Letters from the readers
25th April 2010
Dearest Joy,Sorry for my lack of input these last few weeks, but we have been very busy what with the Easter break. Anyway I read all your articles and what I wanted to comment about is the two incidents regarding Filipinas, both have one thing in common…boyfriends. The first one, as I’ve learned, had three, and died because of it. The second one, she was a runaway whom I told on many occasions to be careful. I said to her to act normal, meaning go to work in the morning, come back at night, and only go out on the week end when all the other DHs go out. But what did she do, went out during the week with a boyfriend who is illegal and entered a flat full of illegals. Usually, people in the area will report this, especially if they want the flat to give to someone else. She as you said will never recover, ” What price of a boyfriend she got!” It does not matter if a Filipina has a boyfriend, but what they must remember is that they are just that… boyfriends NOT asawa. Many times I help Filipina at the social centre and many times the fact that they have a boyfriend dictates to them what job they want, live in or live out. Its always live out, and I say to them that if your boyfriend really loves you then he will be satisfied to see you once a week, if the job is live in. Having a bf is not the grass being greener, but the mountain more higher to climb.
Regards,
Pambos
So, how can you get to stay in Cyprus?
We who have families, want our children to have the best start in life: education, love, happiness and a good job. This thought has been driving parents to do their best for their children for generations to come. Many Filipinas go abroad for such a reason, to make not only their children’s life better, but their own. They work very hard at a thankless job, in order to send money back to their families. There are those who just want to get away from the hardship of the life in the Philippines, and once they come abroad, they have no intention of going back for a very long time. The majority do still send money back to their families, but they are looking for an opening to stay where they are. So, how can you get to stay in Cyprus?. Well, if you have been working here for over 8 years, you can apply for citizenship (which will probably take another 8 years to process the papers), providing you have employment. You can fall in love with a Cypriot or a European and get married. Or, you can get married and not love your partner, ( that will be on your conscience ), or… you might be selfish and get pregnant.
Seems like a great idea ha, have a child and that child will be born a Cypriot and then you can stay…..WRONG.
Let’s pause for a moment, if I went to the Philippines and landed in Manila, found a girl, got her pregnant, and 9 months later I am a father, would the Philippine government give me permission and citizenship to stay? No they would not, so why do you think Cyprus is any different? If the father is not a Cypriot or European then you have very little chance of staying here. Have a look on the map and see what countries are in Europe, sorry for being so blunt but, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt are not in Europe … yes it is true. Furthermore, if the father ( and maybe you ) are illegal, you will be deported, and when the child reaches 18 years of age, he / she can come back to Cyprus , but not you, only if they make an application to bring you here.
My concern is this, what kind of life are you going to give your child, how are you going to bring them up, catholic or the religion of your partner. When they go to school, do you have the money for their education?. Stop being selfish for once and think about what you are doing. Do not bring a child into the world, whose mama and papa do not ever have a chance of getting a decent job. Getting pregnant is easy, but the day after is a long long road of hardship and pain. So let us ponder on this: “A gracious woman is respected, but a woman without virtue is a disgrace.” ( Proverbs 11 verse 16.). – Pambos Kourtoulos.
Dear Pambos, Again, your observations are quite correct and so I agree, hearing the same story in most Filipinas. The thing is, even if they do seek advices from us, it is still themselves who will decide. We can give advices, technical assistance, show concern, but in the end, we cant dictate them.
Chief Ed