Monday, November 10, 2008

BAD TRIP 19: Bata bata...sana di ka na ginawa

The girl must be no more than 13. And yet a baby already clung to her, sucking on a breast hungrily. And she’s not the only one. Lots of other children her age in almost all the Mangyan villages I visited already have children, married just as soon as they start menstruating. Breeding the next generation of Mangyans, who will be as marginalized as the generations before them.

8 Comments:

Blogger Panaderos said...

This is very sad to know. Pardon my ignorance but aren't there any public schools in their villages? Are their villages so deep in the hinterlands and so out of reach that these people live their lives as if it's still the 19th Century? What is Noli De Castro who supposedly grew up on this island doing about this? Hasn't he brought their plight to the attention of the President?

He doesn't deserve to be President then if there are certain groups of people in his island that remain very marginalized to this day.

11/10/08, 9:58 PM  
Blogger Miki said...

hi pan. there are some public schools in their areas but very few and far between. usually multi-grade classes. kadalasan, two teachers cover grades 1 to 6. majority do not have access to schools and other basic social services at all. they live deep in the mountains and are hard to reach. many still wear bahag, like they're in the dark ages.

now their existence is being threatened by greedy mining companies that slowly creep into their ancestral lands, abetted by just-as-greedy politicians.

(sigh)

11/11/08, 9:08 AM  
Blogger kendi said...

but i don't think it's just the mangyans kuya miks. i've seen a lot of women (ladies? girls? whichever is) who are too young to have a child. tsk tsk... education and perhaps a hand from the government sana.

12/4/08, 11:22 PM  
Blogger Miki said...

yup, it happens not only to Mangyans; just that it is more pronounced there. mainly because of the absence of better options for girls. luoy baya sila kaayo...

12/5/08, 8:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi!

I am for the RH bill and for the betterment of the lives of all Filipinos....but I think the Mangyans have their own culture that should be respected and acknowledged. I don't think the solution is for them to be educated and forced to think like us. I think they are better off as they are provided that the rest of us don't destroy the forest that they live in. Just a thought...

By the way, I linked you!

Cheers!
Cathy

12/6/08, 1:02 AM  
Blogger Miki said...

hi cath! thanks for dropping by. :)

i agree with you about respecting their culture but i also believe in providing them the opportunity to improve the quality of their lives.

kung ganyang harap-harapan na sila niloloko ng mga tagapatag kasi mangmang sila at di marunong magsulat at magbilang ng pera...

kung patuloy na lang na kakamkamin ng mga edukadong tao yung kanilang lupain kasi wala silang titulo na pinanghahawakan...

kung ang mga bata at ina ay namamatay from easily preventable diseases...

di naman yata tama na pabayaan na lang sila at that level. society still has a responsibility to prevent injustice. at kung hindi nila kayang gawin yun with their current capacities, dapat lang matuto sila. because like it or not, they have to relate with the outside world.

i know there will be adjustments in their culture --> the mere fact na nag-aaral na sila will entail social and behavioral change. but i believe that is still the way to go. mabigyan sila ng iba pang options aside from what they know and have been practicing.

12/6/08, 12:08 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Miki,

Of course, you are right. Sana i-educate rin tayong mga tagapatag na i-respeto ang cultura ng mga Mangyan.

Cheers!
Cathy

2/5/09, 11:46 PM  
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