Lamentations (2)

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another weekend. So sorry to miss you (again) last Monday. I still do not have my TV back, and am I missing anything? Yup, it’s the news, Discovery and National Geographic channels. To look at it from a different angle, my TV conking out made me appreciate something that I have been missing for quite sometime, the feel and smell of newspaper.

Talking about the news. So he wanted to be king again. At least that’s what Erap supposedly said after wining his first round at the COMELEC. The acerbic in me tells me to keep my mouth shut and signal no comment.

I never met him, certainly he was not aware of my existence, but Serge Remonde is someone
that one can’t easily forget. I suppose his name also spells c-o-o-l. Grace under pressure, I think that’s one virtue that the late secretary would have wanted us in government service to imbue in our persons.

Ahh, Jason Ivler; and yes, Marlene. What a mother’s love can do. Suddenly I remember one line which more or less went this way: Mothers do not have to build monuments of glory, their sons have built it for them. I suppose the person who said (or wrote) that was referring to mothers of great, or at least good sons. Otherwise, let’s go back to the Ivler case.

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Let me now give you the continuation of that article I left you with last week. I referred to it as lamentations of an OFW. If you have been following the news; and if you have relatives working in Dubai, you must have taken notice of the news about the near economic flimflam of the said emirate. It’s that news which led me a blog post (I forgot the name of the blog site) of an OFW expressing sadness over his plight in that area of the U.A.E. I first didn’t know if I had to take it seriously, smile at it or take it with a grain of salt. I decided that I would like to share it with you. I call the article ‘lamentations of an OFW”. I guess the same thing can be said about our OFWs who are working in other parts of the world, especially those who were not able to make it land in lucrative jobs like others we know. Here’s the second part of that article:

“Akala nila masaya ka kase nagpadala ka ng picture mo sa Burj Al Arab, Desert Safari, mall of emirates, Atlantis, Al Mamzar Beach, at iba pang attractions. Ang totoo, kailangan mo ngumiti kase minsan minsan ka lang makakapicture para mapadala mo sa mga mahal mo sa buhay.
Akala nila malaki na ang kinikita mo kase dirham na sweldo mo. Ang totoo, medyo malaki pag pinalit mo ng peso, pero dirham din ang gastos mo sa Dubai. Ibig sabihin ang dirham mong kinita sa presyong dirham mo din gagastusin. Ang P15.00 na sardinas sa Pilipinas AED3.00 sa Dubai , ang isang pakete ng sigarilyo sa pilipinas P40.00, sa Dubai AED 6.50, alangan namang puro cafeteria food ang kakainin mo aba mamatay ka sa highblood o heap nyan kasi nga umaapaw na sa mantika madumi pa! Mga kadiri, kaya lang pag naubusan ka ng pera no choice you have to take the risk.

Akala nila buhay milyonaryo ka na kase ang ganda ng bahay at kotse mo, nag pa-lypo kay Calayan at nagparetoke kay Vicky Belo, Ang totoo nag loan ka lang sa Mashreq, HSBC o CITIbank na huhulugan mo ng limang taon. Ibig sabihin, alipin ka ng bahay at kotse mo at ng luho mo at ng bansang ito!! Kasi nga mag-loan ba naman dahil sa luho bwahahaha!

Madaming naghahangad na makarating sa Dubai. Lalo na mga nurses at mga medsec at eto pa pati cleaners, mahirap maging normal na manggagawa sa Pilipinas. Madalas pagod ka sa trabaho. Pag dating ng sweldo mo, kulang pa sa pagkain mo. Pero ganun din sa ibang bansa katulad lalo na kaya sa Dubai madaming outlet ng stress mo! kasi walang bawal!!! Hindi ibig sabihin dirham na ang sweldo mo, yayaman ka na, kailangan mo ding magbanat ng buto para mabuhay ka sa ibang bansa.

Isang malaking sakripisyo ang pag alis mo sa bansang pinagsilangan at malungkot iwanan ang mga mahal mo sa buhay. Hindi pinupulot ang pera dito o pinipitas o iniigib. Hindi ako naninira ng pangarap, gusto ko lang buksan ang bintana ng katotohanan.

Mahirap mangibang bayan…sino ba ang may kasalanan na iwan sariling bayan? Manilbihan sa dayuhan at malayo sa pamilya ay may kahirapan. Hangga’t may pinay DH na nangingibang-bayan na simbolo ng ating kahirapan, kawawang bayan ni Juan patuloy na mapag-iiwanan. Kaya Juan iwan ka ng pera para sayo, para sa kinabukasan mo!”

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Belated Birthday greetings to Fr. Bernard Comilan (January 18) and Berna Cañada (January 14).

Wedding Bells: Anthony Din (of Rosario, Northern Samar) will get married to Flor Jaropojop (of Trinidad, Calbayog city). Msgr. Leonardo Guadalquiver will preside over their wedding mass at the San Damiano Chapel at Christ the King College. Reception will be held at the Cardinal Rosales Hall of the Centennial Pastoral Center.

Manuel “Noling” Lebario and Segundina “Gunding” (Merencillo) Lebario clebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday (January 17). Fr. Dennis Espiritu presided over their wedding mass at the San Roque Chapel in Dagum, Calbayog City. Reception was held at The Venue in Payahan, Calbayog City

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!