A few minutes ago, something staggering caught me speechless as I watched the news.
Brgy. Ma-a, DAVAO CITY: Life is too short and it became shorter for 12-year-old Mariannet Amper as she hanged herself to death.
Just recently, Pres. GMA announced the improvement that the government made with the rate of poverty decreasing. The next morning was might have been indeed a big slap on her face with the news of young Mariannet from Davao who committed suicide because of poverty.
Flashed on the news earlier was a younger brother crying in front of the casket where his sister lies. It was him who saw Mariannet's suicide as he entered the room where he found her hanging. Too young, and small, to rescue his sister, he immediately called for help. How devastated his cry sounded. Such is a cry that would pierce any person who hears it.
It was only with the discovery of her diary that they found out the reason for Mariannet's action. There, she had written her grief about her family's situation: how her parents argued a lot, her mother forcing her to work at a noodle factory and her not attending her classes anymore. It was indeed shattering when they showed what she had written regarding her absences which dates October 6 of this year: "Parang isang buwan na akong hindi pumapasok kasi hindi ko binibilang mga absent ko, hindi ko namalayang malapit na pala ang pasko...." (It feels like a month since I last attended school, I haven't even counted my absences that I didn't realize that Christmas is fast approaching....).
Her classmates cried about what had happened to Mariannet. It was then that they told the reporter about her telling them once how she wants to end her life. They even showed on the news the chair where she once sat during class--the chair that will never be filled with her again, except for the memory of the girl who wished of becoming a nurse some day to help get her family out of the agony of an impoverish life.
The news about Mariannet is truly bothering considering that because of poverty, a young girl claimed her life to escape its despair.
I feel for the Mariannet. She's just one of the millions of kids who faced such a burden of being poor--while there are those who just wastes their fortunes on lavish-nothings. There are millions of Filipino families who lived with just a dollar a day (or forty pesos a day). Mariannet Amper death has brought about the staggering truth that many are still deprived of a better life--especially their kids. When will this end? I do not know. But I hope, someday, people will see that in each step we take-forward to success, we must look back at those left behind and learn to share blessings. I don't mean giving alms, but rather by teaching and guiding. I hope the government will do their part to give aid to the injured not just temporarily but permanently.
Mariannet Amper may not be the first to have done such an action....but I pray she's the last.....
Brgy. Ma-a, DAVAO CITY: Life is too short and it became shorter for 12-year-old Mariannet Amper as she hanged herself to death.
Just recently, Pres. GMA announced the improvement that the government made with the rate of poverty decreasing. The next morning was might have been indeed a big slap on her face with the news of young Mariannet from Davao who committed suicide because of poverty.
Flashed on the news earlier was a younger brother crying in front of the casket where his sister lies. It was him who saw Mariannet's suicide as he entered the room where he found her hanging. Too young, and small, to rescue his sister, he immediately called for help. How devastated his cry sounded. Such is a cry that would pierce any person who hears it.
It was only with the discovery of her diary that they found out the reason for Mariannet's action. There, she had written her grief about her family's situation: how her parents argued a lot, her mother forcing her to work at a noodle factory and her not attending her classes anymore. It was indeed shattering when they showed what she had written regarding her absences which dates October 6 of this year: "Parang isang buwan na akong hindi pumapasok kasi hindi ko binibilang mga absent ko, hindi ko namalayang malapit na pala ang pasko...." (It feels like a month since I last attended school, I haven't even counted my absences that I didn't realize that Christmas is fast approaching....).
Her classmates cried about what had happened to Mariannet. It was then that they told the reporter about her telling them once how she wants to end her life. They even showed on the news the chair where she once sat during class--the chair that will never be filled with her again, except for the memory of the girl who wished of becoming a nurse some day to help get her family out of the agony of an impoverish life.
The news about Mariannet is truly bothering considering that because of poverty, a young girl claimed her life to escape its despair.
I feel for the Mariannet. She's just one of the millions of kids who faced such a burden of being poor--while there are those who just wastes their fortunes on lavish-nothings. There are millions of Filipino families who lived with just a dollar a day (or forty pesos a day). Mariannet Amper death has brought about the staggering truth that many are still deprived of a better life--especially their kids. When will this end? I do not know. But I hope, someday, people will see that in each step we take-forward to success, we must look back at those left behind and learn to share blessings. I don't mean giving alms, but rather by teaching and guiding. I hope the government will do their part to give aid to the injured not just temporarily but permanently.
Mariannet Amper may not be the first to have done such an action....but I pray she's the last.....
2 comments:
Aside from poverty, we can learn a lot from her death. especially suicide prevention. We need to educate ourselves that suicide is a preventable public health problem in the Philippines. Suicide should no longer be considered a taboo topic, and that through raising awareness and educating the public, we can SAVE lives.
I made a page for suicide prevention:
http://aboutmyrecovery.com/suicide-prevention/
FVR had "Mang Pandoy" and now, GMA has "Mariannet" - As you said, there are many Mariannets out there. I hope they don't become another statistic. I hope the next president will actually have role-models who rise out of the ashes of poverty and claim their place in this abundant universe.
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