The Manila Bay
This short movie reminds me of a one fine day in Manila, circa 2007. I was in my late second trimester, carrying Benjamin. Hubby was away in Egypt.
Nothing seemed right during those days, the nights were too warm, the clothes too baggy, the food tasted funny, toothpaste tasted awful and the water was not cool enough. The air around me..do not let me elaborate on this. I was constantly sneezing and complaining on how bad it was, how foul it smelt so on and so forth. In short, nothing was right except for my daily cup of warm Milo.
This ATTITUDE problem prolonged until one day I decided to take the kids to visit my parents in the Philippines. At that time, mama was serving at our mision in Makati City.
I realised that I was being an ungreatful overgrown brat when I first saw the living conditions of the Filipinos, especially in Manila.
Many kids were roaming around the city barefooted. I saw families taking shelter under the cardboard 'roofs' of their makeshift 'homes'. There were stray dogs cohabitating with these people. The children had rags on them, I wondered how did they keep themselves warm during chilly nights.
It was difficult to find halal food around here, but there was a Pakistani Restaurant in Manila which served delectable Briyani and Garlic Rice. So we headed there. It was situated in a ghetto like area rather close to the Manila Bay.
My lungs were almost choked by the dusty air as I got off the car. I have seen kids roaming around barefooted, but to my dismay I saw something that no human pride could tolerate.
Right before my eyes, I witnessed a toddler picking up 'things' from the ground, on the pavement. I deduced she was picking up 'food' as I saw her munching on the things scavenged from the ground. I tried to block my kids from seeing this scene. But then, to think of it back, what was I doing? Was I protecting my kids to witness the truth about humanity?
The Briyani was awesome, but too bad I could not finish my food. We were about to leave the place when Sarah nudged me and said, "Mummy, don't leave the food here, let's give it to the baby outside".
My daughter was only 7 then, but she could see the truth about life better than I could.
This is a short movie forwarded to me by an old schoolmate, the ever so sweet Dianti. I hope to share this with you so that we would ponder on the blessings that God has showered upon us.
Click here to view the movie..
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Are You Hungry?
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16 comments:
Ida,
* Lalu nikmat apa kah lagi yg mereka dustakan * giest from Surah Ar Rahman
I tak boleh face that kind of situation, mau I nangis berlenang-lenang. Cannot take it when life is mean and ill towards children.
I had witnessed the same in Dhakka, we brought a box full of food as our ration, but after seeing those kids wandering around begging, I gave it all to them. And seeing them berebut those food from behind the fence (takut kena serbu lak)I sobbed all the way.
* Betapa besarnya nikmat Allah pd kita.
wow cepatnya u mai comment..i tgh edit lagi ni..tapi tak pa..sedeykan bila tgk.
Anak2 kita mesti belajaq bersyukur as depa senang sgt sekarang.
sebak hati I baca pasal toddler tu...
Syukurlah dengan rezeki dari Allah yang melimpah ruah utk kita semua di sini..Alhamdulillah
Dear Mimi,
Itu u baru baca pasla toddler tu, cuba u tgk short movie tu..in many parts of the world, that is part and parcel of their daily life.
Dear Ida
The scenes you described reminded me of my childhood in Kota Kinabalu in early 1974. I hope I have jumpstarted you into thinking that I am a slumdog aviator, but there is always less dramatism where the humble truth hides.
But these were the the kind of things I had seen by the marketplace in KK. Families lived in carboard and plywood shanties wrought from shipping delivery boxes and pallettes, toddlers divining for food in the dust. I would watch from my window, in Likas Park, as Philippino kids, my age and older walked from garbage bin to garbage bin rummaging for salvageables. They were part of Mustapha's larger plan, and I wondered then as I wonder now, if he had acted justly.
I have long ceased to be a streetkid in KK, but I believe that the lot encamped in the shanties of the KK market have by now assimilated into society, some on its fringes, some in the thick of nightlife. To me, they are ever recogniseable and a reminder of how these were once my friends, and amomgst them, was my first schoolboy crush on a sweet Philippino girl.
Reaction budak2 tu bila nampak "makanan" dah sampai... oohh my...i tak tahu mcm mane nak describe how i feel.. but i continue watching...at the same time.. hiba tak terkata..
Jangan putus lafaz Alhamdulillah.
-diantie-
Ida,
I baru tgk movie tu, td tak sempat.....
Waaaaaaa I nangis la , my colleague came to my room, saw me crying, I play again, guess what we ended up sob ssob together, last2 d whole office ni nangis la.
"How come someone's laughter bring me close to tears"
Must show to my kids tonite.
Tq dear.
Dear Ida,
Alahai.. kesiannya. Menangis lagi I hari ni. Yesterday I received an email on child abuse (abused by the maid from hell)... sedih sampai bengkak mata. We should bersyukur with what we have.
Sigh.
Dear Major Matisa,
I have personally witnessed this pitiful scene in Sandakan, Sabah too. I always wonder how do this people survive daily or are they bothered by the worries in the world.
I has been my dream (and my Sabahan hubby too), to build a shelter for these children of the slums back in Sabah.
Dear Diantie,
Tq for dropping by, and to you too for sharing this with us.
I pun sebak tgk short movie tu..:(
Dear Ibu,
Isu budak2 kena dera and starve pun boleh buat I sedey. I kalau pagi2 tgk budak bonceng motorcycle tak pakai helmet, I sure jadik bad mood, mesti mau curse parents dia. Awat depa tak fikir keselamatan budak tu?
Kak Eja,
I nak minta maap pada your boss sebab blog I ni menyebabkan firm u tak productive today, asyik dok teriak satu opis..cheer up, sis, ok..
I dah kasi mai kids tgk. Adam kata "dia berlakon je ni.." keraih betoi hati dia ahh..
I baru aje last weekend tengok slumdog millionaire and i rasa macam cannot breath. India has always been the 1 country that i dont want to go for the sole reason that my heart cant bear seeing the poverty when there's a smaller group of people there that are rich beyond anybody's imagination.
Thank you for sharing that video Ida.
I can't view the movie. Maybe later. That's one of the reasons why I don't want to visit Manila... poor thing. We should bersyukur for what we have here..
Salam,
I dont know if I am brave enough to watch the movie. Semalam dah nangis tengok a clip bertajuk finishing strong. Kalau tak silap. Will try to watch it at home. When no one's looking.
Farina,
I've not seen the movie. I know I should, don't want to miss the hype.
MrsN,
Manila is OK. Ideal for shopping, especially if later u nak terima menantu, bolehlah beli all these bekas bunga telur kat sana. Enjoy (sob..sob..) watching the movie, ok.
Dear New Leaf,
Tq for visiting..watch the movie, biasala if cry sikit, yang penting kita boleh insaf..
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