D.O.M.

When you tell family members you are traveling to the other side of the world, everyone has their two cents to add, either it be information from a friend of a friend, T.V. show, or personal experience. I would like to share two personal accounts on life and the culture of the Philippines, and then give my observations I have noticed after my first month in country.
        Of course I was nervous to go to a strange country. It was a healthy nervous though. As I was preparing to travel I heard two distinctly different accounts of Philippine culture from people I know had spent a long period of time here. Actually, these two people were in this country around the same time, in the same area, for the same purpose, yet their stories were completely different. I had actually assumed one was lying just to make me regret my decision to join the Peace Corps (due to my past experiences with this individual), but once I came here I realized that both stories were indeed accurate. This is a little difficult for  me to talk about but I feel it is an important part of this culture and I see evidence of it everyday and it is part of the reason the P.C. is here.
       As most of you know, the U.S. occupied Subic Bay, which is a mere 10 minute Jeepney ride from me, for a number of years. The personal accounts I heard were from two individuals who served in the military during this occupation and were stationed in Subic Bay for some time.
I will start with the unpleasant story.
While the U.S. occupied Subic Bay, prostitution (including child prostitution) became a very profitable business. The American soldiers would play certain games with these girls which are too gross to mention in a public forum. The way these stories were told to me, it seemed as if it was not an activity that only took place in sketchy establishments, but was easy enough find an obviously willing participant on every corner.  I was not sure how to take this information given to me. Of course it made me a little more nervous to go there being a woman. But I was also questioning the source.

The second personal account I heard was an example of what I thought the Philippines were really like. This individual's account was of the hospitality of the people here, and the beautiful landscape that can be found in few other places in the world. Personally, this is what I have experienced here. Everyone here has gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. I have a great respect for these people. And here is why.

The first unpleasant story is accurate, and it was confirmed by  a person who was street child during American occupation. We were enablers for this the prostitution business, there was no doubt about that . Also, American men would sleep with the young Filipinas, and if they got pregnant, many would leave and go back to the U.S. without any financial support given to the woman. In this country, they do not have the amount of social services for women and their children. So many of these women and children turned to the streets- for prostitution  or other crimes. This particular street child resented Americans, and I think for good reason. In his experience, we were the reason for many Filipinos' sufferings.

And this is part of the reason the P.C. is here. In fact, Matt's job with Community, Youth, Family services is to help street children and prostitutes get off the streets and build a positive foundation for them. And while not all the street children and prostitutes are a result of American occupation, we definitely contributed to the problem in this area, at least.

Like most scenarios there are many good things the U.S. did during this time, and many not-so-good things. For instance, when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and the Pilipinos were looking for a safe place to go, the U.S. shut down Subic Bay which was a known safe zone. But American's brought money to the Philippines, so the economy was better. Also, the Aetas, a native tribe in this region, worked with the U.S. military and taught them skills to survive in the jungle. As a result, many of the Idas were allowed to get an education, something that was beyond their reach before the Americans came. I had the pleasure of meeting one of the Idas and I can tell you, they are a remarkable people. They have a cure for everything from ED to Leukemia from jungle plants. Also, I found you are never without a clean water supply in the jungle, I drank water directly from no less than 3 different plants. And let me tell you, this guy was 60 years old and he was as nimble as a 5 year old. He was climbing fences and trees as easy as could be. So if you want the fountain of youth, learn from the Idas.


Now for the title of my post. D.O.M. This stands for Dirty Old Men. These are  mostly retired military men who have stayed in the Philippines and have either a very young Filipina girlfriend (or many girlfriends) or just continue to take part in the red light district of the area they are in.Since a military salary allows you to live like a king, it is a very appealing lifestyle for some of these men. When a P.C.V.  sees one of these D.O.M and vice versa, we don't talk , we don't usually make eye contact. You would think that seeing another American who speak fluent English would be a great experience we would all take advantage of, but we don't. It is almost as if both parties know why the other one is here, and we know it is not worth conversing with each other because we will have nothing in common.


So despite all the negatives of the U.S. occupation, the Filipino people are amazingly gracious and hospitable They go out of their way, even when they do not have a lot, to give you some of what they have. I have not encountered a Filipino that lumps me into those Americans that he or she may have had a bad experience with.(might I add that I feel Americans can learn something in not overgeneralizing a population from the Filipinos) . For that I have a lot of respect for the culture.

Pictures are: Rossanna drinking water from one of the many plants that produces it, the Ida man and I posing with his machete, Ida man making fire using his machete and bamboo, the Ida man climbing a bamboo fence like he is under 20 years old (he is 60 btw)