‘Ngayon naka-partition na ako’
Duringthese trying times when most Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are opting to go home than continue battling the odds, there remain those who for apparent sheer lack of a better choice, have decided to take their chances.
Among them is 35-year-old Cheryl Esteban Patalud of Malatana Tampakan, South Cotabato, who had been in the hole since the COVID pandemic started bearing down on Dubai around March is indeed one inspiring story worth an MMK episode.
Patalud was terminated from work, evicted from the flat, threatened by her new landlord with being thrown out for missing on the rent, had steaming coffee on rice for lunch, and, owing to her mestiza appeal, was even egged on by her flat mates to get a man so she can move out of her miseries.
She hanged on and finally got a job as a receptionist at a business tower on Sheikh Zayed Road.
‘Pinalayas ako’
“Pinalayas ako. Ang gamit ko andun pa, ayaw pa ibigay kasi wala pa akong pambayad,” said Patalud, single mother of three, whose father, she lamented, has lately been seeing another woman, even bringing her to their home and posting the whole thing on social media “kasi kulang daw lagi pinapadala ko” for the kids.
Patalud used to stay in a flat in Al Rigga, a largely Filipino enclave north of Dubai, where she had been staying at before she lost her job. After being thrown out, she moved to Satwa, a densely populated residential area, where things became even worse for her.
A Political Science undergrad, Patalud, who worked as restaurant staff in Dubai, had asked for food relief from the consulate but she got tired waiting because the staff unfortunately were having all hands on deck attending to various concerns, among them, labor issues, repatriations, and a backlogged financial assistance program.
She also applied for that program, which gives Dh700 to qualified OFWs, but her request was rejected due to technicalities – the termination letter read that she was fired due to redundancy, not COVID-19.
Patalud has been able to get free groceries from a civic group and a concerned fellow OFW paying it forward, among them the Filipino Social Club or Filsoc under Ericson P. Reyes’ leadership and Good Samaritan OFWs like Toff Ydeo.
‘Tinutulog ko na lang ang gutom ko’
For all her woes, Patalud said: “Tinutulog ko na lang ang gutom. Kung anu-ano na naiisip ko minsan. Nakakapagod na talaga. Sobrang bigat na kasi. Para na akong sasabog.”
“Madalas, nagmumukmok na lang ako sa higaan ko. Minsan, feeling ko mababaliw na ako; naisip kong tapusin ang buhay ko, kung hindi ko lang nilalawakan ang pag-iisip ko,” she said.
Patalud said she could not go home yet.
“Hindi pa pwede. May sakit sina mama at papa ko. Kailangan ko pa ring mag baka-sakali. Walang pambili na maintenance na gamot magulang ko. Gusto ko ring mag-college ang mga anak ko,” she said. Her eldest is 13, a boy; the youngest, a girl, is eight.
“Gusto ko nang umuwi, kaso pag umuwi ako, hindi ko alam kung saan ako kukuha ng panggastos,” she added.
Adding to her heart-wrenching story is the seeming indifference of her flat mates. “Kumakain nga ako sa harap nila, kape ulam ko tapos sa kanila adobo. ‘Hindi ka nagluluto?’ sabi lang nila. (Minsan) sabi nila mag-jowa (boyfriend) daw ako, kasi sila daw, yung mga jowa nila binibigyan sila. Walang maayos na payo,” Patalud added.
Answered prayers
God one day answered her prayers and her application for a job as receptionist was approved. But there was a problem: She could not go to work because she did not have money for the bus ride. “One dirham lang ang pera ko at yung Nol card (used to ride the metro and the bus) na hiniram ko, walang laman,” she said.
Patalud nonetheless managed and is now regularly reporting for work. She got a Dh500 cash advance that she turned over to her landlord to cover for part of her rent.
She has been busy with work these days.
“Nakakaraos na ng kaunti,” she told Daily Bread. “Nakalipat na din po ako. Nasa partition na po, hindi na sa bedspace.”
The Daily Bread 