Under One Roof

When someone you know dies, you feel this overwhelming sadness grip you. The grandmother of my sister’s bestfriend died yesterday afternoon. My sister learned about it just this morning around past two in the morning. My sister was not able to go back to sleep even if she had to go to school before seven in the morning.

The whole family knew the person who died. In fact, my dad knew her even from way back because they were part of the original settlers in this neighborhood. So you can just imagine how sad we were this morning when we all heard the news. So many good people dying… why can’t the bad ones be the first to go?!

I know that almost everyone have seen the devastation left by Philippine Tropical Storm Ondoy. Floods everywhere. So many people were injured. A lot died while trying to save their lives and that of their families. Hundreds of families were left homeless. Some people have gone missing.

You can feel the anguish felt by these people. A mom was crying because her kids were left at home and they could not get to them because of the flood. I would go crazy if I were in her shoes!

Please continue praying for the victims, for our country. It was being reported that two more storms will hit the country within the week. If you can, donate to the rescue missions going on as I write this entry. Go to Sagip Kapamilya or that of GMA-7’s. Or you can go directly to Philippine Red Cross. More than anything else, the victims need clean water and food to eat. Several of them have not eaten since Sunday. We need the help of everyone.

If you are left safe and dry by Ondoy, stay that way. There’s another storm about to land later today according to PAGASA.

I saw an article about the Travolta family finally facing the cameras again after grieving over the loss of Jett Travolta, 16, due to a seizure.

Nine months after their son Jett’s death, John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston took the stage with their daughter Ella Bleu, 9, to promote their new Disney film Old Dogs.

It must have been hard for them. Been in this situation twice in my lifetime. You smile in front of other people but deep down you are still crying over the loss. So many families have lost their love ones because of the Super Ferry tragedy and the floods/landslides that happened for the past weeks. I hope they will be given the strength they need to surpass this trial in their lives. Just like the Travoltas.

Last night, news programs reported the birth of a baby with two heads. It’s actually a case of conjoined twins wherein one of the babies didn’t develop on its own inside the womb of the mother.

You know, this could have been avoided had there been an early detection of abnormalities with the pregnant mother. There is a particular test to be administered to pregnant moms so that any abnormalities or defects in the unborn baby can be detected early on. But since the parents of the baby with two heads didn’t have the money for the medical test, the mother didn’t know that she would be giving birth to such baby.

This is one of the things that the government should look into, particularly the Department of Health. So many babies with defects are born every minute of every day, in the city and in provinces. Maybe, the government can look into providing a budget for free consultations/medical tests or checkups for pregnant mothers who cannot afford it. Could be costly but they can set certain guidelines like it’s free for the first two babies. Or ask for sponsorship from big pharmaceutical companies. There are so many ways to do this and help poor pregnant mothers in the country.

In relation to that, the government could probably tighten their watch on birth control issues. Please! Roll out lectures on family planning. Or even better, on maximum 2-child policy! The mother who gave birth to a baby with two heads? That’s her fifth already! If the twins were properly formed, it would be child numbers 5 and 6. And they can’t afford to have even three kids!!!

These cases of babies with defects should have been a wake-up call to parents out there. If you know for a fact that you cannot afford it, stop at baby number 1! Use condoms or any other method of birth control! There are free clinics in every barangay where you can get help regarding this. Do not listen to the Catholic saying “go forth and multiply”! Stop multiplying if you do not have the capacity to feed the multiple!

Got it?

I went to the mall with my sisters last Sunday. My sisters bought pairs of shoes for work. They wanted flat shoes because it’s rainy season here in the country until September. It would be better to wear flat shoes when out of the house lest you slip on wet surfaces.

Do you know what I noticed? Despite the global financial crisis, there were still too many people in the mall, especially on weekends. People still flock to department stores and restaurants to spend their money. It was an early payday weekend so the mall was more crowded. Sometimes, it would make you think that majority of those people are not affected by the crisis.

Have you heard about the “Death with Dignity” law of Washington and Oregon in the US? It is assisted suicide for those who are terminally ill and have no more recourse.

Linda Fleming of Sequim, 66 years old, had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She died Thursday night last week after she took drugs prescribed under the “Death with Dignity” law. Fleming is the first death under this law that was approved in November of 2008. In Oregon, it started as early as 1997 and around 401 people have used it already to end their lives.

You know, when I read this today, I was torn between agreeing to the law and shaking my head because this puts a different light to my stand on suicide.

Taking one’s own life is any which way is suicide. That’s clear. But, when one is terminally ill, or those who have been in life support for a long time and clearly has no more chance of waking up, then it becomes a matter of mercy on the person. Yes, still a suicide but then, as the name of the law suggests, it is giving the person a chance to die with dignity.

A person, taking her own life for no other reason but a problem she thought she cannot solve, is gravely insulting those who still wish to live. But in these cases of euthanasia, where a person is terminally ill, probably in too much pain and would like to dictate the way she finally succumbs to death… it really puts a dent to my stand.

Did you know that in Saudi Arabia, a girl or boy under 15 years old can be legally married? There is a big case about a court in Saudi Arabia granting an 8-year-old girl to divorce her 47-year-old husband. The little girl was married to the man by her father as a payment of sorts for the debts he had with the man. What a barbaric thing to do!

Apparently, this custom in Saudi is very much legal. Marrying a kid to someone far older than her is quite the practice in this country. The United States, United Nation and even their very own justice minister are all doing something to change this law. Yes, this is, in fact, part of their law! Their justice minister is planning to enact a law to protect the rights of minors in their country.

We are in an age of advance technology. Gays and lesbians are gaining equality in the US and other western countries. But a country as rich as Saudi Arabia is still backwards with their customs. I was so appalled when I read this news. The little girl is actually living with her mother but was already married to the man. Her mother didn’t know what the father did because the two are separated. When the mother knew, she brought the case to the courts and asked that her daughter be divorced from the man. After several attempts, a victory like no other was awarded to them.

The little girl is lucky her parents are separated. Because most mothers in that country would just bow to the wishes of their husbands. It’s their custom.

The divorce is being touted as a landmark case in Saudi Arabia. This is the first time that something like this happened. And I am praying that many others will follow suit. It’s about time their barbaric customs be reviewed and discarded!

UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said, “the right to free and full consent to marriage is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Consent cannot be free and full when either party to a marriage is too young to make an informed decision.”

*Source

I have written about suicide before. I have said that it is NEVER an option. Ever! Filipinos have been following the case of Ted Failon, veteran broadcaster of the television network giant, ABS-CBN. If you don’t know the story, here it is…

Ted Failon (Teodoro Failon Etong in real life) was slapped with obstruction of justice alongside with his sister-in-law, Pamela Arteche, and his long-time drivers and house helpers. It was due to the death from a gunshot wound to the head of Trinidad Arteche Etong, Ted’s wife. She was said to have been found lying in her own pool of blood in he daughter’s bathroom. According to Failon, their two daughters, in-laws and helpers, Trinidad killed herself. Suicide, in short. But then, when the police arrived at the Failon’s house, the bathroom where Trinidad was found as well as the vehicle used to transport her to the hospital was already cleaned. Chaos ensued.

Do you know what I hate about this case? It’s the fact that Trina made a cowardly exit and left behind a mountain of a mess for her loved ones to clean up. She wanted to spare them the hurt of whatever it was that she did with their finances but then she humiliated her whole family instead. Imagine her daughters telling friends that their mother killed herself…

I felt so sorry for Kaye, the couple’s eldest daughter, who granted an interview to Korina Sanchez for ABS-CBN news programs to air. She said it aptly, it is so hard to tell everyone that her mother killed herself. What a very selfish act to do!

Suicide is an act of cowardice and selfishness. You won’t be sparing people you love the hurt of enduring your existence. You are actually leaving behind a pain so great that it will take them a lifetime to forget! Remember that.

And SUICIDE IS NEVER AN OPTION!

I have always said that having kids is a big responsibility that should not be rushed into. You always have to think a million times before deciding on having a child. If you have more than enough for yourself, then that’s the time you can proceed in considering having a kid. But then if you are having problems feeding yourself, then don’t even think about it!

Nadya Suleman is the prime example of someone not even thinking of having a kid. But she went and gotten herself octuplets! Imagine that! If you don’t know her story, you’d think that it’s actually cute. Octuplets! She’s the first one to have all living kids. However, she already has six kids prior to the octuplets. Which makes her official kid count to 14!!! She doesn’t have a husband. She’s just living off social welfare benefits. She’s still living with her parents. She doesn’t even have the capacity to support a kid, let alone 14 kids! What was she thinking???

Having multiples is being debated whether it is a form of child abuse. That’s why so many people hate the TLC show Jon & Kate Plus 8. Jon and Kate Gosselin is a couple who has twins first before having sextuplets. Eight kids are driving them crazy and this is being chronicled in their reality show. Watching their show, you would know right away that having multiples is no joke. But is it child abuse?

What do you think about this?

Students cry in graduation. That’s because they are saying goodbye to their classmates, to the familiar environment they’ve been in for the past four years or so of their lives, to teachers who have been their pillar of strength, and to a carefree life. When I graduated in fourth year high school, I didn’t cry. I was so excited to start college. It’s something new! I love new things and new environments. But on the first day of college, I was nervous, anxious and wishing I could go back to the safe haven that was my high school.

When I graduated in college, a hard life was far from my mind. All I was thinking then was “no more books, projects, research papers, terror professors, prelims, midterms and finals”. I didn’t know I was leaving behind an easier life.

We feel this way almost all the time. We all feel nervous about a change. We hate leaving familiar ground. We hate taking on something new, a new life, a new task because that would probably mean a harder life for us.

I have cousins who are graduating in both high school and college this month and the next. I am praying that life after school would be something they will enjoy even more. And I do hope that they find work which they will learn to love in the long run.