Amerasians I've met-Margarita

Born 1995. Second generation Amerasian.

Perils Of Youth

Childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence, but for this little

Amerasian girl, whatever is left of it is slowly being peeled away

every day that passes by.

I met Marge only briefly - but I immediately knew the kind of life she

lead and the extraordinary danger that she faces every minute of her

existence.

There was a time when I spent more hours in the street than in the

small room that my mom rented for us. I was a few years younger than

her then, but then I was a boy - and so was shielded from some of the

dangers that waited for her around corners.

The tragedy in her situation is that, having lived in the streets for

so long, she no longer knows how to live what we would call ' an

ordinary life', spent around the house among family.

She has become like the wind, breezing through the streets of

Olongapo, as wild and free as the elements itself. Sleeping under the

roof of buildings, looking for food whatver way she could manage, and

doing what she wills - when she wants to - has become a way of life

for her.

But when I look at her, I see her encased in a prison - made possible

by long habit - encased between walls of air. It doesn't take a lot of

imagination to see what life has in store for her down the road, if

she can't do something to get her out of there - or find people who

will help her.

One of the most positive scenarios for her, sad to say, is to become

her like father - an Amerasian who prowls the city streets, with no

real place to call home, only managing by a hair's breadth to overcome

hunger, thirst, and the dangers that lurk nearby by dint of luck.