino professionals all over the world as well.
Some of the finest doctors, nurses, architects, engineers and
lawyers are Filipino. Many Filipino Americans are also getting
actively involved in politics taking seats in city,
county,
state and federal offices.
The Manila suburbs are where I was raised. Most of my family
still live there. Yeah, I know it is a cesspool, but it has been going
through major uplifting. Since they threw Marcos out of power,
(that is another story) we have slowly seen positive changes.
From what I have read, it seems that of late there
have
been significant positive changes!
I left Manila not because of the graft and corruption but because,
as a teenager, I had strong wanderlust. Having been born in the US,
it was in my karma to return. I listened to American Rock & Roll,
read American magazines, watched American TV
…I
wanted to be where this all came from.
Now that I live here, (and it has been almost 30 years since I first came),
I truly appreciate the abundance. Of course abundance is relative.
Many complain about the crime, corruption, the economy,
homelessness and hunger but also many are so grateful to be able
to be given chances that they never would have had if they stayed
where
they were. It is easy to take things for granted.
But….I truly long for home. When I say home, I mean the Philippines.
There is more than meets the eye. There is nostalgia and
wonderful memories. When I get a waft of cooking food from
the street hawkers, when I hear the sound of people speaking
Tagalog, when I taste the wonderful exotic fruits and when
I feel the warm breeze of the tropical wind in a remote and
secluded
beach, it reminds me of why I long to be there.
Yes, it may take me three hours to travel 60 miles or feel
like the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland,
I
say great; even better! No pain no gain.
You just have to laugh. I mentioned hawkers earlier.
I'm sure you've never seen hawkers pushing a cart containing a
contraption that has a flame underneath to keep the food warm.
A giant sterno on wheels in between the already tight two-lane
highway that turned into a five-lane highway!
My brother-in-law and I have this standing remark
when
we see these wonders "…only in the Philippines."
Well, I was exaggerating when I said it was a
cesspool and I hope I didn't offend anyone,
in any case, this begins the story of my
sweet and sour
romance with the Philippines.
My
home, "land of the morning sun."
Stay tuned. I try to visit the Philippines as often as I can.
For more on the Philippines check out the following newsletters.
If you have any interesting stories that speak to "You Just Have to Laugh"
or "Only in the Philippines" please send it to me via email at mailto:gracespace@pacbell.net
with your permission for me to publish it..
For up to the minute news on Manila visit:
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