Last December 2009, while waiting for my turn in the immigration line in NAIA, a middle-aged lady approached me and asked what she needs to do upon our arrival.
Her name’s Martie. We chatted while on queue and I discovered that she has been working in Singapore for two years.
Tears welled in her eyes when she recalled how hard her life was in the lion city. She gave no details but she swears she won't go back there again. She told me she’d rather deal with the hardships in the Philippines than go back there.
She used to be a teacher, but to be able to feed and send her children to school, she chose to be a domestic helper in a foreign land. This is a common story in a land where OFW remittances are the driving force in a slumping GDP. Oftentimes, I forget that many of our kababayans work abroad not because they want to but because they have to.
I take my hat off to the millions of our fellowmen trying to make a living to make ends meet. She said she regretted her decision.
As F Sionil Jose said in his book, Viajero......”Ah, my countrymen, dislodged from the warmth of their homes, to make a living no matter how perilous and demeaning, to strike out in alien geographies and eke from their swear and their cunning what they can. “
In her two years in SG, Martie hasn't seen the Merlion. Oh yes, because in my limited pretentious tourist mind, that is the ultimate sign that you have been to Singapore.
Typical tourists, who are in town for just a few days, try to have their picture with this city's icon. Merlion. And yet someone who has lived in the city for two years hasn't even glimpsed this icon and she has no idea where it is. They aren't missing much really for not seeing it but still, I can't get over the fact that she hasn't seen it.
This fact made my mind wander for a while. And encountering this lady splashed some reality ripples my way.
The things I take for granted like being able to walk on those streets going where I want to go and trying to look for a colorful bridge is a luxury for most of us. and yet some of my friends working there are living a different kind of life. One friend doesn't take the train to work since it's too crowded. And their concept of "crowded" is nothing compared to the way we maximize the breathable space in the MRT. The contrast is quite surreal that it's hard to believe the two realities exist in the same universe.
I was struck by this realization that I felt like I had to do something. Since she has too many bags and she didn’t get a cart. I decided to get her one, which simply means walking a few more steps but she saw my effort of walking all the way back.
And I saw in her expression that she was so surprised by the simple act.
Ok this entry is not something to make me feel me like a CNN hero because I actually felt shittier after that.
I gave her my number just in case she needs anything. Ok, I just don't give my number to anyone I meet. I really felt the need to help her and told her if she's going to Manila, she just contacts me. I have no idea how I can help her but I was thinking I'll think of something. Or am I one of those who keeps on feeding empty promises to the hapless in an attempt to make us all feel good about ourselves? Such hypocrisy….
And then another "bagong bayani" tagged along with us in the queue and shared another sob story. She's rushing home because she realized all the money she's been sending home is going to her husband and his mistress.
Sigh.
There are thousands of these sob stories and what did I just do? I got a cart.
Martie sent me an SMS in January that she's going to try her luck in Manila in April but she didn't ask if I can help her with anything.
The Filipinos are a resilient bunch. We thrive on pressure. And yet even the most resilient of us give in when the going gets really tough. Someone may try to help us but at the end of the day, we all make our own path. Whether that will take us somewhere else depends on the breaks of the game.
Last March, I got another SMS from Martie, she's planning to go to Manila after the elections.
I wonder what Manila has in store for her.
And when there are no more push carts this time around, what can I do?
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2 comments:
Nik, this made me sorta cry...
I always marvel at the many insights you get from seeing the world so frankly, the way you do. thank you for showing me a glimpse of the world from your eyes.
I think the push cart helped her carry more than just her bags, but her actual baggage. You made her feel human, and shitty as you may feel, not all of us can often do something like that, me included.
Awww..Thanks Shing.
You're right it's not just the sharing of the physical load.
And how I wish to do that, see the rest of the world. For now, I'm satisifed with what a friend referred to this corner of the world, a training ground. :-)
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