Poverty here in the Philippines:
(Or how to say, "I don't have any money" and "Go away" in Tagalog.):

So let me start this by saying that the Filipino government is corrupt, the unemployment rate is 11% and rising, the population growth rate is the highest in Asia (100,000,000 by 2010), and there are no social services.

Suffice it to say that we live in a country that is not in good shape. The population is increasing at an alarming rate (our part-time house helper is now pregnant too), and the government is powerless to do much of anything except ask anyone and everyone for handouts.

What makes a person stop someone in the mall, that they supposedly know, and ask them for money? The heartbreaking thing about it is that he wanted the money to buy ice cream for his daughter's birthday party. At least that was the story. It's easy to get taken around here because the borrower ALWAYS has a story. It reminds me of living on Alabama street in Indianapolis where, "I need $8 to fix my tire", and "Just $1.50 for one beer" were the norm. Here it's 174 pesos lang, and 1000 pesos lang. Incidentally 'lang' is Tagalog for 'just'. I didn’t give the guy a single centavo, and now I’m particularly pleased with myself because I didn’t really remember him as one of our guards. I was an easy mark for him because, in his eyes, I’m a rich white guy. We all have guards. Gee, I wonder why we need them here.

Living here has made us realize just how fortunate we really are, but it hasn't turned me into a sucker. At least not yet. The economy is collapsing around the people here, and it's tough to watch the hard working people here (the ones lucky enough to have jobs) get the squeeze.

Mind you everyone here loves to have large families too. I agreed to be Godfather (ninong) to Belma’s baby because we genuinely like her. She works hard, and is a smart, good person. That being said, she picked us partially because we have cash. We’ll end up paying for the baptism, and probably a gift for the baby. But it’s going to suck when she asks me for more money and I have to refuse. It stinks to be put in that position. We pay her well over three times the going rate for her services already.

M and I are reading a book called "in Our Image" by Stanley Karnow, about the Philippines and the 90 plus year history that it shares with the United States. The Philippine Islands were a Spanish colony for roughly 350 years, and during that time, it was driven into the Filipino psyche not only that they were somehow inferior, but that white people were superior to them in every way. Then the United States came along (toss in a few, random slaughterings of rebels groups between the late 1800s and early 1900s), hung out for awhile, and then 'gave' the Filipino people their freedom. At that point the Philippines were like, "Great! We're free. Is this where you give us some money?" It pisses you off to have to be on guard every day because EVERYONE that walks up to you wants something, usually money just because you're foreign (and therefore rich). Our time in Thailand was most enjoyable because the Thai people that we met, talked to, encountered were all genuinely friendly. Not once were we asked for money on the street. I can't WAIT to encounter a beggar in the States. I'm going to have a good long chat with them.

The whole point of that photo is that their crowd has continually grown since we've been here, numbering maybe twenty at this point. This spot is in Metro manila, and one day a friend and I saw a squatter-clearing patrol shooing them south towards Pasay City where we live. It was weird. This 'Patrol' had sticks, and they were beating the huffers and chasing them away all the while tearing up and burning their makeshift shelters, and generally being very unfriendly. Three days later they were right back where they were on this day. I saw them here and there in Pasay City, but I figure a Pasay-based squatter-clearing squad shooed them back north to their original spot.

The homeless population is increasing in Manila. It will continue to increase until the government starts trying to look after its people instead of robbing them.

Oh. Two phrases to remember if you ever visit here: "Wala money ako." and "Umalis ka".

It was a not-so-good-day today.