Davao City Tragedy
Mariannet Amper lived in Davao city; this 11 year old girl hung herself. I was reading through the news this morning and noticed an article talking about an 11 year old girl that hug herself, she left a note explaining that she would rather be dead then continue to live in poverty.
As her parents looked through her belongings they found what appeared to be a suicide note, and a wish list, the only thing she wanted was to have the money to buy a bicycle, and for her parents to be able to have job’s so they could pay for her schooling.
This was one of the saddest stories I have ever read. I know that the level of poverty in the Philippines is very high, and a lot of us try to help when and where we can, but this article has made me realize just how devastating it can be for children, this little girl felt that she could no longer deal with the social ridicule that was being inflicted upon her by the other kids in her school, and the area that she lived in.
The fact that she committed suicide at the age of 11 years because of her family’s level of poverty indicates to me that the stated economic boom in the Philippines has not reached the people in the lower economic levels.
I read several blogs each day written by foreigners living in the Philippines they are all complaining about how expensive it is to buy food in the Philippines, they complain about the prices of mayonnaise, beef, pork, fish, eggs, milk, and other food items, and it makes me wonder about there where they really live, Makati probably, because there not living in the real Philippines, they are protected behind the walled gated community, and only travel to the Mega Malls when they go out.
It is a fact that the Philippines is a part of Asia even if it is a catholic country, so like all Asian people the Filipino people have a great sense of (saving face), what I am trying to say is they must keep there social standing, and many things can effect this, how much money one has, how big your house is, what is your job title, and other publically known facts about your situation in life, this type of concern for what others think of you can lead to suicide, and total despair in adults, and as I have eluded to above the foreign community in the Philippines might be worrying about the same thing.
The Philippines is a wonderful country, and has it terrible underbelly just like most countries, so if you are going to live in the Philippines, look, learn, and listen, don’t just move to the islands, and continue to live like a westerner after all didn’t you move to the Philippines because you wanted a change.