Kelly and I both indicated that we thought that was a fine idea, and Bhoy quickly moved to take command of the three largest of our bags, while Marlyn picked up a fourth. Kelly and I both tried to protest, since we were left with only our carry-on bags, but Bhoy and Marlyn both ignored us as they led the way out of the terminal.
Once outside, Kelly immediately knew why I'd 'suggested' (all but told her to wear) light clothing for the flight: we were hit with heat and humidity that was happily very rare in our part of the U.S. I watched, too, as Kelly tried not to react to the varied smells that hit us – the combination of odors that any large city in the tropics develops: auto exhaust, decaying vegetation, and too many people – all leavened with heat and humidity. For someone who'd never been exposed to it before, it can be a real assault on the senses.
Once Bhoy had stowed the luggage, we all piled in. Bhoy drove, of course, while Marlyn took shotgun; Kelly and I were left with plenty of space in the back. I was more than a little surprised when Marlyn had Bhoy drive us past the monumental garbage piles near the airport as we made our way to the hotel. When Kelly saw it, I saw her turn pale and her expression change slightly when she saw the number of people digging around in it. A little farther along, we passed a shantytown, and Kelly saw the crude shacks that lacked even the most basic plumbing. I heard Kelly draw a breath, and quickly squeezed her hand to let her know to keep quiet. When she looked at me, I mouthed the word 'later', which she understood to mean that we'd talk about it in private. As we got closer to the hotel, Kelly started noticing the traffic – and I saw her flinch a few times when she thought we were going to have an accident. I suppose I should have warned her about the insane Manila traffic.
When we got to the hotel, the outside staff quickly got the van unloaded while the desk clerk (five feet of condensed cute) got us checked in.
Ready to head up to our rooms, I turned to Marlyn and said 'If you don't mind, I would like for us to go over your plans for our trip this evening. I would be delighted if you would join us for supper in a few hours, after we've had time to rest from the flight, and clean up a little.'
Marlyn answered 'I was thinking the same thing, except for the dinner part – but I accept. What time would you like me here?'
I checked my watch to find that it was getting close to 3:00 PM. 'How about seven o'clock, then?' I asked, and she readily agreed. I went on to say 'I don't think we'll be going very far tonight. Do you think that we should ask Bhoy to stay?'
She thought it over, and answered 'No, I don't think you need to. This is a good hotel, and there isn't any trouble around here. Just don't go more than a few blocks, and you should be fine – I think you know what places you will be safe in. Once we leave Manila, though, you will want to let Bhoy know what your plans are, since he can help you better than I can.'
'Then that's what we'll do; thank you. We'll see you at seven, then?'
She nodded, and we parted company.
Up in our room, I tipped the bellboy when he'd unloaded our luggage, and he left happy – carefully closing the door behind him. Kelly and I both had a look around the rooms (it was actually a small suite) before both of us released a sigh of relief. I was the first to start undressing, but Kelly didn't hesitate to follow my example. In just a few moments, both of us were naked as we headed for the bed to lie down.
As the air conditioning dried the thin film of sweat from our bodies, Kelly looked at me and said 'I couldn't believe that pile of garbage, and how all those people were digging through it! What were they doing there? And what about that place with all those shacks? I thought I saw some woman actually peeing behind a bush!'
'That garbage pile is actually kind of famous – every so often, a chunk of it falls over and kills a few people. All the people you saw on it actually live there; they dig through all the stuff trying to find things they can sell for food or clothing or anything else they need.'
'But it's garbage!'
'So? Haven't you ever thrown away something that was still good, just because you didn't want it any more? We recycle aluminum at home, but here, it's not so important – so there's plenty of aluminum cans and other stuff for them to dig out and sell. It's not fun, but for most of them, it's do that or starve. I know which one I'd prefer.'
I went on to tell her 'And that bunch of shacks we saw is a poor neighborhood, is all. The woman you saw probably was peeing behind a bush; damn few of those places have running water inside, never mind actual toilets. But even the people in those shacks are better off than the ones at the dump, aren't they?'
She looked at me as though she couldn't believe I was saying all of that as matter-of-factly as I was.
I told her 'Kelly, I'll tell you again: this is a poor country. Up until the end of World War II, the Philippines was a U.S. possession that we got when we won the Spanish-American war. After that war, the U.S. government really screwed them over when they started fussing that they wanted to be their own country. Try reading up on the Philippine 'Insurrection' sometime. We didn't get around to 'giving' them their independence until after World War II. For the last couple hundred years, they've always been under someone else's control; it's taking them a while to figure out how to do stuff on their own. Shucks, our country had a tough time getting going after we got our independence from England.'
She looked at me doubtfully, and I went on 'It's true, Kelly. None of the countries that has had control over the Philippines has done them any favors. The Spanish laid the Catholic religion on them, and look what's happened: the Church doesn't believe in birth control, so they've got more people than they know what to do with here. There are only so many jobs and other work to go around, so the surplus population is left holding an empty bag – if they're lucky enough to have the bag. They've also got a corruption problem; I expect that's a freebie from the Spanish, too – it seems to be a pretty common problem in all the countries Spain 'discovered'. So, because of the corruption, the people with power and money tend to get more power and money, while everyone else loses out. It's almost as though the average person expects their politicians and government officials to be crooks; the only time anything significant happens about it is when it gets too blatant. Hell, look at what Marcos did here: when they got fed up enough to chase him out, he left the country with many, many millions of dollars – on a salary of a few thousand a year. Part – no, most – of the reason Marlyn is with us is to help me figure out who has to be paid how much for what, if my client builds a facility here. Sure, my client is going to get tax breaks and all that – but they'll be paying some of it back under the table, you can bet on it.*I* know it, my client knows it, and Marlyn knows it. The definition of an honest politician here is one that stays bought after you've paid him.
'No, it's not 'right', by our standards. But it's their country. It's up to them to decide what to do with it, and when. The only problems they have are the ones they recognize, and decide to change their way. All we can do is offer help they're willing to accept: bringing in jobs and money to help them develop a larger middle class, and stabilize a shaky economy. We can come in, and when they let us, show them the benefits of some of what we do; and help them recognize the problems they have, and show them possible solutions. But until they decide what changes they want to make, and how to make them, all we can do is let them run their country their way. We wouldn't like it if they started trying to tell us how to run our country, so we have to show them the same restraint in return.'
I finished up by telling her 'I'm not sure why Marlyn took us by those places; I know there are other ways out of the airport. When we've gotten to know her a little better, I'll ask her – but I'm not really expecting any kind of real answer, either.'
Kelly listened to all of this, and when I was done, I saw her give a small shudder as she thought about what she'd seen.
The only consolation I could offer her was to say 'I know, Kelly. I don't like it, either. But by being here, we are helping; and if things work out, we'll have helped even more.'
'How?' she asked.
'While we're here, we're spending money – good old U.S. dollars – that they didn't have in their economy before. The money we're spending is going into the pockets of the people here, more than the politicians.
Marlyn has as much as a couple months of work while we're here – and the money she earns will be spent on things that make jobs for other Filipinos. We've got a driver and bodyguard; he only has to work because he wants to – but the money we pay him will be spent to increase his life style a little. For all we know, he'll throw away enough aluminum and other stuff to feed a couple of those families on the garbage mountains for several days. When we leave Manila, more of the money we spend will stay in the local economies – which means that they'll have that much more for things like schools and such; maybe some child will have a textbook that they wouldn't have if we hadn't come here. If my client builds a facility here, they'll be hiring Filipinos – creating jobs that wouldn't have existed otherwise. The folks they hire will spend their money, making jobs for the things other Filipinos make –
